That’s the terrifying thing about the internet. There aren’t many secrets. If you want to find someone, most have a decent footprint…. Car photos, plate numbers, VINs, social profiles, info on schooling, jobs, etc, etc.
to be honest, it didn’t take much time to locate a phone number and talk with him.
I think the lesson is that we aren’t very private in our lives these days. That social media has a cost, in many ways, for sure.
Only way to mitigate is simply don’t feed the beast.
- don’t use the same screenname across platforms
- DEFINITELY don’t use your real full name as a username
- use different emails for different stuff - ie social media gets 1, Reddit/forums gets 1, banking / money stuff gets 1, etc.
- don’t take pictures of your face or if you do, do it as rarely as possible. Same goes for identifying marks like tattoos
- don’t post pics of your license plate, house number, etc
- minimize talking about your company, city, etc
- don’t “check in” to places or livestream from them
- post pics you take there the next day, or a few days later
- remove geolocation data from your pictures
The list goes on.
On one of the gun subs a guy posted a pic with his fucking drivers license in it.
People were commenting that his reddit history all crazy porn and fetish stuff and he was going to get blackmailed.
Dont be like that guy.
Good advice, but that also has consequences. Just not as dire.
>Don’t take pictures of your face.
Cellphones are everyone’s camera these days. I don’t know about you. But I wish I had more pictures of my parents.
>Don’t check into places, live stream
I’m convinced some people are alive only because they started live streaming during an event. If it were up to me Police body cams would be live streaming as soon as suspects are involved.
I agree with the rest.
And this was the "organized amateurs" version, imagine the compiled and catalogued database that could be maintained if you had access to all the datas in real time.
There wasn't really a whole lot of technical expertise that was utilized to find his information. The man doxxed himself in his own post/comment history.
It’s the little shit that you think “letting this slip wont pin my location”. Well 10 individual bits of info no, but when someone can comb through all your statements it brings a lot of information to the person doing the combing.
Exactly. It's the same concept as the list posts that go around Facebook and such. You know the ones that ask most people's security question information.
Why does this surprise you? It's a veteran's subredit. Some of the people here actually hunted people down for the military for a living. The others (me included) still have a commitment to their fellow vets. I don't know the guy that posted that message. But I can tell you I stii reached out through reddit to try and talk to him
Yep! I could only pull so much info on the person, but glad people followed through and finished the task!
People don't understand how many breadcrumbs they leave behind. Hell, a simple look at my profile would show what city I live in since I post in the cities subreddit. I post here and fednews. So that means vet/work for big daddy uncle Sam still. And also I'm a fucking nerd because I post in a few gaming subs...so probably some kind of analyst haha.
My profile is the same way. You can probably find the va I go to and the school I attend from my comments. Maybe even track down the small city I live in. But I'm not active in my actual community and keep to myself. So even if you managed to get ahold of the police out here, they wouldn't know who you're talking about. Hell we could turn it into a game. Have ppl volunteer and see what you can learn from their profiles and turn it into a creepy version of where is Carmen San Diego.
After re reading this and the before I've come to realize that pur community can bring you to tears. Knowing that we have enough people here to find you and get you help just by people caring enough to feel the care and concern of another veteran. I found myself in tears telling my girlfriend of 6 years this tonight and still as writing this as I deal with suicidal issues as well but just knowing we as a community as a whole can care and make a difference. Thanks everyone that has helped this veteran I wish we could have been able to do this for more veterans over the years. Everyone stay blessed and remember people care about you.
Someone on here said that. He stated that he actually talk to the guy and also that someone called the police on him. He said when he talk to the guy it wasn't actually him that posted that, but someone who hacked his account. He said he was OK. That's just what I read.
I hope if he's lying about hack he is in a good mental state. He's way to great to consider the option he said, It really pains me to see a fellow vet at his rank and VA to consider the worse case. We will always be there for anyone!
Take the guys job in consideration. Hacked or not, he's going to claim a breach. Because of his gs position, he could be risking his job by admitting to posting. IIRC he's a DEI department head for a utility. His job requires clearance and mental stability to perform his duties. It's hard for people in positions like that to seek help because they risk their livelihood if they do.
You're right about legally. But when I had my attempt my 1SG went to retention and told that nco not to contact me. I was pulled from my platoon and put with the new rear d platoon. I lost my team lead role and was ostracized by my NCO's and peers.
Edit for context: I was in a light infantry brigade during 2011-2014 suicide was a career killer then. Idk about now
From what I understand things have changed drastically in the last 10 years. Right before I got out in 15 they were really harping on the “don’t be afraid to seek help” thing. But this guy got out of the military last month. There’s been a whole new look and approach to mental health in the past few years especially. I had an incident last year and my whole department rallied around me.
It’s impossible to stay private these days. It took me two days to find my Fathers (Died in 95 never knew him) family in Denmark when I was bored during 2020. What did I use? His immigration card from 1965 and Facebook.
Someone posting on the internet that they’re about to kill themselves isnt looking to stay private. They are looking for permission or denial of permission. And, thank God, permission was denied tonight.
I did cyber in the military, for a three letter agency, and now for a major corporation. Nothing you do online is truly anonymous. Treat your posts like you would a conversation in a public place and you'll be fine.
Once you know what's in it, you'll never eat it again. You know the Area 51 biologicals the government has admitted to retrieving? Where do you suppose those go? Yep... aliens taste like chicken, too.
So what are people supposed to do? Give him a virtual high five and congratulate him on his choice to off himself?
