I'm not going to say it's never happened but I've never heard of anyone
having a problem of that sort. There are some weird ones but fact is, you
can find info on about anyone if you really want to so I wouldn't worry
about it. If anyone really wants to find you, they're going to, a ham radio
callsign isn't going to make you any more vulnerable than you already are. A
perfect example, I met my wife through a popular online dating site,
naturally, you never know who you're meeting on these sites and I did meet a
real nut job around 10 years ago. After that, I started doing a ton of
homework before meeting people and I'd never even tell them what I came up
with on them because it would freak them out and they'd probably be weirded
out by it but there isn't much you can't find out about anyone with a little
research these days if you know how to do it. It took a lot of the surprise
element out of it for me but kept me safe. One more thing to link you to
isn't going to make much difference really if someone wants to find you out
that bad. Sometimes I wish that wasn't true but there's not much you can do
about it these days.
-----Original Message-----
From: Beth
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2015 9:45 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: what identifying information is tied to a callsign?
Okay, guys. I don't normally post on here. But I've got some serious
decision making to do before I get my ham license. My boyfriend, who is
already a ham, has a pretty common name. Okay, I was talking to him and
another ham friend of mine, but I got worried about several things:
1. If you Google for instance my boyfriend's callsign, you will find his
profile right there on QRZ, Ham Shack, Arizona's ham radio database, and
lots of other places. So that worries me because my name is a one and
only, pretty unique.
2. If you Google the same callsign plus your name, imagine what pops up
after that. When I Googled my name alone, I managed to bring up some
pretty weird stuff even I admit I wrote, plus my Facebook, LinkedIn,
Twitter, Instagram, etc. I even found my Foursquare profile, and eerily,
I found a 411 website that contained my dad's phone number and address,
and if you Google the correct name, not Elizabeth, but Beth, you will
definitely pop up my dad's address and phone number. I don't want this,
so I'm trying to decide. If I google a callsign and name put together,
you narrow your search, but it appears, however, that my boyfriend's
name is too common, and I joked with him that he had a clone in
Vancouver Washington State. lol
So this is my dilemma: if I get a ham radio license now, unmarried, with
the maiden name as is, my dad could easily pop up in Google search
results, and someone, maybe another strange weird person, could contact
my dad and ask why I even bothered. He has some mental competency issues
with me he has not resolved, so that's a given. I hate my maiden name
anyway. But I am leaning toward waiting for a license when my marriage
certificate with my boyfriend is confirmed. When we sign and dot the I's
and cross the T's on our I Do slip, so to speak, then I think I'd be
better off with a ham license, smooth sailing. The reason why I am
writing this list is to get advice and to see if I'm doing this all in
the name of informed decision making. I know some of you who are male
won't concur, but in this digital age, you can Google somebody's
callsign and Lord knows what is connected with that. As for my
boyfriend's clone in Vancouver, I'm not concerned, but I find it weird.
I wish the boyfriend's callsign would show me his Facebook page though,
after all I think that's where we're headed.
Thank you all for your advice in advance.
--
Beth Taurasi, Windows 10 edition,
Home: 720-550-6142
Cell: 720-435-7407
Skype: denverqueen0920
Twitter: Ms_denverqueen
Instagram: denverqueen0920
Facebook: www.facebook.com/denverqueen0920
Blog: www.denverqueen.com
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