Cash in the house

Doodledog

Allira

Doodledog

I was asking about emergency money, and more than once tried to stop the move towards people over sharing. I’m not sure that details about Gladys in Macclesfield will be all over the Dark Web though. That does seem like scaremongering.

Oh, thank goodness for that Doodledog

Gladys Jones
23 Railway Cuttings
Macclesfield

You can't be Gladys Jones, as I happen to know that she is on her holidays for the next fortnight. I go in on Monday afternoons to water the plants, but she is definitely not there the rest of the time, as the place is empty.

We may meet when I fetch her dog for walking.

I'm so excited DD.

Allira

Doodledog

I was asking about emergency money, and more than once tried to stop the move towards people over sharing. I’m not sure that details about Gladys in Macclesfield will be all over the Dark Web though. That does seem like scaremongering.

Oh, thank goodness for that Doodledog

Gladys Jones
23 Railway Cuttings
Macclesfield

You can't be Gladys Jones, as I happen to know that she is on her holidays for the next fortnight. I go in on Monday afternoons to water the plants, but she is definitely not there the rest of the time, as the place is empty.

I think Facebook is probably the more likely medium that would-be burglars might look at.

Silverbrooks

It’s neither paranoid nor scaremongering. It’s being sensible about what someone divulges on a public forum.

If it’s possible to get someone’s email address through a database hack (which it is) then that opens the door to piece together all kinds of data about a person’s life - just as the Police and HMRC do in investigations - part of which is searching social media for data about that person, their possessions, their habits and their movements.

Say GrannyIvy posts on GM every day. A would-be scammer could already have pieced together a lot about her life. Today she writes: Good Morning from a chilly Macclesfield. This morning, we’re going to Barclays to collect our Euros, then to M&S to buy me a new swimsuit. We’re taking the dog to the kennels this afternoon then we’re off tomorrow on the 10:00 am flight from Manchester to Alicante for two weeks in sunny Javea.

Good chance then that the house is going to be empty else the dog wouldn’t have to go to the kennels.

Say the GN members database has already been hacked and the hackers now have everybody’s email address. They search the dark web and find an entry which links [email protected] to an address Remote Cottage, Quiet Lane, Macclesfield and a phone number. Bingo.

They sell the data to a criminal network who now know the house is going to be empty for two weeks. And/or it’s sold to scammers who will call Ivy when she gets back. Hello, this is Barclays Bank. We’re calling about an irregular transaction on your account relating to M&S.

There was a recent thread about Suckers Lists. If you don’t believe that a forum populated mostly by elderly women posting daily about their lifestyle and activities could be a target for criminal networks, that’s up to you. I’m just saying that it’s possible and that people should be careful about what they divulge on a public forum including how much cash they carry or keep in the house. Thieves aren’t necessarily looking for large amounts. Some just want enough cash to pay their drug dealer. And if they now know where GrannyIvy lives and that she always carries £200 in her purse, she’s making herself a sitting target to be mugged as she walks to the bus stop.

I was once on holiday in Scotland and noticed a Facebook post by an old friend suggesting she was nearby on holiday. I contacted her to suggest we met up as I hadn't seen her for a number of years, but she was already home hundreds of miles away. She and her husband had obviously followed the advice not to post your holiday snaps etc while still away! I generally follow that advice myself so was pleased my old friend was doing the same.

Doodledog

I was asking about emergency money, and more than once tried to stop the move towards people over sharing. I’m not sure that details about Gladys in Macclesfield will be all over the Dark Web though. That does seem like scaremongering.

Oh, thank goodness for that Doodledog

Gladys Jones
23 Railway Cuttings
Macclesfield

I mostly use cards but like to have a small amount of cash in my purse for things like donations for coffee at a charity event I attend weekly, or the odd purchase at the market. It does concern me that we are so dependant on technology and these cyber attacks seem to be becoming more frequent, but now there are places that don't accept cash. I don't know how my mum would have coped if she was still alive as she did everything with cash or cheques.. I still use 1 or 2 cheques a year and wouldn't want them to be discontinued altogether.

Incidentally I’m sure the name GrannyIvy was used as a fictitious one and the address certainly was, but I’ve got a feeling there is a GN member with that name.

There is and inappropriate to use that name as an example.

Most of us on the Good morning thread don’t actually give the town they live in, GNHQ advises against giving out personal details.

Although I suppose Silverbrooks is theoretically correct, it’s also true that a lot of burglaries are opportunistic- which house on the street looks the least secure etc.

It always surprises me too how many people shut all their curtains whenever they go away.
I certainly haven’t got a burglar’s mindset but for instance I can always tell when a family a few doors down is on holiday by that very fact.

Incidentally I’m sure the name GrannyIvy was used as a fictitious one and the address certainly was, but I’ve got a feeling there is a GN member with that name.

Good

Too many people want to control others.

Skegness , when I visited, seems to have “cash only Fleur” everywhere apart from big shops like Boots and Iceland !

It’s neither paranoid nor scaremongering. It’s being sensible about what someone divulges on a public forum.

If it’s possible to get someone’s email address through a database hack (which it is) then that opens the door to piece together all kinds of data about a person’s life - just as the Police and HMRC do in investigations - part of which is searching social media for data about that person, their possessions, their habits and their movements.

Say GrannyIvy posts on GM every day. A would-be scammer could already have pieced together a lot about her life. Today she writes: Good Morning from a chilly Macclesfield. This morning, we’re going to Barclays to collect our Euros, then to M&S to buy me a new swimsuit. We’re taking the dog to the kennels this afternoon then we’re off tomorrow on the 10:00 am flight from Manchester to Alicante for two weeks in sunny Javea.