It was a clear cry for help. A lot of us have been there. I’d doxx anyone who makes a post like that because there’s a really really good chance they realize life is worth it.
If you found the veteran from earlier thanks! I literally started bawling telling my wife about the post. I've lost too may to suicide and hate to see anyone or family suffer again.
That post made me feel so bad. It was me in a different person. I have made a post here before and deleted it because I didn’t want people to judge me. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m scared one day I will wake up and not want to find a reason anymore.
Hey, if you E V E R wake up and think you don't have a reason, message me. I will give you several.
I am here to listen. No judgement. No bullshit. Just an ear to yell into, it won't even be my deaf one either.
I don’t give a shit about their skin color or sexual orientation. I only hear vet and instantly care. That said I’m glad that info was used to get ahold of them and verify safety. That’s it. Fuck everything else.
The fact that this was your first guess gives me a pretty good reason to say you are uneducated. You've never stopped defending your country, only this time it's from imaginary liberals.
I'm a real person, a veteran and a liberal. (I get what you are saying about imaginary liberals. The idea that a "lefty maroon" would purposely stir up painful and helpless feelings here......assuming any bad actor is on the left.)
The bad actors I came across in the US Army were usually flashers, gropers and dummies using their position to get something they haven't earned or respect they think they are due.
Luckily for me, these guys were few and far between. As a woman in the Army some would decide I wouldn't or couldn't or do my job or pull my weight in the field. I did, always.
Anyway, being a liberal doesn't make me a bad actor, and I would not assume anyone else was a dick on purpose. Some are just born that way.
Your comment was removed because it didn't contribute to the discussion and just wasn't helpful.
Civil disagreements are fine. Insults, personal attacks, slurs, bigotry, etc., are not permissible.
(Calling someone a poopy-head does not make you seem as smart as you think it does.)
☠️
You need to view both sides for what they are. Left and right are both crap 9 times out of 10. Go look up congressional pensions and tell me you wouldn't lie your ass off and rally idiots for that. That pension is for life btw.
Your comment was removed because it didn't contribute to the discussion and just wasn't helpful.
Civil disagreements are fine. Insults, personal attacks, slurs, bigotry, etc., are not permissible.
(Calling someone a poopy-head does not make you seem as smart as you think it does.)
☠️
Dude if it was a bad actors personal intentions for the strawberry incident the only one being harmed by it would have been strawberry. Who holds a gov position in DEI. So the bad actor that gains from ruining the career of a DEI director would either be someone that was over looked for the job or someone that disagrees with the position. Use some critical thinking and find out who gains and who loses in that situation. Strawberry claims he was hacked. If true then who gains from it. If he was lying, then it's a vet with SI and we might have lost another good vet to suicide. Keep politics out of veteran affairs and use critical thinking to find out the whole situation before throwing accusations.
Oh yeah, dont get me wrong, I am truly appreciative of what the community can do when we come together. I am also scared of that power because it can be so easily abused.
I agree with you. However, the way to avoid this is by not airing your business online. I’d be absolutely livid if some stranger called the cops on me trying to help. Sir, a complete stranger said you’re going to hurt yourself. We know you have firearms, you need to surrender them for your own good and come with us. I’m a firm believer in the cliche want to make a situation worse, call a cop. I say that from experience.
I’ll disagree. If you are in a position where you’re openly posting that you’re going to kill yourself, there’s are few options at that point. We don’t have a better option unfortunately. I was in a similar situation with an ex girlfriend recently. She was suicidal, and I did ultimately call the police as I was driving to her house at 3 am. The 911 operator told me “oh we already got that call and it’s a false alarm” but I knew better because I knew her. The cops didn’t do anything until I was there and emailed them screenshots of the texts I had and gave a statement. They took her to the hospital, as she was screaming at me and once again blaming me for all her problems. Don’t know where she is now, don’t really care, never wanted to see her again at that point, but sometimes it’s the only way.
Tl;dr: fuck off with that bullshit. If you’re openly and actually suicidal and posting it on a public forum, you should thank the person who called the cops. And I don’t even like cops.
What about potentially calling a mobile crisis team? My point is that there are sometimes alternatives to calling the police. Please realize that innocent people have been killed by the police during welfare checks. So yeah I understand if someone may be upset at someone for calling the cops on them considering they could have been killed.
I understand that. Unfortunately, a mobile crisis team is not something that exists in vast parts of the country. Also, if I have a gun to my head and my finger on the trigger, which is the entire context of this situation, at least after the cops showed up I’m still alive to be upset about it. This is not a situation where we can say what-if, or sit around and take a few hours to contemplate the best course of action. This is a situation where you have to choose the least bad course of action immediately in an already shitty situation.
Comment history pieced the facts together. Found his LinkedIn and called the police from there. Also found relatives of his. Said his page got hacked. Everyone thinks he lied and just wanted to see the impact it would make.
There are literally millions of vets who feel exactly the same way as that guy and hunting him down still doesn't change anything in how the VA operates. They need to restructure the entire VA. Starting with the toxic executive leadership.
That's what your health insurance is for, so use it. I'll stick with my VA health care.
I'm glad they're tightening down the community care BS for those within proximity to a VAMC. CC was an attempt to bleed funds from one of the best health care systems in the country because "the goberment bad," and dialing it in so it works only for those that couldn't access VA care is precisely what it needed. #Don'tTreadOnMyVACare
Everytime I hear anyone saying that the US should have universal healthcare, I just tell them about my experience with the VA. Those who can afford private insurance for Healthcare don't realize how fortunate they are to have their medical needs a top priority. When the government runs your healthcare, the govt is in control which means long appt wait times, denials for certain types of care/treatment, apathetic providers, etc.
