A man started talking to me at the bus stop...

[Rukentuts]

You promised to dig out the following though:

I still could, given enough time and resources. The fact of the matter is, I really don't give a shit.

[Pfeff]

You are quite right to be cautious about this, since it is well known that almost everyone from Iraq is evil and wants to kill everyone who doesn't share his beliefs. There is indeed a way to do a free background check, you should go to the local authorities and report him for suspicous activities. They will interrogate him for a few weeks and maybe turn him over to the Americans who will keep him imprisoned for some years without any reason. And then when he eventually gets out, of course without any compensation, because even if they can't prove it, he probably was at least going to be up to something at some point, then you are quite safe to be friends with him.

Sounds like jealousy...

OT: Seems like a fine guy, but always be careful. I guess your age makes a big difference here though

[muto]

Fully anonymous is a delusion. It's a similar analogy to those that think Highly Anonymous Proxies cover their tracks.

Does it make it more work to find you? Ya betcha. But it's not impossible in the least.

Okay congrats you found out someone bought the phone from a Wal-Mart in a city of 5 million, let me know when you find him when he bought the phone with cash, and didn't have to sign anything.

[Wilian]

I still could, given enough time and resources. The fact of the matter is, I really don't give a shit.

So basically you were talking out of your ass.

[Rukentuts]

Okay congrats you found out someone bought the phone from a Wal-Mart in a city of 5 million, let me know when you find him.

Do you know that burner phones have serial numbers? That means I can exact the store and time from whence it was purchased if given access to resources.

[Wildtree]

IIRC contracts for cell phones are something almost exclusive to the USA.

Go ahead and try it.... Try tracking a German down through their phone number..
Make sure you wont get caught. Because that would be what they call a felony in the USA. You find your ass in prison for years.

You really need to grasp the concept of huge differences in terms of privacy handling. Why would personal records be accessible just that easy, if at the same time it is already illegal for media to reveal a persons last name?
Example... Joe Doe from NYC runs over a red light and kills a dog..
The US news would print either J.Doe from NYC killed a dog by running over a red light
The German news would print. NYC, Joe D. killed a dog by running over a red light
See the differences? Why? Because the law says so... Neither the last name, nor any information where Joe Doe lives are legal to reveal.

PS: my only reference to cell phones was to point out that they are not in the phone book listings. hence why they don't turn up in phone number lookup services.

[muto]

Do you know that burner phones have serial numbers? That means I can exact the store and time from whence it was purchased if given access to resources.

Great, by the time you get that information the person you're looking for could already have a huge time gap over you, and you still wouldn't know in which direction said person went. Not to mention the fact you still wouldn't know who you're looking for.

[Rukentuts]

You really need to grasp the concept of huge differences in terms of privacy handling.

And you really need to grasp the concept of an electronic footprint.

[Deleted]

That would instantly be creeper warning for me. :|

Never give anyone my phone number, regardless of how much they want it. If they want to talk to me they better give me their number so I can call them if I want to talk.

but then you would never talk becouse you found it creepy and wierd and simple do not trust this stranger

[Wilian]

And you really need to grasp the concept of an electronic footprint.

I like how you're just digging that hole deeper while trying to climb out of it.

[Rukentuts]

I like how you're just digging that hole deeper while trying to climb out of it.

Are you aware that the cell providers can hold meta-data from each ping / call / text / etc. from nearby cell towers?

[Wildtree]

And you really need to grasp the concept of an electronic footprint.

I am an engineer in computer tech and communication electronics. I believe I know a thing or two about the topic.

Your entire point was that you can get his personal records once you got his phone number. He said you can't...
And you won't unless you resort to otherwise illegal ways. Ways that are also illegal in the USA.

[Maelle]

Meh.. whats the worst he can do with your phone number anyway.... prank call you at 2am? List you as a sex line?

He's probably just a lonely guy, relax and stop reading so much internet paranoia imo.

[Felya]

I would not trust the mental health of a stranger, who chooses me as a target of unsolicited conversation.

[holyunholy]

Although I have to agree with being cautious... I at the same time am almost saddened.
I very well remember times when meeting some stranger, even from a foreign country didn't raise any red flags. It used to be enjoyable, and friendships have been made that way, interracial, intercontinental friendships.
Today we smell betrayal behind every other encounter...
Sad, really is.

I agree. Reading this thread is so disappointing. Meeting people/strangers, talking to them, getting to know something new and interesting, a different country, culture is so exciting ! Instead we have mostly paranoid people threatening to call the poice for background checks ugh.
Openness and trust is a gift and it is sad that many people do not have that.

[Felya]

Openness and trust is a gift and it is sad that many people do not have that.