Good chance then that the house is going to be empty else the dog wouldn’t have to go to the kennels.

Say the GN members database has already been hacked and the hackers now have everybody’s email address. They search the dark web and find an entry which links [email protected] to an address Remote Cottage, Quiet Lane, Macclesfield and a phone number. Bingo.

They sell the data to a criminal network who now know the house is going to be empty for two weeks. And/or it’s sold to scammers who will call Ivy when she gets back. Hello, this is Barclays Bank. We’re calling about an irregular transaction on your account relating to M&S.

There was a recent thread about Suckers Lists. If you don’t believe that a forum populated mostly by elderly women posting daily about their lifestyle and activities could be a target for criminal networks, that’s up to you. I’m just saying that it’s possible and that people should be careful about what they divulge on a public forum including how much cash they carry or keep in the house. Thieves aren’t necessarily looking for large amounts. Some just want enough cash to pay their drug dealer. And if they now know where GrannyIvy lives and that she always carries £200 in her purse, she’s making herself a sitting target to be mugged as she walks to the bus stop.

watermeadow

I’m amazed by the number of you who are living in the past and carrying or hiding large sums of cash. Serves you right if you get mugged or burgled.

Charming! I am so glad I am not connected to you in any way. What an unsympathetic person you are!
If you ever have money stolen, please don’t come on hee bleating about it!

I was asking about emergency money, and more than once tried to stop the move towards people over sharing. I’m not sure that details about Gladys in Macclesfield will be all over the Dark Web though. That does seem like scaremongering.

Gransnetters are very unlikely to be personally targeted by burglars because they have said online they keep (relatively small) amounts of cash in their homes though, to suggest that is somewhat paranoid. Burglars are opportunists, looking for somewhere that’s near where they live, and easy to break into - or they target rich homes where are likely to be lots of valuables. I won’t be losing any sleep.

I hadnt thought about the ill and frail part.

I dont say if I am going away, for example.

The reason I dont answer properly some threads, including this one.

I dont care if hackers know some details, but not some of the stuff you describe, for the reasons you describe.

watermeadow

I’m amazed by the number of you who are living in the past and carrying or hiding large sums of cash. Serves you right if you get mugged or burgled.

I wouldn’t have put it quite to meanly but you do have a point.

If ever GN’s servers and member database were hacked (and frankly it doesn’t appear to be the most secure set up considering how much bot-generated spam is posted) then the hackers could link a members’s email address with what’s already held on the dark web about that person. That is very likely to include their name and address. Data harvested from the dark web by hackers is routinely sold for large sums of money.

They would know who is keeping large sums of cash on their person and in their house.

Don’t think that if you use a different email to access GN that it makes you immune. Multiple email accounts can be linked through the IP address of your broadband router.

If you want to see what data is held about you on the dark web then you can check using a credit score agency.

That’s one of the reasons I think GN members ought to be very careful about what they post about themselves on a public forum beyond the very general. The daily GM thread makes me wince. People say where abouts they live (which would confirm dark web data held about them); who they bank with, where they shop, their daily movements, when they are going to be away from home, when they are going on holiday, how ill and frail they are. I know it’s all done in the spirit of friendship but it’s very, very naive to do this on an open, public forum.

For the record, I am not unaware that retailers have temporary IT glitches but I thought this thread was originally about keeping cash in the home along with an emergency kit for a serious event rather than tipping a hairdresser or shopping in M&S.

watermeadow

I’m amazed by the number of you who are living in the past and carrying or hiding large sums of cash. Serves you right if you get mugged or burgled.

Do people who get mugged for their phones and watches deserve it too?Or what about a home that gets burgled where there's no cash but the jewellery, computers and other electronics get taken?
The idiocy of ever thinking anyone deserves to be the victim of crime never ceases to amaze me. How muggers and burglars know who's carrying cash or has it hidden in their homes is a talent I never knew they possessed.

watermeadow

I’m amazed by the number of you who are living in the past and carrying or hiding large sums of cash. Serves you right if you get mugged or burgled.

More likely to get your piece of plastic cloned.

watermeadow

I’m amazed by the number of you who are living in the past and carrying or hiding large sums of cash. Serves you right if you get mugged or burgled.

I’d be equally amazed that you are so ignorant of the risk of cyber attack and don’t follow sensible advice, but I wouldn’t be rude enough to say so had you not made a post so dismissive of other peoples perspectives.

I have maybe £20 in my purse but sometimes nothing as I barely use it. I use parking apps and most people, even small traders have some sort of cashless payment option. It always fascinates me how many people still use cash. I have enough food in the house plus our allotment and I bet the utility companies would soon sort out a way for us to pay come the apocalypse!

watermeadow

I’m amazed by the number of you who are living in the past and carrying or hiding large sums of cash. Serves you right if you get mugged or burgled.

Nice. That charm school was worth every penny, wasn't it?

The current advice is to live in the future, and be prepared for a possible cyber attack or other type of outage. M&S is suffering from just such a situation right now - online and in stores. Obviously we can go elsewhere for a meal deal or pack of knickers, but if the whole high street stops taking cards or online orders, cash will be all we can use.

I’m amazed by the number of you who are living in the past and carrying or hiding large sums of cash. Serves you right if you get mugged or burgled.

There’s always cash in our house and I usually have about £300-£500 in my purse in case I spot something when I’m out and about.
I prefer to use cash in the hope that if we all did it we wouldn’t end up a controlled cashless society.