Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Someone's using my name. What do I do?

M

moonman239

Cancelled
Original poster
Mar 27, 2009
1,541
32
Preface: I don't believe this is a case of identity theft.
Also, "name" here refers to first and last name.

I Googled my name a couple days ago and found a YouTube profile with my name. As far as I know, that's the only thing my profile has in common with this profile.

I PMed the other person, asking him to change his name on his profile. I realize that it's indeed possible that he has the same name, but my name is very unique.

I also updated my channel's description to say "I am not xxxx."

I could also:
1) Make a picture of myself my profile picture.
2) Ask YouTube to see if the guy is impersonating me.
3) Ask the guy to put his face either on his profile or in a video.
 
moonman239 said:
Preface: I don't believe this is a case of identity theft.
Also, "name" here refers to first and last name.

I Googled my name a couple days ago and found a YouTube profile with my name. As far as I know, that's the only thing my profile has in common with this profile.

I PMed the other person, asking him to change his name on his profile. I realize that it's indeed possible that he has the same name, but my name is very unique.

I also updated my channel's description to say "I am not xxxx."

I could also:
1) Make a picture of myself my profile picture.
2) Ask YouTube to see if the guy is impersonating me.
3) Ask the guy to put his face either on his profile or in a video.
Click to expand...

Unique name? You realise how many people there are on the planet right? I have an uncommon surname and was surprised when at a conference many years ago when an American guy rushed up to me to say he had seen my name badge at the entrance table and had been waiting to meet me as he had never met anyone outside his family with the same name.

Unless he is copying your stuff and pretending to be you, not really much you can do IMO.
 
Person I know very well has no internet footprint at all - they just never use the internet in any way, shape or form, much less social media.

He has a unique name, so he surmised that no one else had it either.

Boy was he surprised when I showed him 4 people on Facebook with his exact name, in his state no less.
 
moonman239 said:
Preface: I don't believe this is a case of identity theft.
Also, "name" here refers to first and last name.

I Googled my name a couple days ago and found a YouTube profile with my name. As far as I know, that's the only thing my profile has in common with this profile.

I PMed the other person, asking him to change his name on his profile. I realize that it's indeed possible that he has the same name, but my name is very unique.

I also updated my channel's description to say "I am not xxxx."

I could also:
1) Make a picture of myself my profile picture.
2) Ask YouTube to see if the guy is impersonating me.
3) Ask the guy to put his face either on his profile or in a video.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't worry about it. I think contacting him and asking that he change his name was a bit much.

You are going to run into people with the same last name. Unless he is trying to deceive people or steal your identity, I say leave him and YouTube alone.
 
The other guy is probably thinking, "Someone is using my name".

You'll probably get a request to change your name in a few days. :D
 
There's an actor who is using my name as his stage name which really bugs me. I'll see you in court Hugh Jassman.
 
7 billion people in the world, there's bound to be others with the same name. My name is very common and so I've had to deal with this all my life. Make your site unique and personable, and that should hopefully differentiate it from the other.
 
If you had sent me that request I would have laughed my arse off. It is perfectly possible for 2 people to have the same name. You sound pretty paranoid thinking that they must be impersonating you (why would they even want to anyway?).

My surname is a rather unique spelling of a common surname (it is welsh) but I was surprised to find a rather large number of people with the same surname on Facebook (and was rather disappointed to realise that some of them were bat **** crazy tea party supporters and extremist Christian nut jobs, I guess our end of the family is the sensible atheist branch).
 
So basically you're upset that somewhere in the world, someone has the same name as you? :rolleyes:
 
I would be thankful my last name was not Wong or Wang. Then you might be dealing with thousands or tens of thousands of people with your same name.
 
There are 7.125 Billion people on the planet at the time that I'm posting this. Surely, at least two of those people share the same name.
 
According to Wolfram Alpha, there are 2,741 males and 6,406 females with my first name in the US population. Those are actually estimates based on mortality data (from the US Social Security Administration, I assume).

7B people in the world, yes, there's a possibility that two people with unique names have the same name. Unfortunately, some employers/hiring managers will type my name into Google, and I don't want them to get the wrong idea about me.
 
moonman239 said:
According to Wolfram Alpha, there are 2,741 males and 6,406 females with my first name in the US population. Those are actually estimates based on mortality data (from the US Social Security Administration, I assume).

7B people in the world, yes, there's a possibility that two people with unique names have the same name. Unfortunately, some employers/hiring managers will type my name into Google, and I don't want them to get the wrong idea about me.
Click to expand...

If this person shares your name, asking them to stop using it will only be met with derisive laughter.
 
moonman239 said:
Unfortunately, some employers/hiring managers will type my name into Google, and I don't want them to get the wrong idea about me.
Click to expand...
Well, presumably the other moonman239's interests (Chloe Moretz, tentacle erotica, and Chloe vs Squid fanfics) sufficiently deviate from how you present yourself elsewhere in your online life that hirers will be able to differentiate between the two of you.
 
moonman239 said:
Unfortunately, some employers/hiring managers will type my name into Google, and I don't want them to get the wrong idea about me.
Click to expand...

In a previous job, I was involved in applicant background investigations and this actually came up all the time. Just tell the prospective employer what you have discovered and that it is not you, and you will be fine.
 
mojolicious said:
Well, presumably the other moonman239's interests (Chloe Moretz, tentacle erotica, and Chloe vs Squid fanfics) sufficiently deviate from how you present yourself elsewhere in your online life that hirers will be able to differentiate between the two of you.
Click to expand...

That would certainly make for quite a conversation in an interview!!
 
Apple fanboy said:
I have an uncommon surname and was surprised when at a conference many years ago when an American guy rushed up to me to say he had seen my name badge at the entrance table and had been waiting to meet me as he had never met anyone outside his family with the same name.
Click to expand...

I have yet to meet someone unrelated to me with the same spelling of my surname. But the internet reveals such people exist, or did exist. One was a famous Shakespere scholar. (I'm not; can't even spell his name.)
 
I've been irritated for 6 years getting debt collector phone calls for another David P. It just so happens we have different middle initials, and thankfully different SSNs, but that does not stop the collectors who I believe generate a list of all people with that first and last name and go down the list. Recently I changed my home phone number so hopefully it will be a long reprieve.
 
Huntn said:
I've been irritated for 6 years getting debt collector phone calls for another David P.
Click to expand...


Soooo, which one is the real deal? :D

On another, (also) totally irrelevant, note it's one of the advantages of being a man: being googled doesn't bring up all these nude pics..phew!
 
TheAppleFairy said:
I think either the old guy with the beard or the chick with the tattoos.
Click to expand...

My educated guess would be this: (David P. + World of Warcraft = gotcha!) :p
 

Attachments

  • index.jpg
    index.jpg
    3.8 KB · Views: 273
Huntn said:
I've been irritated for 6 years getting debt collector phone calls for another David P. It just so happens we have different middle initials, and thankfully different SSNs, but that does not stop the collectors who I believe generate a list of all people with that first and last name and go down the list. Recently I changed my home phone number so hopefully it will be a long reprieve.
Click to expand...

probably the first thing those pesky collectors do is a search for people with the name they're looking for.....who've recently changed their phone number.....then they start with them :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back