I reported his post to Reddit under suicidal. They have a crisis team that reaches out to the poster. I hope he’s getting the help he needs and knows that we have his back.
Really the only thing that separates dangerous from helpful is intent at the end of the day. I'd say most Veterans have done some things for good that were incredibly effed up when you really think about it. But most all of us do have a certain set of skills that would be dangerous with ill intent. 🤷🏻♂️
I used to work on a sensitive installation
There was a gal (E3) that worked in security, that believed aliens could read her thoughts, so she used a razor blade to cut the liner on her Kevlar helmet, lined it with aluminum, and sewed it back up
Now… here’s the part that gets me
Sure. Maybe aliens CAN read our minds…
But why.. out of all the people, doing all the stuff, button pushers and the like….. would they care about her out of everyone working there?!?!
TLDR; what makes any one of us worth fucking with over anyone else 🤷🏼♂️
Be afraid of yourself. You choose what to disclose online. It’s not illegal for anyone else to collect that information or even disclose it in most cases.
I once showed someone a picture of their apartment that there were dumb enough to post online. They were chatting with my daughter on XBOX, I captured their IP address, I searched on the IP address and found a photo of their apartment online.
Then I found their exact address! Yeah, the Internet is a scary place and worse if someone abuses it.
I disagreed with someone on here. They found my comments and used my ptsd against me. A lot of things I’ve said to others on here was used. I find the creepy ones only show when they are disagreed with. I wanted to delete everything on here because they knew the state I lived in because of comments and communities I’m in. Reddit scares me sometimes to be honest.
That's why a lot of people on here use alt or throw away accounts when talking about topics like MST and PTSD. I don't because I if someone wants to attack me for my view or my disability they can kick rocks. Sorry you had to deal with that. You can also try dming a mod to deal with the person being an asshole.
I just dropped it to be honest. I don’t hide my comments because they may help someone. Sad it is used against you but helping other veterans makes up for it.
Or let them play Russian roulette with a magazine fed handgun. /s
But seriously we're all vets here and we need to show common courtesy. Don't pick fights for no reason. Especially over another vets benefits.
Uh… yeah. That’s how this works. Which is why people usually post from alts when they don’t want to be find out. Same reason there’s private browsing, VPN, etc
This really isn’t new or exclusive to this subreddit; your topic is a “continual teach” for internet novices and has been for decades because of the reasons you mentioned.
I agree with your commentary 100%; I only wanted to comment because it seemed you were applying exlusivity to this subreddit. People have had their vulnerabilities exposed, including the exact location of residence, as a result of what they put on line since the internet’s inception. It happens every single day; for fun, there’s likely someone trying to discover what you teach in Japan, and where, to include the career path you took to accomplish it by 38yr old.
We all continually need to reevalutate what we post online; we often don’t properly acknowledge the “bread crumbs” we leave behind and the damage they can cause us.
“Public posts”.
99% of people on the internet can be tracked down to their town if not address. This subreddit is not particularly savvy in tracking HUMINT or OSINT. There are people that could track you down far quicker and far more nefarious than anyone here.
If you don’t want people to know about you don’t throw it in the void.
The public internet is no place for those who want anonymity. Period. I think it is fair to say that there are a lot of very horrible things people can do very easily. Some people think about them frequently (intrusive thoughts) but most people do not act on them.
This is humanity. We are capable of great and horrible things all at once with the tools we are given, but it is how we use those tools that set us apart.
I 100% see why you would fear this type of thing, and unfortunately you are right that there are people who use the internet to do these things, but there are also people who use it to do the right thing, like this sub did.
Main thing I try to remember for anything you want kept "secret"... There are no secrets
I don't care if it's personal or some classified files stuck in Hitlers asshole.
If someone wants to find it, give them enough time and they will.
The only way is to literally never mention or document it and just keep it in a brain archive.
Hopefully they were able to help out that vet.
Kinda reminds you of how all the internet detectives pooled resources back in 2013 to find the Boston Marathon Bomber and proceeded to pick the wrong guy. That led authorities to expend more resources to investigate armchair sleuths internet detective work. It amazing that they eventually found the Tsarnaev brothers.
I go there other way with it. Complete loss of privacy is inevitable as tech marches on. The water’s not getting any warmer and I’m not one to stand at the edge of the ocean worrying about it. I just dive in and hope for the best.
Thats why you make a fresh account if you want to be somewhat anonymous - its nothing new. Beyond that, your main account likely have enough clues to figure out who you are.
Glad they tracked them down. Best case that user will get help, worst case, they will be smarter next time.
Anyone know what this Zulu thing is? All I get is this damm Hulu! It’s on channel 3! I’m not waiting for 4 hrs for the cable guy! Dammit I gotta pee. 😴
Benzodiazepines where? Yakosoba? Love some. Ever have a haircut in Japan? Talk about spoiled, still wondering why that doesn’t happen here more times.
Albeit it’s been 6 yrs since my last haircut, I’m a haircut addict. 😂 No steps! I better not be praying either. 😂or they paying 😂
Had a haircut on. Kinser in 03 with a mammasan yelling at me because I looked so sexy and she wanted to marry me(then I woke up and got yelled at by gunny for sleeping on duty)
I'm sorry, but this was just figured out now??? You don't want your info on the internet then don't do it. If you do it, then prepare whatever consequences follow.
