When Someone Takes Your Picture as Their Avatar... (Be Careful Out There!)

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zeroturbulence said:
Next time I get the urge to post my pic again, I will post this instead....:sneaky:

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Captain Underpants??
 
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seoulsearch said:
It's really a sad thing that the internet can be such a place of abuse and mistrust. :(

I would love to share more pictures with my CC family but have been very cautious about doing so. I'm always trying to find the balance between common sense, wise discernment, and utter paranoia.

I'm by no means an expert, but another problem I've heard about is that people can take your photo and then put your face onto other images, such as in situations you'd rather not have your image be associated with. And there are plenty of people out there who will do that, whether a stranger with too much time, or someone you might know who acts out of spite (such as a disgruntled co-worker.)

Just imagine having your boss, co-workers, family, or even strangers looking at pictures of "you"--in photos that would not only be embarrassing (because there will always be some people who don't know any better or want to believe it's true), but could cost you your job and reputation.

Does anyone else out there have stories of internet scams or things that they've dealt with?

I would really like to hear your stories, along with any tips or advice you have regarding internet safety.
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Well that is a big bummer...

Just when I was beginning to get comfortable sharing more pics... I'm a very private person... Aside from my fairly new FB page which is limited to about 30 family members - CC is the only place that I have ever posted a photo for public viewing...

I can only imagine how upset these two guys must be after someone took the liberty of first taking their photos without their permission and then stealing their faces and cropping them upon a completely rival faction... crimany...

Sorry, just trying to add some levity to this sabotage/scenario... what are people thinking...

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seoulsearch said:
Just to clarify...

The person who messaged me was using an avatar of a young guy (I'd guess to be mid-to-late 20ish) without a shirt on (pictures of half-clothed people are usually a warning as it is, but I didn't want to judge prematurely), and his profile claimed to be from the UK. I doubt any of those things were actually him--and I'm guessing it was a him, since several other ladies have said he tried to message them too--but of course, you never really know.

After about 2 exchanges of small talk, he complimented my picture, and the next thing I knew, it was my own avatar that was answering me back. When I checked his profile, he had changed it to my picture. I then asked him to change it and to not use my picture.

This is when he started saying repeatedly that I must be using a fake picture or I wouldn't make a big deal about it, and that I wouldn't have changed my avatar in response. I'm guessing that he was going to attempt to try to manipulate me into sending pictures, getting on camera, or sending some kind of other personal info in order to try to "prove" who I really am.

For anyone who isn't familiar with these kinds of games, please don't fall for it. You don't owe strangers you don't know on the internet any kind of information about yourself.

However, then there is also the flipside of catfish--people who claim to be someone they're not, or won't give you any proof that they are who they say they are when you've developed a "close" friendship or relationship with them, but... that's an entirely different discussion.
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Oh well that makes PERFECT sense! If it was a real picture of you, OF COURSE you wouldn't mind a bit for him to use it for his avatar. That's a load of horse manure in every... er, I mean I understand that completely.

I just wonder how many people he gets to fall for that "logic."
 
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For some reason this whole issue reminds me of the reason CC (Creative Commons) licenses were invented. It's a computer/internet thing - CC licenses protect authors from people who would steal their code, or music, or art that they posted online.

Say somebody makes a program and puts it up online for free. Then somebody else copies that program, makes a few changes just for the purpose of being able to call it his own program, then patents it and sends the original author a cease-and-desist letter.

That is what a CC license protects authors from.

It seems silly to apply a CC license to an avatar picture, but it may come down to that...
 
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Wow. That's not cool.

If anyone's ever used a photo of mine on the internet as their own, I'm at least unaware of it. I did once have someone screenshot my picture here and use it in a thread post for reasons I can't even remember. They're actually a well-known member and meant no harm, but I had to have their post edited because if my picture is going to be made permanent in a post, that's up to me.
 
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seoulsearch said:
Hey Everyone,

Just to let you know--I had someone contact me via the new instant message system here who complimented me on my picture and then almost immediately put my picture up onto his/her profile as THEIR avatar picture.

I have asked them twice to please change their avatar, and their first response was to accuse me of using a fake picture, and their second is to ignore me when I asked them to change their picture.

Via CC site policy, I won't name a name because I believe that's against the rules.

I am now in the process of getting this mess cleaned up.

It's so discouraging because it would be nice to share pictures here, but obviously, some people will abuse it, so now I'm torn about ever wanting to show pictures here again.

Please, be careful out there!!!

And, if you see any posts that are using the picture I had up, PLEASE, make sure it's really me before being duped into believing someone else's words who is just using my picture.

Be safe out there and God bless!

