I work in Sales for a big tech company.

Anonymous

May 8,2023 at 2:57AM UTC

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I work in Sales for a big tech company. I speak and email people from all around the world all day long. They ask where I live and while I’m honest about the state, I lie about the exact location for my safety. The other day I was speaking to a customer and somehow he knew my last name even though my information isn’t listed under my display name on my email. Unfortunately the man was not very coherent (medical condition) so I couldn’t get much of an answer on how he got my last name. I’ve researched how he might have found my last name but I’m coming up empty handed. My boss has been incredibly supportive about my concerns but we still have no clue how this man found my last name. It’s bothering because my last name isn’t very common and what if another customer found out my last name. It’s just a crazy world we live in. Should I let this go or should I push harder to solve this mystery?

side note: I’ve removed most identifying information from most social media since this incident. The only information is on LinkedIn and I’m not too concerned with that because I can see who’s looking at my profile. I’ve also been at this job for less than 6 months. I don’t want to rock the boat so to say.

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Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistMay 8,2023 at 4:26AM UTC
Just an FYI - someone doesn't have to actually look at your profile to see you in a list of search results.
AnonymousMay 9,2023 at 2:49PM UTC
And if they look at your company's list of LinkedIn employees, your full name may be listed there.
AnonymousMay 8,2023 at 8:20AM UTC
I use alien's name for my safety and matter what, I never share my location
AnonymousMay 9,2023 at 6:04PM UTC
assume you mean Aliases? Aliens are from another planet &;-)))
AnonymousMay 8,2023 at 3:15PM UTC
If your last name is on LinkedIn that makes it public and very easy to find.
AnonymousMay 9,2023 at 6:03PM UTC
If you are on any social media at all and use your own phone number at all or email the internet never forgets...it's nearly impossible to scrub things off of the web once on there as there are many sites that aggregate data and reuse and recycle it. As someone who also has a very unique name I understand how you feel. Try changing your number to a google voice number and screen all calls and get a po box.
AnonymousMay 10,2023 at 12:23PM UTC
I don't understand what the problem is here with a customer knowing your last name. Most people who work have their full name publicly known. Email addresses often have first + last name plainly displayed or it's in your email signature, etc. Why is this a concern?
AnonymousMay 10,2023 at 5:11PM UTC
Because I don’t know these people and I was promised by the company due to the amount of people we talk to that our names would be kept private. They brought the issue to light because obviously it’s been a problem before. People can get fairly irate and irrational. Anyone who’s worked in a call center can attest to this. Also, I’ve been hit on by older men plenty of times. There’s no boundaries
Liz MilneMay 11,2023 at 5:22AM UTC
Is it possible you introduced yourself by your full name without thinking about it? (Kind of thing I would do, lol!)
AnonymousMay 11,2023 at 6:53PM UTC
Nope. I’ve been pretty careful since it was made such a big deal during training.
Liz MilneMay 11,2023 at 10:44PM UTC
Fair enough :)
I did it once or twice when I worked at a from-home call centre, just not thinking it through, on my part! (It's not the rarest name tho, I know of at least 2 other Liz/ Elizabeth Milnes!)