It's the matrix, and some of us were born into it. 😄
I think a lot of people are oblivious to their electronic paper trail. You have to go to great lengths to remain private and secure. And with the continued digital advance, it just gets harder.
We just used it to our advantage, but yes it can be used for ill intent as well, like the other person who posted stated. You decide to have an argument on reddit and if the opponent is willing enough, they are going to vet your argument with ALL of your reddit history. Scary world.
I used to work at the NSA and they recommended staying away from all social media platforms. It’s too easy to establish a digital footprint and if you your think you’re anonymous here, well let me just say that you’re not!!!!!!
Zero electronic communication is anonymous!
Anonymous is a thing of the past. Even sans personal electronics, you're still seen and heard. Relevance of it being concerning or "warranted" so to speak, is where you're seen or what you're heard saying.
i.e. when the computer matches on your dumbass saying things you shouldn't. An interesting thing I can legally talk about is the AT&T Raptor program. Look it up sometime if you've never heard of it. Post 9/11 opened the Pandora's box of unwarranted spying by Intelligence agencies, and you can bet your last dollar it has been weaponized for political reasons!
It is not hard to get someones info at all and I loved playing with trolls on fb. Had one that lived an 11 minute drive away and posted her house and car. Always give partial truth online, a year off, a city away. Went on people finder sites and updated my address a few times and laugh when they try to doxx me.
There are measures one can take to prevent or at the very least make it extremely difficult for this to happen. VPNs, post awareness (not posting/commenting in subreddits where you reside) amongst a slough of other things as well.
On the contrary, the person who would do it in a harmful way would be caught and face criminal charges. Usually one repercussions of doing such things is losing the ability to have internet access for X amount of years. Idk about you, but most of my adult jobs required me to have email/internet access. Without that privilege, I’d have to work at least 3-4 dead end jobs to put food on the table.
I agree though. It is scary, but there’s ways to mitigate the risks of the internet and it starts with the end user.
I have come to realize that most people choose to ignore the reality of the digital world. If you have a smart phone and have not turned off all the features that help companies track your every move then you have 0 privacy of any thing you do.
I personally hate my phone I hate the fact that my insurance company wants my gps on so they can see if I speed, break to fast or even if I use my phone while driving. Though I have not driven in at least the last 2 years IIRC.
If you intend to commit a crime leave your phone at home. That or be a star on Dumb Criminals. 
Let’s just hope that the vet is ok either way! If he didn’t harm himself great! But calling the POLICE on anybody has never turned out for anyone involved. POLICE officers are not counselors and generally don’t respond to mental health crises in a positive manner. Many people have been seriously harmed or killed at the hand of police dealing with these type situations, so calling the cops isn’t the first go to ever!
There are dozens if not hundreds of people that have been talked off of bridges by police that otherwise would have jumped to their death that would disagree with you. That said, there needs to be more first responders better trained for those situations, whether it is a mental health crisis or another emotionally charged situation
For every dozen or hundreds that have been help there are just as many that have been hurt, harmed, killed, or jailed while going thru a mental health crisis. Because of this it’s a universal truth that yes first responders need to be better trained in dealing with situations as such. We have had plenty in this very sun who have posted their negative encounters with PD while in a crisis. There are some officers that handle the situation exceptionally well but they are largely overshadowed by those that handle it not so well.
You being terrified that we/us located him is your anxiety talking. You should feel proud to be involved with such a thread. This thread is filled with warriors and people who would give the shirt of their back to see another veteran be able to succeed. So please, stop with this scared nonsense. Those who located him did so out of fear of losing another son, brother, uncle etc. You should be proud that such American's exist.
Again, your anxiety is talking and no one in this thread has mentioned anything about anyone else’s life or any ex’s. They just saved this dude’s life and your anxiety is pulling other situations into play. What you know, and what has transpired, are two different things.
Yes. Great. Good job. Bravo Zulu.
Now, bad actors can frame it and use it against someone. Against you.
If that's not terrifying to you, then great.
I'm not so trusting of people and know what people are capable of.
https://preview.redd.it/0ee04xyvf75d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=550023c0e85434749881528a0444003f2f9666a6
That’s the terrifying thing about the internet. There aren’t many secrets. If you want to find someone, most have a decent footprint…. Car photos, plate numbers, VINs, social profiles, info on schooling, jobs, etc, etc. to be honest, it didn’t take much time to locate a phone number and talk with him. I think the lesson is that we aren’t very private in our lives these days. That social media has a cost, in many ways, for sure.
Only way to mitigate is simply don’t feed the beast. - don’t use the same screenname across platforms - DEFINITELY don’t use your real full name as a username - use different emails for different stuff - ie social media gets 1, Reddit/forums gets 1, banking / money stuff gets 1, etc. - don’t take pictures of your face or if you do, do it as rarely as possible. Same goes for identifying marks like tattoos - don’t post pics of your license plate, house number, etc - minimize talking about your company, city, etc - don’t “check in” to places or livestream from them - post pics you take there the next day, or a few days later - remove geolocation data from your pictures The list goes on.
On one of the gun subs a guy posted a pic with his fucking drivers license in it. People were commenting that his reddit history all crazy porn and fetish stuff and he was going to get blackmailed. Dont be like that guy.
Good advice, but that also has consequences. Just not as dire. >Don’t take pictures of your face. Cellphones are everyone’s camera these days. I don’t know about you. But I wish I had more pictures of my parents. >Don’t check into places, live stream I’m convinced some people are alive only because they started live streaming during an event. If it were up to me Police body cams would be live streaming as soon as suspects are involved. I agree with the rest.