There is a thin line between trust and gullibility. It's fine to trust people, I personally do not think a stranger is worth my time versus the risk of me being gullible.

[Psilar]

I was waiting on the bus to Antwerp near where I live, and a few minutes before it arrives, a man from Iraq approached me. the first thing he asked is when the bus would arrive. i replied to him, and a few seconds later, he asked me if i were from Belgium. I replied affirmative, and to be polite, I asked where he came from, because he looked foreign. he replied he came from Iraq, but moved to Belgium 18 months ago.

On the bus, our conversation continued. I learned his name was Sadeq. He was an Iraqi Refugee who used to teach management in Iraq with a bachelor's degree. He fled Iraq because of the war, conflict and the new regime, because he thought they were crazy, like he thought of Saddam. before the war, he trained a football team, but that was 10 years ago now. He also stated that he respects all religions and people, whether they are Christian, Atheist, Jew or Muslim.

I learned where he lived in Belgium. he lives in Liège, and was visiting a friend of his near the bus stop. he was taking the bus back to Antwerp Central Station, so he could take his train back home to Liège.

We got quite friendly. After 30 minutes, we almost arrived at the station, and he asked me if we could share our phone numbers. We did, and he said he wanted to learn Dutch better. he wanted to be my friend, as it were.

I enjoyed talking to him, and, he was very friendly. however, I'm wondering if I wasn't too gullible. My parents agree with me, and said that before I meet him next time, I should invite him over so my parents could talk to him as well.

I've tried to google him myself, but I can't really find any info on him. I'm considering getting someone to run a background check on him, but I don't want to pay for it. is there a way to do this for free?

You just described a very common interaction between 2 human beings that takes place millions of time every day, every hour. It's called meeting new people. The situation you described is very pleasant and it does not raise any red flags.

Honestly, what is wrong with you. Are you so indoctrinated that you think this Iraqi is a terrorist? You want to run a background check on him? I'm pretty sure 99% of civilians can't run background checks on WHOEVER. AKA, even if you wanted to, and paid for it - you wouldn't get information on this dude - it's not tapping into the CIA database.

You described nothing in your post that would suggest this man would harm you, hurt you, abduct you, or anything really. You're paranoid.

---------- Post added 2013-02-08 at 05:02 PM ----------

You really have to ask yourself if there is a possible reason why he would lie to you. Unless you're an MI6 agent, nothing warrants this paranoia. You really think you're being scoped out, approached by a stranger, and than manipulated through 30 minutes of lies for....what again? That's right the dude wants to learn a language better.

Possible red flags would be - his language was fine already or you're like 12 years old in which case he could be a creeper.

If you're like 18+ you need to balls up. If you're a woman, you should know this already.

[Felya]

You just described a very common interaction between 2 human beings that takes place millions of time every day, every hour. It's called meeting new people. The situation you described is very pleasant and it does not raise any red flags.

How many times have you exchanged phone numbers with a stranger at a bus stop. I must have taken public transportation thousands of times and no time, ever, have I or anyone I know exchanged phone numbers with strangers. It should raise red flags, because exchanging numbers with strangers is out of the ordinary.

[Maelle]

How many times have you exchanged phone numbers with a stranger at a bus stop. I must have taken public transportation thousands of times and no time, ever, have I or anyone I know exchanged phone numbers with strangers. It should raise red flags, because exchanging numbers with strangers is out of the ordinary.

I'm not really understanding why this would be that wierd or even such a huge cause for alarm after a 30 min conversation.

You are gonna be a pretty average guy who no-one in any position to do anything remotely cloak and dagger-ish with a phone number would give 2 shits about. Given that he is almost certainly an average guy, and so are you, what on earth do you think could possibly happen to your phone that would be anything more than a mild inconvenience at best?

Now if you are giving people you don't know well your credit cards, passport or bank details, that might raise a flag, but people need to chill out a little...

[Mihalik]

People can put on a facade during those 30 minutes.

You honestly sound you have social skills and trust issues. Anyways. I'm sorry to put it this way, but NORMAL people exchange their phone numbers and contact information with borderline strangers ALL THE TIME. It is what NORMAL people and ADULTS do.

Fairly good exemple is that a Korean man just chated me up today in a bookstore, I was picking something up and he was looking for an English language bookstore, but he did not speak any Spanish. I asked directions for him, and we walked for 5 minutes while heading the same direction and talked a bit about the city, introductions, his time in Madrid etc. When we parted ways we exchanged cards and agreed to meet up before he returns to Seul to talk about buisness as we discovered we were involved in similar fields and he was on a research trip.

You know...this is what NORMAL people usually do.