Someone walks up to you, am claims they know you-How do you answer?

Question

I am always running into people saying that " they know me somewhere". Then proceed to try " to figure out" where they know me from by asking me questions like What school you go to? Where do you live? Where do you work? , etc. This is irritating. I am a private person and I don't divulge personal information to people I am not familar with. What are some good ways to answer this question without divulgling a lot of personal information, and without being offensive?

Answer 1

When someone asks you to tell them things about yourself, turn the table around, and ask, "where do you think you've met me, where do YOU work, school, play, live?" It's okay to smile and say, "I'm not tellin'! You tell me!"
How many guys do we imagine are out there playing dumb in order to get information about us?

Answer 2

Have some fun with it, say, "Listen, the tabloid stories were way out of line, I never met Lindsay and Brit before and don't want to talk about it."

And walk away.

Or you could say "Were you on the Royal Carribean cruise to the Greek Isles last spring?"

Or: "Are you the guy that wore that big red wool hat in Aspen?"

Or: "Is that you! I didn't think I'd ever see you again! You got a haircut and shaved your beard. Are you still in the band?"

Or: "Hi! Wow, it's great to see you again. Did that rash ever go away?"

Answer 3

Why do you care if people you clearly do not know think you are rude? State clearly that you dont know them and if they dont catch a clue from that and proceed to ask you questions, then you should sayjust what you said here. I am a private peson and I dont discuss such things with people I do not know and leave it like that.

Answer 4

First of all, if someone came up to me, claiming to know me, I would go along with it. Just for fun =D.

Where do you work?
A: Oh, you know, here and there.

Where do you live?
A: Earth.

What school do you go to?
A: I am home-schooled.

What's your name?
A: Well, my FBI name is Derek.

Just give them answers that could mean multiple things, or polite answers that might scare them off. Seeing people's reactions is always fun.

Answer 5

Break the ice with

"I'm sorry, I can't place you, you must have not been that good."

They will either laugh hysterically, or be totally offended and leave you alone.

Either way, you'll make a friend, or avoid a stuffy person.

Answer 6

I am sure I am much older than you are. I just tell people that I no longer remember anyone I met before I was 40 years old. That shuts them up usually.

Answer 7

You can say how do you know me, without telling them anything else, tell them you would prefer them tell you, how it is they think they know you, because you really don't know them. That is not being smart, that is being careful. Tell them you error on the side of caution. It's that type of world, we live in. You have to be.

Have a wonderful evening.

Answer 8

Answers:

"I am sorry, I don't know anybody who can't remember me."

"I know, and I suppose you want my social security number too, right?"

"Did I see you in my Shaolin Gung Fu class?"

"Are you sure you are not thinking of a magazine cover?"

"No, but I will ask my twin sister if she knows you, let me just get some of your information and I will run it by her."

Answer 9

I smile and say, "That's very surprising because I know for certain that we've never met (or: Our paths have never crossed before)." Then I politely focus my attention somewhere else or leave.

Answer 10

If they know you they should probably have some place in mind "Weren't you in my history class in college?" or recognize something you did, some event you've attended or your name.

You can friendly say: "Really? Where do you think we've met before?" or "What makes me look familiar?"