and beware of the men wanting friendship on here....usually from a foreign country.

Maggie

Wendy,
So sorry I didn't realize I didn't have a profile up. I just updated so you can see i am legit! LOL! This is a painful road we are all traveling & I understand your concerns. A girl can't be too careful these days!

No worries, it is JDSLAS. Hugs, Wendy

the profile can be just as bogus. everyone needs to be careful on the www.

Ouch Patswife.....that remark stung. I do have a profile up and I have ever since I joined this group last Spring and it is a legit profile. Deb

Do you mean private profiles are what you will not accept? I know I have mine set to Private for security reasons.

Deb,

I hope this comment helps some of the confusion regarding profiles.

Your profile is set for private, friends only. No one can see it unless they have been added as your friend. It's a toss up as to whether to make one's profile public or private because of this reason. My profile is public, but my journal entries and pictures are for friends only.

I, too, am careful about adding someone as a friend who does not have a public profile or that I have not seen several comments posted.

It's sad that we live in a world of such caution, but it is what it is. There are lurkers on all Web sites, and I believe we are wise to be diligent. TJ

I might add that when making a profile public, it's up to you how much information you want to release. It can be as generic as you wish. TJ

So sad to have to be security conscious, but we have no choice. I would love to share things about myself here, such as my real name and occupation, but my husband was a victim of identity thieves(all over the world) and it caused all sorts of problems. Now I just keep up with all the aliases I have to use. I even have one for when I write stories and post to my website. So sad what the criminals have done to us.

Sorry, not meaning anything to "sting", just too many people that are not here for the (sadly) right reason. I don't want to offend anyone.
Hugs, Wendy

It's strange. My profile is public but I only belong to the widow and widower's forum. The other day I had someone contact me on the online chat room, and since I've never even used it I was curious as to how he, yes he, found me. He just popped up and said, "what are you doing?" It was a name I didn't recognize as one of my friends. I checked his profile and saw he was a 19 year old man so I informed him that this was a widow and widower's forum.
He just replied, "oh, ok".
I then blocked him. I still don't know how others find their way on here.
I'm a male so I guess it's not as bad but still pisses me off.

MYLV, Yes, I have had young males and females, often the English is very poor, as if perhaps a second language. I am not criticizing anyone's English or writing skills, far from it, just trying to make a point. Hugs, Wendy

Yes, my profile is set to friends only for security reasons. Up until a couple of months ago my profile was set to DS Members. I got brave enough I thought to change my Avatar to a picture of my husband and myself and I also uploaded some pictures to "my photos" for the first time. Well within a day or two I received a bogus friend request from a 22 yo male from Africa. I hadn't received any prior to that. So I reported it and maybe I over-reacted but it made me nervous enough to change my Avatar and my profile setting. Deb

Hi Deb,
I too have had friend requests from Africa, odd eh?
Hugs, Wendy

Yes, it sure is.... Hoping you have a good Sunday and a good week. Take care, Deb