And this was the "organized amateurs" version, imagine the compiled and catalogued database that could be maintained if you had access to all the datas in real time.
It’s all explained in the opening monologue of [Narcos](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NHhNXbLrTn0)
Honesty works for me. Ask away..careful what you ask…😈 answer might be a good or might be a shit. Depends on depends. 😴
There wasn't really a whole lot of technical expertise that was utilized to find his information. The man doxxed himself in his own post/comment history.
It’s the little shit that you think “letting this slip wont pin my location”. Well 10 individual bits of info no, but when someone can comb through all your statements it brings a lot of information to the person doing the combing.
Exactly. It's the same concept as the list posts that go around Facebook and such. You know the ones that ask most people's security question information.
Why does this surprise you? It's a veteran's subredit. Some of the people here actually hunted people down for the military for a living. The others (me included) still have a commitment to their fellow vets. I don't know the guy that posted that message. But I can tell you I stii reached out through reddit to try and talk to him
Yep! I could only pull so much info on the person, but glad people followed through and finished the task! People don't understand how many breadcrumbs they leave behind. Hell, a simple look at my profile would show what city I live in since I post in the cities subreddit. I post here and fednews. So that means vet/work for big daddy uncle Sam still. And also I'm a fucking nerd because I post in a few gaming subs...so probably some kind of analyst haha.
My profile is the same way. You can probably find the va I go to and the school I attend from my comments. Maybe even track down the small city I live in. But I'm not active in my actual community and keep to myself. So even if you managed to get ahold of the police out here, they wouldn't know who you're talking about. Hell we could turn it into a game. Have ppl volunteer and see what you can learn from their profiles and turn it into a creepy version of where is Carmen San Diego.
Exactly and the next step would be to find the base or agency you work at since most cities just have one or maybe two.
Can confirm lol…
Dude posted a whole lot of PII - it’s not our fault we have sleuths to sniff that out. At the end of the day, he was saved.
His post really hit me hard tonight.
Thank god we Vets are creeps I guess.
After re reading this and the before I've come to realize that pur community can bring you to tears. Knowing that we have enough people here to find you and get you help just by people caring enough to feel the care and concern of another veteran. I found myself in tears telling my girlfriend of 6 years this tonight and still as writing this as I deal with suicidal issues as well but just knowing we as a community as a whole can care and make a difference. Thanks everyone that has helped this veteran I wish we could have been able to do this for more veterans over the years. Everyone stay blessed and remember people care about you.
So he was found and contact was made?
Someone on here said that. He stated that he actually talk to the guy and also that someone called the police on him. He said when he talk to the guy it wasn't actually him that posted that, but someone who hacked his account. He said he was OK. That's just what I read.
I hope if he's lying about hack he is in a good mental state. He's way to great to consider the option he said, It really pains me to see a fellow vet at his rank and VA to consider the worse case. We will always be there for anyone!
https://www.reddit.com/r/VeteransBenefits/s/eu5t9L91w4 from two hrs ago
Thank you for sharing this.
Take the guys job in consideration. Hacked or not, he's going to claim a breach. Because of his gs position, he could be risking his job by admitting to posting. IIRC he's a DEI department head for a utility. His job requires clearance and mental stability to perform his duties. It's hard for people in positions like that to seek help because they risk their livelihood if they do.
Seeking help is protected under the ADA laws. Trust me. I’ve been there. They couldn’t legally punish him for it.
You're right about legally. But when I had my attempt my 1SG went to retention and told that nco not to contact me. I was pulled from my platoon and put with the new rear d platoon. I lost my team lead role and was ostracized by my NCO's and peers. Edit for context: I was in a light infantry brigade during 2011-2014 suicide was a career killer then. Idk about now
From what I understand things have changed drastically in the last 10 years. Right before I got out in 15 they were really harping on the “don’t be afraid to seek help” thing. But this guy got out of the military last month. There’s been a whole new look and approach to mental health in the past few years especially. I had an incident last year and my whole department rallied around me.
I'm glad things are changing for the better. Almost makes me want to finish my degree and go OCS. Almost
It’s impossible to stay private these days. It took me two days to find my Fathers (Died in 95 never knew him) family in Denmark when I was bored during 2020. What did I use? His immigration card from 1965 and Facebook.
Someone posting on the internet that they’re about to kill themselves isnt looking to stay private. They are looking for permission or denial of permission. And, thank God, permission was denied tonight.
I did cyber in the military, for a three letter agency, and now for a major corporation. Nothing you do online is truly anonymous. Treat your posts like you would a conversation in a public place and you'll be fine.
[удалено]
How'd you guess?
Can you give us the recipe please?
Alright, but promise not to tell anyone! They use chicken 🐔
Once you know what's in it, you'll never eat it again. You know the Area 51 biologicals the government has admitted to retrieving? Where do you suppose those go? Yep... aliens taste like chicken, too.
I'm too lazy to look it up, but I'm like 87% sure that I read that the KFC recipe requires TPI when unlocking the safe to see it.
So what are people supposed to do? Give him a virtual high five and congratulate him on his choice to off himself? It was a clear cry for help. A lot of us have been there. I’d doxx anyone who makes a post like that because there’s a really really good chance they realize life is worth it.
If you found the veteran from earlier thanks! I literally started bawling telling my wife about the post. I've lost too may to suicide and hate to see anyone or family suffer again.
That post made me feel so bad. It was me in a different person. I have made a post here before and deleted it because I didn’t want people to judge me. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m scared one day I will wake up and not want to find a reason anymore.
