Even more fake letters.

[Simon Mason]

Thanks to James H. for pointing out the fake letter in today's Mail on
Sunday with my name and address. The gist of the letter is that the police
should leave motorists driving at 35 mph alone and crack down on pavement
cyclists etc. There is one sad weirdo out there with a bee in their bonnet!

--
Simon Mason
Anlaby
East Yorkshire.
53°44'N 0°26'W
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

 

[Tony Raven]

Simon Mason wrote:

> Thanks to James H. for pointing out the fake letter in today's Mail on
> Sunday with my name and address. The gist of the letter is that the police
> should leave motorists driving at 35 mph alone and crack down on pavement
> cyclists etc. There is one sad weirdo out there with a bee in their bonnet!
>

You might be able to get some info off the MoS - I would expect them to
have made contact with the author in which case they would have the
contact details. I would also consider mentioning it to the police -
identity theft is illegal and could lead to worse over time.

Tony

 

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

On Sun, 4 Jul 2004 16:37:10 +0100, "Simon Mason"
<[email protected]> wrote in message
<[email protected]>:

>Thanks to James H. for pointing out the fake letter in today's Mail on
>Sunday with my name and address.

Time to take action, I'd say. At the very least the MoS need to print
a retraction, and I agree with Tony, I'd inform the police. This is
harrassment.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

 

[Dr Curious]

"Tony Raven" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Simon Mason wrote:
>
> > Thanks to James H. for pointing out the fake letter in today's Mail on
> > Sunday with my name and address. The gist of the letter is that the
police
> > should leave motorists driving at 35 mph alone and crack down on
pavement
> > cyclists etc. There is one sad weirdo out there with a bee in their
bonnet!
> >
>
> You might be able to get some info off the MoS - I would expect them to
> have made contact with the author in which case they would have the
> contact details.

....

But presumably the MoS assume the author is Simon Mason posting from
Simon Mason's address. If he gave a different name and a different
address then presumably they wouldn't have publshed it under Simon's
name and address in the first place.

...

> I would also consider mentioning it to the police -
> identity theft is illegal and could lead to worse over time.

....

If this person is using Simon Mason's full addressm rather than
a partial address, then not only is this illegal in a criminal sense,
i.e impersonation, but in principle it's also actionable in Civil Law.
However any likely damages would proably be miniscule. The point being
that the newspaper wouldn't have printed the letter unless it accorded
with the views of the average MoS reader i.e Juror. You'd imagine the
newspapers probably also have a standard legal defence to cover such
circumstances, but there's no reason why they shouldn't print an
apology and a retraction nevertheless.

The real problem though would finding the culprit which would appear
to be next to impossible, given the likely available resources.


Curious

>
> Tony

 

[Paul - xxx]

Simon Mason typed:
> Thanks to James H. for pointing out the fake letter in today's Mail on
> Sunday with my name and address. The gist of the letter is that the police
> should leave motorists driving at 35 mph alone and crack down on pavement
> cyclists etc. There is one sad weirdo out there with a bee in their
> bonnet!

Gotta agree with Tony and Guy .. it sounds like this 'impersonator' might
get serious .. then where will you be .. At least, even if the police can do
nothing immediately, your knowledge of the impersonation and your concerns
of it, should then become a matter of record, 'just in case'.

--
Paul ...

(8(|) ... Homer Rocks

 

[Tony Raven]

Dr Curious wrote:
>
> But presumably the MoS assume the author is Simon Mason posting from
> Simon Mason's address. If he gave a different name and a different
> address then presumably they wouldn't have publshed it under Simon's
> name and address in the first place.
>

My experience of the bigger papers is they get positive confirmation
that it is from a real person at a real address either by phoning, if a
phone number is given or by writing if its an address.

Tony

 

[Dr Curious]

"Tony Raven" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Dr Curious wrote:
> >
> > But presumably the MoS assume the author is Simon Mason posting from
> > Simon Mason's address. If he gave a different name and a different
> > address then presumably they wouldn't have publshed it under Simon's
> > name and address in the first place.
> >
>
> My experience of the bigger papers is they get positive confirmation
> that it is from a real person at a real address either by phoning, if a
> phone number is given or by writing if its an address.


You would have thought so. But then the impersonator is hardly likely
to be living in the same street. Even allowing that the actual house
number probably won't be an issue, as it won't be printed anyway.
So a postal enquiry is out. But then given the availability of off the
shelf pay-as-you-go mobiles, presumably they only check using land-line
numbers nowadays. In which case you'd imagine the impersonator has either
cooked his chips by giving a valid contact number*, or simply wouldn't be
that stupid to start with.


Curious

* Even if they used a work number, they'd still need to take the
call as "Simon Mason".



>
> Tony
>
>
>

 

[Jon Senior]

Dr Curious [email protected] opined the following...
> * Even if they used a work number, they'd still need to take the
> call as "Simon Mason".

Or just answer "Hello".

The usual response to this is "Is that Mr..."?

Jon

 

[Dr Curious]

"Jon Senior" <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Dr Curious [email protected] opined the following...
> > * Even if they used a work number, they'd still need to take the
> > call as "Simon Mason".
>
> Or just answer "Hello".

> The usual response to this is "Is that Mr..."?


Only if he gave a work extension. That's the point.

