CassandrichFeb 26

PSA: The Amazon wishlist doxing threat is much greater and more immediate than folks might realize. Attack works like this:

Stalker who wants your address opens an Amazon seller account and lists themselves as a third party seller for any item on your public wishlist. Then, they order the item from themselves as a gift for you. Bam, they have your address.

In particular, attack does not depend on an existing third party seller having poor PII handling hygiene, like the articles have implied.

Show threadJohan Pelck Olsen
@dalias I don’t understand why anyone would ever want a public wishlist, even disregarding stalkers and the like. Seriously, how is it of public interest that you’d like a new bathrobe?
Feb 26 at 9:00pmWeb
Show threadCassandrichFeb 26
@jpkolsen It's a way for fans to compensate people whose work they appreciate who can't easily take payment. AIUI one big place this comes up, and where doxing is a huge threat, is sex work. But really for anyone doing things where there's a parasocial relationship with an audience the same applies.
Show threadJohan Pelck OlsenFeb 26
@dalias so, an author you like writes a book and you post it on your wishlist as a type of micro-advertisement, is that it? I feel like the world is getting weirder quicker than I’m comfortable with….
Show threadCassandrichFeb 26
@jpkolsen No, more like a bunch of people watch your live streaming and want to thank you for providing them entertainment, so you have a public wishlist of things they can buy for you as part of the parasocial relationship.
Show threadDr Ro SmithFeb 27
@jpkolsen @dalias It's a form of mutual aid. As a disabled person I cannot work and can barely leave the house. it's a pretty bleak existence. A wishlist lets people who care about me buy things for me and my cat that we need or that will lift our spirits. Not everything is a grift.
Show threadJohan Pelck OlsenFeb 27
@Rhube @dalias I’m sorry to hear about your situation. I wasn’t assuming a grift - I genuinely had no idea why anyone would want to publicize what I assumed were birthday wishes etc.
Show threadBruce B (he/him)Feb 28
@jpkolsen @dalias In the animal fostering community it is quite common to set up a wishlist for supplies.