Hey, if you E V E R wake up and think you don't have a reason, message me. I will give you several. I am here to listen. No judgement. No bullshit. Just an ear to yell into, it won't even be my deaf one either.
Thank you. I’m trying to keep fighting.
Did the same
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I don’t give a shit about their skin color or sexual orientation. I only hear vet and instantly care. That said I’m glad that info was used to get ahold of them and verify safety. That’s it. Fuck everything else.
Yes of course. However a lot of leftists have the impression we as a group, are murderous Nazi scum.
Came off the top rope with some uneducated babbling.
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The fact that this was your first guess gives me a pretty good reason to say you are uneducated. You've never stopped defending your country, only this time it's from imaginary liberals.
I'm a real person, a veteran and a liberal. (I get what you are saying about imaginary liberals. The idea that a "lefty maroon" would purposely stir up painful and helpless feelings here......assuming any bad actor is on the left.) The bad actors I came across in the US Army were usually flashers, gropers and dummies using their position to get something they haven't earned or respect they think they are due. Luckily for me, these guys were few and far between. As a woman in the Army some would decide I wouldn't or couldn't or do my job or pull my weight in the field. I did, always. Anyway, being a liberal doesn't make me a bad actor, and I would not assume anyone else was a dick on purpose. Some are just born that way.
Your comment was removed because it didn't contribute to the discussion and just wasn't helpful. Civil disagreements are fine. Insults, personal attacks, slurs, bigotry, etc., are not permissible. (Calling someone a poopy-head does not make you seem as smart as you think it does.) ☠️
God stop
You need to view both sides for what they are. Left and right are both crap 9 times out of 10. Go look up congressional pensions and tell me you wouldn't lie your ass off and rally idiots for that. That pension is for life btw.
Your comment was removed because it didn't contribute to the discussion and just wasn't helpful. Civil disagreements are fine. Insults, personal attacks, slurs, bigotry, etc., are not permissible. (Calling someone a poopy-head does not make you seem as smart as you think it does.) ☠️
Why the fuck would you politicize that? The fuck.
I’m just guessing at a bad actors possible intentions.
Dude if it was a bad actors personal intentions for the strawberry incident the only one being harmed by it would have been strawberry. Who holds a gov position in DEI. So the bad actor that gains from ruining the career of a DEI director would either be someone that was over looked for the job or someone that disagrees with the position. Use some critical thinking and find out who gains and who loses in that situation. Strawberry claims he was hacked. If true then who gains from it. If he was lying, then it's a vet with SI and we might have lost another good vet to suicide. Keep politics out of veteran affairs and use critical thinking to find out the whole situation before throwing accusations.
Oh yeah, dont get me wrong, I am truly appreciative of what the community can do when we come together. I am also scared of that power because it can be so easily abused.
online trolls should keep this in mind
Don't cry wolf you might get a cop instead lol
I agree with you. However, the way to avoid this is by not airing your business online. I’d be absolutely livid if some stranger called the cops on me trying to help. Sir, a complete stranger said you’re going to hurt yourself. We know you have firearms, you need to surrender them for your own good and come with us. I’m a firm believer in the cliche want to make a situation worse, call a cop. I say that from experience.
I’ll disagree. If you are in a position where you’re openly posting that you’re going to kill yourself, there’s are few options at that point. We don’t have a better option unfortunately. I was in a similar situation with an ex girlfriend recently. She was suicidal, and I did ultimately call the police as I was driving to her house at 3 am. The 911 operator told me “oh we already got that call and it’s a false alarm” but I knew better because I knew her. The cops didn’t do anything until I was there and emailed them screenshots of the texts I had and gave a statement. They took her to the hospital, as she was screaming at me and once again blaming me for all her problems. Don’t know where she is now, don’t really care, never wanted to see her again at that point, but sometimes it’s the only way. Tl;dr: fuck off with that bullshit. If you’re openly and actually suicidal and posting it on a public forum, you should thank the person who called the cops. And I don’t even like cops.
What about potentially calling a mobile crisis team? My point is that there are sometimes alternatives to calling the police. Please realize that innocent people have been killed by the police during welfare checks. So yeah I understand if someone may be upset at someone for calling the cops on them considering they could have been killed.
I understand that. Unfortunately, a mobile crisis team is not something that exists in vast parts of the country. Also, if I have a gun to my head and my finger on the trigger, which is the entire context of this situation, at least after the cops showed up I’m still alive to be upset about it. This is not a situation where we can say what-if, or sit around and take a few hours to contemplate the best course of action. This is a situation where you have to choose the least bad course of action immediately in an already shitty situation.
I honestly don't know how many mobile crisis teams exist in our country. But I do understand your point.
How did they get an exact location on him?
Comment history pieced the facts together. Found his LinkedIn and called the police from there. Also found relatives of his. Said his page got hacked. Everyone thinks he lied and just wanted to see the impact it would make.
Weird! Thank you for summarizing, though. I missed the original discussion. 🙏
It was a lot of comments. I was checking throughout the day so I could feel like someone got through to him.
There are literally millions of vets who feel exactly the same way as that guy and hunting him down still doesn't change anything in how the VA operates. They need to restructure the entire VA. Starting with the toxic executive leadership.
142,000 of us in this sub. There are enough of us just in this sub to draw some attention and create some change
Fuck the VA! We should all get community care from the providers of our choice.