In which case he'd be immediately traceable.

Otherwise if the call was routed through the switchboard,
the switchboard operater would need to be informed if the
subtefuge beforehand.

Capiche?


Curious









>
> Jon

 

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

On Sun, 4 Jul 2004 19:06:50 +0100, "Paul - ***"
<[email protected]> wrote in message
<[email protected]>:

>Gotta agree with Tony and Guy .. it sounds like this 'impersonator' might
>get serious

Also a good opportunity to get your real point of view printed as part
of the retraction

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

 

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 19:08:47 +0100, Tony Raven <[email protected]>
wrote in message <[email protected]>:

>My experience of the bigger papers is they get positive confirmation
>that it is from a real person at a real address either by phoning, if a
>phone number is given or by writing if its an address.

Not happened to me, and I have had letters published in most of the
broadsheets by now.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

 

[dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers]

>Not happened to me, and I have had letters published in most of the
>broadsheets by now.

It hasn't happened to me either, and I've also had stuff in most of the
broadsheets.

Cheers, helen s



--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off--

 

[Tony Raven]

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers wrote:
>> Not happened to me, and I have had letters published in most of the
>> broadsheets by now.
>
> It hasn't happened to me either, and I've also had stuff in most of the
> broadsheets.
>

I clearly fall into the not to be trusted category ;-(

Tony

 

[elyob]

"Simon Mason" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks to James H. for pointing out the fake letter in today's Mail on
> Sunday with my name and address. The gist of the letter is that the police
> should leave motorists driving at 35 mph alone and crack down on pavement
> cyclists etc. There is one sad weirdo out there with a bee in their
bonnet!

It's obviously P**l Sm**h and he's having a laugh reading this thread ....

 

[David Hansen]

On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 20:00:23 +0100 someone who may be "Just zis Guy,
you know?" <[email protected]> wrote this:-

>Not happened to me, and I have had letters published in most of the
>broadsheets by now.

The Glasgow Herald always used to telephone people and I imagine
still does.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me using the RIP Act 2000.

 

[Howard]

Hi Simon,

I feel we have a profile of this crank building up. Daily Mail reader,
anti-cyclist and pro zero-tolerance policing, however strongly opposed
to the law being used to regulate driver behaviour or enforce speed
limits. Also wants national service bringing back. Given the number of
authoritarian 'libertarians' and downright Fascists we have in the UK
that really narrows it down!

I have sent another e-mail to the Hull Daily Mail pointing out the
latest bogus letter and asking them to check any letter claiming to be
from yourself, me or Mr Minns.

Howard.

 

[Simon Mason]

"Howard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi Simon,
>
> I feel we have a profile of this crank building up. Daily Mail reader,
> anti-cyclist and pro zero-tolerance policing, however strongly opposed
> to the law being used to regulate driver behaviour or enforce speed
> limits. Also wants national service bringing back. Given the number of
> authoritarian 'libertarians' and downright Fascists we have in the UK
> that really narrows it down!
>
> I have sent another e-mail to the Hull Daily Mail pointing out the
> latest bogus letter and asking them to check any letter claiming to be
> from yourself, me or Mr Minns.
>
> Howard.

Thanks Howard, I sent the MoS the following.

Dear Sir/Madam,

"In today's (4 JUL 04) Mail on Sunday letters page you published a letter
purporting to be from myself. The gist of this letter was that motorists be
left alone and cyclists clamped down on. The writer of the letter is a
phoney who has persistently had published fake letters in my home city's
local paper the Hull Daily Mail slating cyclists and has not only hijacked
my name but two other pro-cycling letter writers as well. Could you possibly
give any clues as to the identity of this individual so that they can be
exposed?"

Haven't had a reply yet, but it is extremely unlikely that there will be a
retraction published, as even the greatest stars only get a tiny column
somewhere when a major story about them turns out to be false, so I've no
chance!

I think I know who it is now though. There was a persistent letter writer to
the Hull Daily Mail called "P. Scott" of Tranby Lane, Anlaby (yeah right!
not in the phone book) or sometimes it was Tranby Road or Priory Road; he
seems to get addresses confused. He sent in letter after letter obsessively
going on about cyclists with no lights, sometimes directly asking me what I
thought should be done about them. "P. Scott" of course is probably not his
real name and unfortunately the HDM archives don't seem to go back beyond
JAN 04, otherwise I could show a whole list of letters under that name that
fits his profile perfectly. All that's on the archive is this:

May I comment on the letter to you from P Scott (Letters, January 14), "Are
there laws about cycle lanes"?

--
Simon M.

 

[James Hodson]

On Sun, 4 Jul 2004 18:24:06 +0100, "Dr Curious"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>that the newspaper wouldn't have printed the letter unless it accorded
>with the views of the average MoS reader i.e Juror.

No. The Mail and the MoS have printed several letters from Simon
during the last year or two. The majority of these have been pro
cycling, the sort of comments he usually makes here.

James

 

[davek]

Dr Curious:
> Only if he gave a work extension. That's the point.

You're making a few assumptions that may not be valid.

d.

 

[Dr Curious]

"davek" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Dr Curious:

> > Only if he gave a work extension. That's the point.
>
> You're making a few assumptions that may not be valid.
>
> d.
>
>


Go on then. Surprise me.


Curious

....