We’ve never met but you just told me everything i need

Sitting on a bus there is a man behind me engaged in a phone conversation. What drew my attention is him getting frustrated. “Sorry, i got disconnected, Sprint reception is terrible.” Seemingly useless information but not for someone who’s job is it to gather information and use it for whatever purpose they want. So this guy uses Sprint, let’s see what else he has to say, i thought to myself. I stopped my music but left my earbuds in, no way he’ll think i’m listening.

“Yes, i am calling about the position you have open for marketing director” the man said, carrying on his conversation after his phone dropped the call. Oh wow, this is great, i know that these types of calls can yield a lot of good information. And it did. By the time i got off the bus i knew the following:
• His phone carrier is Sprint.
• He has an iPhone 4/4S (i saw as i got off the bus).
• The position he was interested in.
• The company with the available position was located in Miami.
• His phone number (which he mentioned so they could call back).
• His e-mail address (so they could send him some stuff).
• His previous employers.
• His full name (he was kind enough to spell it out).
• Where he went to school and what year he graduated.
• Moving was not an issue as he lives alone, he can move right away (so he rents).

An amazing wealth of information! As he was connected to the public Wi-Fi provided in the bus i was able to snatch some information on his phone as well, all information that can be gathered from a digital handshake between his phone and the router / access point in the bus.

This gives someone more than enough information to target him if they had a need to. Wether it be for a job, someone hired a hacker to go after him, or for fun, just a random hacker wanting to hone his skills. I will not go into all the details of how but with some clever social engineering and a few hours online, i could get the details on everything that matters. Just sitting there i found him on FaceBook, his profile wide open and posts about random stuff but enough to piece together a complete picture of his day-to-day activities. This data can be used against you! Identity theft, using your credit, destroying your life! Be mindful when in public. If you are on a phone call like that, or similar where personal information has to be given, explain you are in a public place and will call back once you have some privacy. Whoever is on the other end of the line will understand.

Be aware of your surroundings.