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Comment by cooljacob204 | Hacker News Reader

Right now that really isn't a risk as very few people do this, so it would be a waste of time for a hacker to try this over testing relative's names.

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Except OP just admitted to using this scheme on a public forum, so they are now essentially compromised.

It's security through obscurity, with a bonus that the people who use this technique can't seem to keep quiet about it so it's not even obscurity.

Security questions aren't really that secure anyway. A "real" hacker could just pretend to be helping out a friend after a debilitating accident and ask for everything to be reset.

Exactly, or the "crying baby/stressed out parent" example that made the rounds a few years ago. Hackers don't need to monitor every public comment you make, just trick 1 minimum wage call center worker for 5 minutes.

The answer could be: "Don't allow answering anything but this exact sequence of words: " then followed by a string of words.

Perhaps we need a reset contact whom they can call to confirm with a real human.

Like with nearly any topic on HN, an xkcd comic [0] comes to mind.

[0] https://xkcd.com/2176/

Until someone calls you out and says your're an imposter because your mother's maiden name is really XXXXXX. Then the imposter files a report against you. The research is done. They know enough about you to take your place and have you thrown out of your own home.

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