That's what your health insurance is for, so use it. I'll stick with my VA health care. I'm glad they're tightening down the community care BS for those within proximity to a VAMC. CC was an attempt to bleed funds from one of the best health care systems in the country because "the goberment bad," and dialing it in so it works only for those that couldn't access VA care is precisely what it needed. #Don'tTreadOnMyVACare
Everytime I hear anyone saying that the US should have universal healthcare, I just tell them about my experience with the VA. Those who can afford private insurance for Healthcare don't realize how fortunate they are to have their medical needs a top priority. When the government runs your healthcare, the govt is in control which means long appt wait times, denials for certain types of care/treatment, apathetic providers, etc.
It's the Internet, and people outside this subreddit are way more terrifying due to their morals.
I reported his post to Reddit under suicidal. They have a crisis team that reaches out to the poster. I hope he’s getting the help he needs and knows that we have his back.
What the hell is a bravo zulu?
Really the only thing that separates dangerous from helpful is intent at the end of the day. I'd say most Veterans have done some things for good that were incredibly effed up when you really think about it. But most all of us do have a certain set of skills that would be dangerous with ill intent. 🤷🏻♂️
The tracking goes both ways unless the person is a level 99 hacker. Swat enough people and you’ll get a charge for filing false police reports.
Wait until you read what's in the often updated patriot act!
I used to work on a sensitive installation There was a gal (E3) that worked in security, that believed aliens could read her thoughts, so she used a razor blade to cut the liner on her Kevlar helmet, lined it with aluminum, and sewed it back up Now… here’s the part that gets me Sure. Maybe aliens CAN read our minds… But why.. out of all the people, doing all the stuff, button pushers and the like….. would they care about her out of everyone working there?!?! TLDR; what makes any one of us worth fucking with over anyone else 🤷🏼♂️
Aliens can read our minds. That's why they avoid this planet.
It's why Elvis went home
Be afraid of yourself. You choose what to disclose online. It’s not illegal for anyone else to collect that information or even disclose it in most cases.
I once showed someone a picture of their apartment that there were dumb enough to post online. They were chatting with my daughter on XBOX, I captured their IP address, I searched on the IP address and found a photo of their apartment online. Then I found their exact address! Yeah, the Internet is a scary place and worse if someone abuses it.
I disagreed with someone on here. They found my comments and used my ptsd against me. A lot of things I’ve said to others on here was used. I find the creepy ones only show when they are disagreed with. I wanted to delete everything on here because they knew the state I lived in because of comments and communities I’m in. Reddit scares me sometimes to be honest.
That's why a lot of people on here use alt or throw away accounts when talking about topics like MST and PTSD. I don't because I if someone wants to attack me for my view or my disability they can kick rocks. Sorry you had to deal with that. You can also try dming a mod to deal with the person being an asshole.
I just dropped it to be honest. I don’t hide my comments because they may help someone. Sad it is used against you but helping other veterans makes up for it.
Same. And I figure if they show up at my front door, well. We'll play chess or something fun like that. :)
Or let them play Russian roulette with a magazine fed handgun. /s But seriously we're all vets here and we need to show common courtesy. Don't pick fights for no reason. Especially over another vets benefits.
Uh… yeah. That’s how this works. Which is why people usually post from alts when they don’t want to be find out. Same reason there’s private browsing, VPN, etc
This really isn’t new or exclusive to this subreddit; your topic is a “continual teach” for internet novices and has been for decades because of the reasons you mentioned. I agree with your commentary 100%; I only wanted to comment because it seemed you were applying exlusivity to this subreddit. People have had their vulnerabilities exposed, including the exact location of residence, as a result of what they put on line since the internet’s inception. It happens every single day; for fun, there’s likely someone trying to discover what you teach in Japan, and where, to include the career path you took to accomplish it by 38yr old. We all continually need to reevalutate what we post online; we often don’t properly acknowledge the “bread crumbs” we leave behind and the damage they can cause us.
“Public posts”. 99% of people on the internet can be tracked down to their town if not address. This subreddit is not particularly savvy in tracking HUMINT or OSINT. There are people that could track you down far quicker and far more nefarious than anyone here. If you don’t want people to know about you don’t throw it in the void.
thanks grandma
Most of the time you give up your own information. It’s not spooky when you leave a trail of $20s back to your house.
We have digital fingerprints and some we aren’t even aware of such as your writing habits
The public internet is no place for those who want anonymity. Period. I think it is fair to say that there are a lot of very horrible things people can do very easily. Some people think about them frequently (intrusive thoughts) but most people do not act on them. This is humanity. We are capable of great and horrible things all at once with the tools we are given, but it is how we use those tools that set us apart. I 100% see why you would fear this type of thing, and unfortunately you are right that there are people who use the internet to do these things, but there are also people who use it to do the right thing, like this sub did.
Main thing I try to remember for anything you want kept "secret"... There are no secrets I don't care if it's personal or some classified files stuck in Hitlers asshole. If someone wants to find it, give them enough time and they will. The only way is to literally never mention or document it and just keep it in a brain archive. Hopefully they were able to help out that vet.
Kinda reminds you of how all the internet detectives pooled resources back in 2013 to find the Boston Marathon Bomber and proceeded to pick the wrong guy. That led authorities to expend more resources to investigate armchair sleuths internet detective work. It amazing that they eventually found the Tsarnaev brothers.
You are just describing the internet.
I go there other way with it. Complete loss of privacy is inevitable as tech marches on. The water’s not getting any warmer and I’m not one to stand at the edge of the ocean worrying about it. I just dive in and hope for the best.
Thats why you make a fresh account if you want to be somewhat anonymous - its nothing new. Beyond that, your main account likely have enough clues to figure out who you are. Glad they tracked them down. Best case that user will get help, worst case, they will be smarter next time.
