Have you ever answered these seemingly harmless questions? Are they safe?

Question

Where are you?
What kind of bike did you ride as a child?
What is the email address of your local police department?
Who is your service provider?
Do you bank online?
Would you email my friend at this address & wish them a happy birthday?
What type of soft are you currently using?

Sounds harmless until you see them in a list.

If you have ever answered questions like these , then you are not alone.

I ask you...ARE THESE SAFE to answer when hackers are everywhere & most seniors are using old systems?

typo: What type of Software are you currently using?

How about helpful people who ask you to email them if you want to know more, because it just would not be correct to use Y/A to promote their personal home based businesses?
Do you know that your real name becomes known when you send an regular email to others. Even to politely refuse their online offers?

Answer 1

Sure I'd answer them...

#1 California
#2 Whatever it was that Sears was selling at that time.
#3 I'm sorry I'm not allowed to give out that information.
#4 That's none of your business
#5 Again that's none of your business
#6 I don't know your friend and he/she doesn't know me, why would I want to do that?
#7 Why do you want to know that?

There are answer and then again there are answers. An answer with a question, a flat refusal or a polite declination doesn't give any real info.

The only info picked up from my answers is that I rode a bicycle from one of the largest retailers in the nation at the time and that I'm in a very large state.

I agree with you that these can be dangerous questions to answer on line and answering seemingly innocuous questions can set one up to answer one that is far more dangerous that is slipped in at the right time.

While we are on this general topic let's include something that is close to my heart because it is an extreme irritant to me... Email. Specifically the constant forwarding of messages... This is a very real source of email addresses for spammers. If you want to send some delicious tidbit on to others I would like to suggest the following tactic.

Copy and paste into a new message and email it to yourself with Blind Carbon Copies (BCC) to the friends you want to see it. It only takes a few moments longer and shows your friends that you care about them because it keeps their addresses a little more private.

Even with all the filters and a long list of not only addresses but whole domains blocked in my email service I still receive about 30 to 60 SPAM messages a day. Every thing from ads for penile enlargement to Hey.... Wanna see my pix???

I have had this address for about six months and use blind addresses when I join most groups so I blame the forwarding of my messages for most of these nuisance messages. At least I have partially protected my friends from some of this. I hope!

Answer 2

I don't open emails from any address I don't recognize....period.

Nor do I forward "chain letters" - even from people I know.

I don't answer questions from anyone for any reason on the internet.

Nor do I shop online - except Ebay, where I am also a seller.

I don't pay any bills on line.

I would not answer any of the listed questions at any time; in person, by phone or under any other circumstances unless it was a friend or relative...who wouldn't ask such stupid questions in the first place.

The internet is full of people from all over the world who are masters of manipulation. They are computer wizards who can take the most mundane information and find out anything they want about you, your personal life, your bank accounts, credit cards, credit rating -- anything. All they need is a window to get their fingertips into your business.

I don't afford them the opportunity.

Answer 3

No, none of the quesitons are safe to answer, and none of the answers can be useful to anyone else other than to provide help in hacking. IT is no ones business if I bank on line, but again, for 39.95, most of the information above is available. Service provider? They already have that if they have your email address. OS system...it can be assumed that you are using WinXP, for 90% of computers are so run. Zip Code? Go to the white pages on line and you will have that for anyone who has a telephone that is listed. Where am I ?...again, listed in white pages....BUT, to answer these questions as a child! hmmmm I would hope that parents have had a very long talk with their kids as to what to say and what not to say on line. Banking online is a pretty safe bet if you are firewalled in your computer, if you have software that protects against virus, and IF you open no attachments that even smell funny. I do not open attachements that have not been cleared by both Yahoo AND Norton, and even then, if there is a file extension that I do not recognize, it is not opened. IF the extension is .exe, NEVER open it...discard to trash immediately. Peace and love, Goldwing

Answer 4

My parents must have known something when i was young. We were never to give out personal information to anyone over the phone or at the door. It was A very strict rule in our house and has stuck with me all these years.
Some of those questions do seem harmless, and the one about the bike I might give that out on this sight, and where do I live might give a general location like southwest, but as you said put those all together and even with general info alot has been learned.
I would not think any of those questions would be safe to answer.

Answer 5

I do very little online, except e-mail and Y/A and a little chatting-it's allowed in our other group. Anyone who wants to find out where someone lives can 'zoom in' on them in a few minutes. Don't have a clue what kind of bike I had as a kid. The other questions I wouldn't answer, it's nobodys business. I never open an e-mail from anyone I don't know. My mom taught us to be cautious and I am. We must do all we can and use common sense to protect ourselves, but as I said, I refuse to live in fear, what kind of life would that be.

Answer 6

No, except for the bike question which many COULD find themselves answering...however, doing so 'dates' you and shows you to of an age that the hacker may consider vulvnerable to scam or identity theft.

I have up to date software and all the protective software at home and at work.

Answer 7

Wonderful Information and Heads Up.
I really haven't thought about this to any extent and yes I have answered some of these questions.
Thank You! I will proceed with a lot more caution.

Answer 8

Another one that is common is if you have an eBay account or Paypal account. Paypal said my activity was suspicious of terrorist activity and against federal banking laws. Since I had nothing to hide and certainly would never have any terrorist activity, I answered the questions they asked me, including my mothers maiden name, DOB, city I was born in, bank account numbers and PIN number. I wrote a check for $19.49 in bounced! I had over $700.00 in my checking account. They stole my identity and withdrew all my money
from my account. I had heart failure it seems when this happened. I called my bank and they replaced the money, but still......
I will never, ever again think that all people are honest.

Answer 9

I don't answer question like these. I don't even remember what kind of bike I had, other than the fact that it was a girls bike with a basket. The other ?s seem dangerous to me.

Answer 10

Wow. I don't think I ever had anyone ask these questions on Yahoo before. Nor have I answered except for my location. Thanks S h e r r y n for sharing. I hate buying on the Internet and try to be as careful as I can.

Poor S i l k i e.