Releasing private information of scammers

General
1

So earlier today on discord we were having an engaging discussion about privacy and personal information with respect to collecting.

When you buy from someone you are usually trusting them with information such as name, email and address. The question is is it ever okay to share any of this information without consent? Is it appropriate to share a name or an email address of a fellow collector?

In particular, one of the more contentious issues is if it is ever okay to release the address of people who have scammed you? Should scammers be doxxed? I’ve seen it happen on the forums a couple times so I’d also be interested in the forum’s official stance on such behavior.

Discuss.

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Typically when there is a bonafide scammer we provide the usernames or email addresses used in the scam to help everyone avoid them. I don’t know if the physical address would ever be relevant.

4 Likes
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Physical address doxing is never okay.

You can never be 100% sure that you are being given accurate information. If someone wanted to seek revenge on a scammer, they could easily accidentally target innocent people.

5 Likes
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I have no issue providing any scammer eBay User ID / Social Media ID / E-Mail… Basically any relevant information to help other people avoid getting scammed. However, I would never plaster personal information such as an address or phone number. That’s just stooping-down to their level - and we’re better than that!

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I imagine a first and last name wouldn’t be out of line. Address no. Phone no.

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Just enough info to adequately avoid them is fine. Posting phone # and address is out of line and not worth it.

1 Like