Someone contacts you through Hubpages and asks for your real name

1. 87

   NateB11posted 11 years ago

   So, I get an email, person says he/she wants to use one of my hubs for a school project, but needs my full name. Person's language sounds like he/she is an adult. On the email it says email address is unverified. Do notice I've gotten more traffic lately to that particular hub. What would you do? I know this: If I email them back and give them my full name, they'll then have my full name, plus they'll have my email address.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      SomewayOuttaHereposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      i think it is odd they need your full name...i wouldn't give them my full name.  you could respond with another email address since you should have their address.

      replyreport
   2. 80

      Aficionadaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I have been asked by several people either for information or to use something from one of my hubs, and I have never been asked by them for my real name (except in the case of one Hubber who paid me to do some work - a totally different situation!).
      
      If I were you, I would open a second e-mail account that does not identify you and respond from that account.  You can copy and paste the information from the first e-mail into the new account.  I would give them permission to use the material, if that is what you choose to do, but ask them for more information from them before you give your actual name - name of school, location, grade, teacher's name, that sort of thing. 
      
      It's not an unreasonable request, but if you are not comfortable doing it then you shouldn't.  Also, that sort of request could always be made by someone you don't trust.

      replyreport
   3. 59

      MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Your real name is Nathan S**** B******o.  Count the stars you'll know I've got it right.
      
      I can also tell you your email address, your physical address, your phone number and where you graduated college from.
      
      You are in your early 40's...  I know your exact age but it would be both rude and giving too much info to tell it.
      
      I found this out in about 10 minutes.
      
      Just to put things in perspective.  Anonymous ends the second you develop an online presence.

      replyreport
      1. 61

         recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         This may be so - but it still stands that he should not give his name and email.   Those in the business of collecting this kind of information will not spend 10 minutes, they are sending generic emails as fast as they can bring up the name and click on the send button - fishing with a big net, not a hook and line.

         replyreport
         1. 59

            MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            True that...  but I had his name in 30 seconds...  Still it's not a good idea to give the information out willingly and easily.  I just don't want him lulled into a false sense of security.

            replyreport
            1. 61

               recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

               True that   -   On the up side, I looked online for myself recently and found more conflicting and erroneous information than true,  there appear to be huge advantages in having a slightly uncommon name 

               replyreport
               1. 59

                  MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  *Grins*  I gave up any hopes of anonymous years ago when I realized that not even a restraining order and court protection was going to keep a certain special person in my life from knowing where I lived as long as the internet existed.  I just go ahead and use my real name and you could easily find my real address (although you will NEVER find my phone number... I draw the line at midnight phone calls).  Still there is much fun to be had by having a slightly common name too ...  I've had that special someone throw stuff up at me that he found on the internet that was so not me that it was laughable.

                  replyreport
   4. 60

      courtyB3posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Legally, if they are going to refer to your article they need to go by your "by line" which is essentially your hub ID. No need for them to ask for that. Some might not be aware. i know when i was in college it is a huge deal for plagiarism issues and people want to cover their butts as much as possible.

      replyreport
      1. 87

         NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         That is very good to know and makes sense. I was thinking they just need to use the name on the hub.

         replyreport
   5. 56

      jeolmoz2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with the PANDA "NEVER respond with you true email or name", but do reply to see if legit and keep rest of Hub Community informed as to results, in the event it's not legit advise us, so we don't fall same trap...the link to your Hub and fictitious name should be more than enough for you get the proper credit

      replyreport
2. 87

   NateB11posted 11 years ago

   I am thinking the same thing. I see no reason they need my full name. It's strange. They can give a link to the hub, use info from the hub, use the pseudonym, etc. They don't need my real name to reference the hub for a school project.

   replyreport
3. 61

   recommend1posted 11 years ago

   It is possible it is genuine but far more likely they are email spammers.  I unwisely responded to an innocent sounding request in regards to one of my hubs and my spam email increased dramatically - I responded to a forum 'friend' who sent private message - and my email spam increased dramtically again.
   
   NEVER respond with you true email or name.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      SomewayOuttaHereposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      okay...i'll remember that you cuddly panda!......... ...i promise my message did not create spam!

      replyreport
      1. 61

         recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Your messages are different SOH, hitting on Pandas is always permissable

         replyreport
         1. 60

            SomewayOuttaHereposted 11 years agoin reply to this

              ...xo

            replyreport
4. 87

   NateB11posted 11 years ago

   Thank you. This is exactly what I thought was happening, and now knowing of your experience it confirms my suspicions.

   replyreport
5. 93

   SmartAndFunposted 11 years ago

   How about humoring the person requesting your name by sending them a completely false name from a throwaway email account? Might be a fun experiment to see whether or not you start getting a bunch of spam in that account.

   replyreport
   1. 87

      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I like that idea.

      replyreport
6. 0

   Arlene V. Pomaposted 11 years ago

   Do what you feel is right for you.  The name on my HubPages account is my real name.  I want it that way because in my former work as a reporter.  I stand behind what I write, and I am proud of what I do.  At the same time, I am approachable.  I used to work at three California prisons.  Most people in that line of business shy away from giving out their addresses and phone numbers.  Yet, for $14.99 someone can easily find me.  Here, I have been approached for use of my Hubs.  Some Hubber had a friend who was starting an online magazine.  I never followed up on it.  The Hubs I write are for HubPages and Hubpages alone.  Unless I decided to use one or two as a way to pitch an editor of my choice.

   replyreport
   1. 87

      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I'm going to be honest: My first inclination was to email them my real name right away. I'm not an "on the look out for scams,etc." kind of guy. My roomie came in the room, I read her the message enthusiastically, she said, "Wait a minute. Why do they want your name?" etc. I was even thinking of using my real name on my Hubpage too (soon that will be a new feature here); now I'm re-thinking the whole thing. I definitely don't mind someone using my hub for a school project. But that they need my last name seems unnecessary and, so, fishy.

      replyreport
7. 75

   WriteAngledposted 11 years ago

   Could it possibly be that this person is unsure how to cite your article without having a real author name? Perhaps the instructions they received about citation do not deal with the issue of someone writing under a Web ID?

   replyreport
   1. 93

      SmartAndFunposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's what I was thinking it might be. It seems like giving them any old first and last name would work. I doubt this person's teacher is going to do any detective work to find out whether or not the name of the author matches up to the hubber's profile name. But if what CourtyB is saying is true, the student needs to use the profile name and doesn't need NateB11's real name, anyway.

      replyreport
   2. 87

      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That is possible. Only thing is I'm pretty sure this is an adult who contacted me, the teacher if the whole thing is legit. The language of the email message was pretty sophisticated, like an adult wrote it.

      replyreport
8. 67

   AlanRimmerposted 11 years ago

   I go along with the idea of setting up an email address with a pen name that is close enough to your Hub ID to avoid giving too much away and replying via that to put out the feelers. Email addresses are regularly used in this way when interacting on the internet to avoid overburdening private inboxes with spam. Worth a try to see if the whole thing is genuine or not before going ahead. You can always decide if it is necessary to give your real name at a later date if it progresses into a regular thing.

   replyreport