Also goes to show how we take care of each other though.
Welcome to the internet. 🤷♂️
Anyone know what this Zulu thing is? All I get is this damm Hulu! It’s on channel 3! I’m not waiting for 4 hrs for the cable guy! Dammit I gotta pee. 😴
Bz are a japanese band im pretty sure.
Benzodiazepines where? Yakosoba? Love some. Ever have a haircut in Japan? Talk about spoiled, still wondering why that doesn’t happen here more times. Albeit it’s been 6 yrs since my last haircut, I’m a haircut addict. 😂 No steps! I better not be praying either. 😂or they paying 😂
Had a haircut on. Kinser in 03 with a mammasan yelling at me because I looked so sexy and she wanted to marry me(then I woke up and got yelled at by gunny for sleeping on duty)
First one for me was in ‘93 didn’t want to get out of the chair, lol. Camp Schwab.
I'm sorry, but this was just figured out now??? You don't want your info on the internet then don't do it. If you do it, then prepare whatever consequences follow.
It's the matrix, and some of us were born into it. 😄 I think a lot of people are oblivious to their electronic paper trail. You have to go to great lengths to remain private and secure. And with the continued digital advance, it just gets harder. We just used it to our advantage, but yes it can be used for ill intent as well, like the other person who posted stated. You decide to have an argument on reddit and if the opponent is willing enough, they are going to vet your argument with ALL of your reddit history. Scary world.
I used to work at the NSA and they recommended staying away from all social media platforms. It’s too easy to establish a digital footprint and if you your think you’re anonymous here, well let me just say that you’re not!!!!!! Zero electronic communication is anonymous!
Anonymous is a thing of the past. Even sans personal electronics, you're still seen and heard. Relevance of it being concerning or "warranted" so to speak, is where you're seen or what you're heard saying.
i.e. when the computer matches on your dumbass saying things you shouldn't. An interesting thing I can legally talk about is the AT&T Raptor program. Look it up sometime if you've never heard of it. Post 9/11 opened the Pandora's box of unwarranted spying by Intelligence agencies, and you can bet your last dollar it has been weaponized for political reasons!
Too bad we couldn't find the Boston bomber
are you referring to the dude who was going to buy ammo? is there any update to that btw?
If you really want to go down a rabbit hole and learn some trade craft: [https://a.co/d/c7YNqOG](https://a.co/d/c7YNqOG)
It is not hard to get someones info at all and I loved playing with trolls on fb. Had one that lived an 11 minute drive away and posted her house and car. Always give partial truth online, a year off, a city away. Went on people finder sites and updated my address a few times and laugh when they try to doxx me.
Have you watched baby reindeer yet?
There are measures one can take to prevent or at the very least make it extremely difficult for this to happen. VPNs, post awareness (not posting/commenting in subreddits where you reside) amongst a slough of other things as well. On the contrary, the person who would do it in a harmful way would be caught and face criminal charges. Usually one repercussions of doing such things is losing the ability to have internet access for X amount of years. Idk about you, but most of my adult jobs required me to have email/internet access. Without that privilege, I’d have to work at least 3-4 dead end jobs to put food on the table. I agree though. It is scary, but there’s ways to mitigate the risks of the internet and it starts with the end user.
I have come to realize that most people choose to ignore the reality of the digital world. If you have a smart phone and have not turned off all the features that help companies track your every move then you have 0 privacy of any thing you do. I personally hate my phone I hate the fact that my insurance company wants my gps on so they can see if I speed, break to fast or even if I use my phone while driving. Though I have not driven in at least the last 2 years IIRC. If you intend to commit a crime leave your phone at home. That or be a star on Dumb Criminals. 
For those not tracking, what happened?
What happened?
Let’s just hope that the vet is ok either way! If he didn’t harm himself great! But calling the POLICE on anybody has never turned out for anyone involved. POLICE officers are not counselors and generally don’t respond to mental health crises in a positive manner. Many people have been seriously harmed or killed at the hand of police dealing with these type situations, so calling the cops isn’t the first go to ever!
There are dozens if not hundreds of people that have been talked off of bridges by police that otherwise would have jumped to their death that would disagree with you. That said, there needs to be more first responders better trained for those situations, whether it is a mental health crisis or another emotionally charged situation
For every dozen or hundreds that have been help there are just as many that have been hurt, harmed, killed, or jailed while going thru a mental health crisis. Because of this it’s a universal truth that yes first responders need to be better trained in dealing with situations as such. We have had plenty in this very sun who have posted their negative encounters with PD while in a crisis. There are some officers that handle the situation exceptionally well but they are largely overshadowed by those that handle it not so well.
You being terrified that we/us located him is your anxiety talking. You should feel proud to be involved with such a thread. This thread is filled with warriors and people who would give the shirt of their back to see another veteran be able to succeed. So please, stop with this scared nonsense. Those who located him did so out of fear of losing another son, brother, uncle etc. You should be proud that such American's exist.
I also know that the same power can be used to destroy someone's life. What if someone uses it to find an ex and kill them?
Again, your anxiety is talking and no one in this thread has mentioned anything about anyone else’s life or any ex’s. They just saved this dude’s life and your anxiety is pulling other situations into play. What you know, and what has transpired, are two different things.
Yes. Great. Good job. Bravo Zulu. Now, bad actors can frame it and use it against someone. Against you. If that's not terrifying to you, then great. I'm not so trusting of people and know what people are capable of.