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Is impersonation a possible problem in the fediverse? (programming.dev)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

28 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I mean, pretending to be someone in another instance, "stealing" the username, is trivial. I see the more likely targets being instance admins or high profile users. Should we worry somewhat about this?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Setting a display name hides the instance bit. You have to check the URL or profile to see which instance they're on, which people definitely won't do every time. Especially if an impersonator just joins inside a thread mid-conversation, it won't be obvious at all that it's suddenly a different person writing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Just like emails, when people write something like ”Amazon Gift Cards” <[email protected]> in the From field.