CC left a comment on one of Claire’s blog postings. The message seems harmless, but asked for information about where Claire lives. The e-mail address also looks a bit suspicious, and the MovableType spam rating did not like the i.p. address of the sender.
Since you should never give out personal information to someone you don’t know, I sent the e-mail below from my junk e-mail box. This could be a mendacious adult posing as a kid, but in the event it is a real kid, I thought it would be nice for her to get a response.
I really can’t think of a way for one kid to prove they’re a kid unlesss they meet in person or they have someone they know in common. Can you?
— Fishback wrote:
> Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005 04:06:39 -0800 (PST)
> From: Fishback
> Subject: Hello from CC’s Dad
> To: [email protected]
>
> Thank you for your recent blog post. I’m CC’s Dad and I do not allow her
> to e-mail strangers. You asked her on your post where she is from. She
> lives in the southeast United States.
>
> I don’t know how two kids on the internet can prove they are kids and not
> someone trying to trick another kid, which is ashame.
>
> Hope the weather is nice in Sydney. We are very chilly here.
>
> Thanks for leaving a post!
>
> CC’s Dad
Sounds suspiciously like a ne’er-do-well at work. First, Cashel isn’t anywhere on that page. Second, if you go to AW stats it doesn’t show anyone searching for Claire or Cashel, which is the only way I would think a Claire Cashel would find it. At the same time, it couldn’t be spam because it took some knowledge of that blog.
However it was posted nearly at midnight which makes more sense for an aussie than one of your kids, though it might still be possible for a local.
Lastly, that e-mail address sounds pretty bogus. I did a Google search on it and found nothing.
Good call, Dad.
(Got this reply.-Editor.)
um i am relli claire cashel from australia wat do u want my birth certificate?
any way i wouldnt go as low as tryin to trick sum1 god
anyways its hot here in summer ive just been swimmming at the basin
whiich is in colloroy!1
lots of luv
xx claire cashel
I am now thoroughly convinced that CC is a fraud. There are several oddities in the recent post “she” made.
um i am relli claire cashel from australia wat do u want my birth certificate?
any way i wouldnt go as low as tryin to trick sum1 god
anyways its hot here in summer ive just been swimmming at the basin
whiich is in colloroy!1
lots of luv
xx claire cashel
The first thing I noticed was the terrible spelling, punctuation, and grammer. Who would misspell “really” but spell certificate right? And “she” seems to be going waaay overboard on the Internet abbreviations. Upon doing a Google search, I did find a Claire Cashel attending John Colet School in Sydney. Though this whole thing could have been fabricated, it is possible that “Clare Cashel” is real.
Upon further research, the page that lists Claire Cashel would have to be rather old, as it list Claire Cashel as a 7 yr old ribbon winner for the 25m Free Stroke. In her first post, CC says that she just finished her first year of High School. As long as High School starts at the same time for Aussies, that would make the page 7-8 years old. Unlikely, says I.
haha, hey just thought id put my two cents in albeit three years late. If anyone is actually reading this the girl was legit, she went to my school and was perfectly nice. I found it halarious that you found information thta was true. The email is hers and the primary school.
So yea… Its good to know thta parents are so wary it was just this time that you got it wrong.