Civil PJ Discussion

PJ and Games

2006-06-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some more specific comments on my concerns about whether someone could play games with PJ. I'm not talking about a random joke - this would require a bright, motivated, and malicious person.

First, it's theoretically possible that someone could uncover one of the screen names used by a PJ contributor. Maybe they'd find a way to social engineer it from a PJ member, and maybe they'd get it from someone who doesn't like PJ. But if they were willing to put enough effort into doing this, they might be able to find one.

Second, they'd need to find enough information on the victim to be able to convincingly pass as them. They'd create a screen name and profiles/myspaces that appeared to belong to that person. If they were really calculating, maybe they'd even make sure that there was some juicy stuff that would show up in Google when that screen name was searched. (This wouldn't be too hard - just start posting on message boards with that ID.) If you were willing to spend a little money, you could even have a phone number - just get a disposable/pay-as-you-go cell, which you can buy with cash, and register it using that person's name. Voila, "phone verification!"

How would PJ make sure that this could never happen? It seems like they have some protocols in place, which is good. But it also seems like they don't expect the adversary to be that bright. Most of their "busts" haven't been, but this assumption still seems risky.

Bigger Fish?

2006-06-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

Here's another thing that I've been curious about. What sparked my interest in this type of thing wasn't "Dateline" - it was the movie "Human Trafficking." I'd wondered whether some of the two-bit creeps out there could ever lead to something bigger, like someone who's actually trafficking kids or producing child porn. See, it seems like those kind of operations require money, which means they need customers. And it seemed like some of the people out there who'd try to hit on a kid online might be the same folks who'd be clients of the traffickers or porn producers. If so, you might be able to get some very useful information (which you'd want to turn over to LE, rather than publish on your site). Has PJ ever tried anything like this?

Greetings

2006-06-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

This is a blog for civil discussions related to Perverted Justice. All points of view are welcome, but personal attacks aren't. As a starting point, there was some discussion about what members from another group called Corrupted-Justice.com would like to see Perverted Justice change. One person posted these five items.

1. Followup forums closed to the public and for use only by trained volunteers. When that happens there will be no chance of a nutcase getting information and using it to harass anyone (including family members and friends).

2. The Wanker pages removed. They serve no purpose in the cause.

3. Public viewing on exactly what training is involved for contributors.

4. ALL references to family and friends addresses and phone numbers removed from the forums if public forums are not closed.

5. Any stalking by members would be immediately reported to the police.

6. The tracking down of a bust's child would be off limits.

How do members of both groups feel about these ideas?

Update: I just enabled anonymous comments - sorry I hadn't realized they'd been turned off.