Random dudes picking my name outta a group chat and IM-ing me

[AlmaNina]

Do they just pick me & a few of my friends or is everyone getting ims from groups where a dude says "I saw you in this group" and you dont belong to that group and then he says "I saw you in this other group" then he asks personal questions including where I live even though I tell him not telling him that and he never asks my age even once.

Is it possible this is a child predator if so how do I report that?

or is it just a creeper who stalks everyone in sl, finds time to im them and makes up a group he belongs to as an excuse to talk to you?

Is this a spammer or what? I am confused by it, I susect hes not just a random IM-er but I'm worried he has something unsavory in mind I mean just targetting girls whos profiles seem kinda youthful is that cuz hes after money or id theft.

It just creeps me out and I wanted all of you to give me an opinion on how I should handle this? Sorry if it sounds confusing but not long it happened where he wouldnt go away with me, ,then a few of my friends, then a different guy with exactly the same questions and the same "I saw you in this group" line appears and bugs my friends in the amount of time I wasnt on sl. I dont know it just really freaked me out. I mean who says whats your address?! How many of you would say that to a stranger at all let alone one who you dont even know the age of? I find that really creepy. Sorry its just I never had something like this before.

[Rhonda Huntress]

Honestly it is just a troll.  Some random jerk pulling a random name from a random source and trying to find .. well, action.  It happens to many people for no reason at all.

 

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AlmaNina wrote:

It just creeps me out and I wanted all of you to give me an opinion on how I should handle this?

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 Block and forget.

[Rolig Loon]

It's even easier than in RL.  You don't have to answer, you don't even have to acknowledge that you know the person exists.  Just walk away or log out if he bothers you.  As far as he knows, you never even noticed him, or maybe you were AFK or had a computer malfunction.  :smileytongue:  (You can blame SL for all sorts of things.  I have a good friend who "accidentally" crashes when she's in a crowd where she feels uncomfortable.)  This is why it's handy to have a safe place that you can teleport to at a moment's notice.

[Lindal Kidd]

I've had random IMs a couple of times.  And yeah, it IS rather creepy.  At least once, the fellow turned out to be rather nice, and we had a pleasant chat.  The other times, it was just weird, and I wound up muting my random caller.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

I've had a number of random guy's IM me before.  Most just profile search.  Some are creepy some were polite and respectful.  The creepy one's I don't respond to and block.  The polite and respectful ones I sometimes chat with for a minute, if I have the time, to tell them I'm taken and to point them to things they can do to find a date.  Otherwise I just ignore the IM too and close it.

If you want to, you can set your preferences to not accept IM's or Voice calls from people not on your friends list.

[LupeGarcia]

That happens to me also on a regular basis.  It is very frustrating, when you are in Ibiza or another shopping area and these people come from "nowhere" and decide you need to join their sex group?

Thats almost funny.  Almost! 

Can this be stopped?

[Xtacky Haystack]

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AlmaNina wrote:

Do they just pick me & a few of my friends or is everyone getting ims from groups where a dude says "I saw you in this group" and you dont belong to that group and then he says "I saw you in this other group" then he asks personal questions including where I live even though I tell him not telling him that and he never asks my age even once.

Is it possible this is a child predator if so how do I report that?

or is it just a creeper who stalks everyone in sl, finds time to im them and makes up a group he belongs to as an excuse to talk to you?

Is this a spammer or what? I am confused by it, I susect hes not just a random IM-er but I'm worried he has something unsavory in mind I mean just targetting girls whos profiles seem kinda youthful is that cuz hes after money or id theft.

It just creeps me out and I wanted all of you to give me an opinion on how I should handle this? Sorry if it sounds confusing but not long it happened where he wouldnt go away with me, ,then a few of my friends, then a different guy with exactly the same questions and the same "I saw you in this group" line appears and bugs my friends in the amount of time I wasnt on sl. I dont know it just really freaked me out. I mean who says whats your address?! How many of you would say that to a stranger at all let alone one who you dont even know the age of? I find that really creepy. Sorry its just I never had something like this before.

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Welcome to Second Life Answers, AlmaNina

I take everybody at face value, and if they send me an IM, I answer questions that are not too nosy and have made and kept a lot of friends along the way, BUT I have - like the other people who have replied already to your enquiry - had a few creeps contact me over the years.

As a blond haired freckle-faced girl on this avatar, I would say I have attracted a few more creeps than on my main ginger-haired avatar, but they have been easily muted.

However, if you are a child/young teen avatar and someone is addressing you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, make it very clear to them that you are a G-rated avatar, and if they persist, and if you feel they are a possible child predator, you may make use of the abuse report facility by clicking on "Help" at the top of your viewer's screen, and submit an abuse report for Linden Lab to assess.  Remember to click the box on the abuse report form to show a screenshot, and have the chat window visible on screen.  

I have been asked many times for my address, and I give them a random sim name in Second Life.