I probably won't post much until this is taken care of.
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They say mimicry is the highest form of flattery. 🙂
 
BruceWayne said:
Wow. That's not cool.

If anyone's ever used a photo of mine on the internet as their own, I'm at least unaware of it. I did once have someone screenshot my picture here and use it in a thread post for reasons I can't even remember. They're actually a well-known member and meant no harm, but I had to have their post edited because if my picture is going to be made permanent in a post, that's up to me.
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Note to self - Do not post pics of Batman without his permission..

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:p
 
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seoulsearch said:
Hey Everyone,

Just to let you know--I had someone contact me via the new instant message system here who complimented me on my picture and then almost immediately put my picture up onto his/her profile as THEIR avatar picture.

I have asked them twice to please change their avatar, and their first response was to accuse me of using a fake picture, and their second is to ignore me when I asked them to change their picture.

Via CC site policy, I won't name a name because I believe that's against the rules.

I am now in the process of getting this mess cleaned up.

It's so discouraging because it would be nice to share pictures here, but obviously, some people will abuse it, so now I'm torn about ever wanting to show pictures here again.

Please, be careful out there!!!

And, if you see any posts that are using the picture I had up, PLEASE, make sure it's really me before being duped into believing someone else's words who is just using my picture.

Be safe out there and God bless!

I probably won't post much until this is taken care of.
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I have had a not so nice experience online with my pic. Someone took my pic and my email and posted it on a not so reputable site. Ever since then I am very cautious about sharing my pic. People are cruel and not everyone is a Christian, even here.
 
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HoneyDew said:
I have had a not so nice experience online with my pic. Someone took my pic and my email and posted it on a not so reputable site. Ever since then I am very cautious about sharing my pic. People are cruel and not everyone is a Christian, even here.
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OMG - what kind of people would post a cute Bernese mountain dog pic on a not so reputable site... oh the horror... lol
sorry I couldn't resist... complementing your cute pup pic...
 
Ya that one of the reasons why I don't post a pic of myself. No one will never
know who I am or possibly my gender.
Since people are capable of using other pic and could photoshop or possible make it as a porn out of it. They could also created a fake account using pic and advertisers through some websites or make it as online dating website account.
 
BTW have u ever thought of reporting to one of C.C staff and take a screenshot to one of the person who using ur profile pic. So they can banned them.
 
Hey Everyone,

I know this thread is dead in the water, but I just wanted to give an update.

At the suggestion of a friend, I did a search on the old avatar picture I had up (that was a bit clearer). That picture was from 2018, so I'd used it on and off, and when I did the search, I saw that someone was kind enough to have stolen that picture...

And ironically, was not only using it as their own avatar, but also put up my picture on a review site that was unabashedly slamming this Christian Chat (i.e., several people, many of whom said they had been banned, publicly complaining about the site.)

Apparently, someone wanted to use my image to make it look like I was one of the people who was bashing the site elsewhere on the internet. I don't know if it was someone random who just saw my picture or someone from CC who just didn't like me (either one is completely possible.) I have to wonder if maybe someone had also wanted to try to get me banned as well, and would send the mods my stolen picture on this site as "evidence".

I didn't look around much else after that, because I figure whatever people are going to do, you can't stop them... and I had to tell God it's all in his hands.

And I didn't want to let that stop me from trying to show the person behind the posts... therefore...

I put up another "old" picture (it's from either 2017 or 2018--I'd have to check) showing off my inept photography skills (yes, I blinked as I was taking the picture.)

After all, I figure... If people want to steal a picture, it might as well be a really BAD one! :)

God bless and stay safe out there. <3
 
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There’s a review site of this site? Trolls have way too much time. Or need to find better uses of it.

I did the pic misfire. I get a lot of shots of my dog’s tail as he walks out of frame when I take picture of him.
 
I’m going to have to reconsider my time here after finding this sites get 1 Star on a random review site I have never heard of.
 
Hamarr said:
There’s a review site of this site? Trolls have way too much time. Or need to find better uses of it.

I did the pic misfire. I get a lot of shots of my dog’s tail as he walks out of frame when I take picture of him.
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Unfortunately, if something (or someone) that exists and someone has had a problem with it... there is plenty of space on the internet for people to go out there and anonymously complain about it.
 
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seoulsearch said:
Unfortunately, if something (or someone) that exists and someone has had a problem with it... there is plenty of space on the internet for people to go out there and anonymously complain about it.
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I guess I am just used to sites where there’s a small exodus of complainers that form a splinter site. Those splinter sites usually have a thread or forum dedicated to complaining about the site they left.

Maybe leaving a bunch of 1 Star reviews is healthier? Though, I did see some posting the same crazy theories at multiple sites.

Sorry they keep stealing your pictures.
 
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