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anon

My client called me
I've been working with this client for a few months developing their site, things have gone well and overall they are one of my better clients. I programmed the site, and now act as webmaster.

Today, the site went down due to a hosting problem. I got 5 emails while I was at work. This seemed a little excessive, but not too out of the ordinary. Then, my client started calling me at work. This may not seem that bad, but the thing is, I never gave this client my phone number. She left messages on my home phone, and my cell phone.

The problem here is not that the site was down, that can be fixed, and she is not even that upset about it. The thing that really scared me is that she looked up this information with only my name. If she has my numbers, she has my address - and just about every other piece of personal information about me.

Depending on the client, this could be a big problem. Luckily, this is not a particularly troublesome client - but what if it was? The last thing I want is an angry client to show up knocking on my door with absolutely no warning.

So, I decided to ask my client how she got the information. It turns out, she guessed my website (just my name + .com), looked up the whois records. And got my full address, and all my phone numbers.

It's something I had not thought about, and stupidly overlooked when signing up for my domain name.

So a warning to my fellow freelancers. Make sure you check the whois information on your site. Hiding the information can cost a little extra per year, but may be well worth it.

10

Posted 2 years ago

apexweb
2 years ago

just wondering why you wouldnt give a client contact details, i find it helps to get paid if they know where to send the cheque!
kwilson
2 years ago

I, for one, would probably not hire someone who registered their professional domain anonymously (assuming I did notice, which I probably wouldn't). I would want some assurance of a name behind their words, and an actual identity, with a location, behind that name.
prestondoesd...
2 years ago

i dont see why you are worried that your client has your contact info. my business card has my office address on it, along with phone number, cell phone number, fax number, e-mail address, etc... so how is that any different then a home address as a freelancer? sure, somebody might get angry and show up, but i dont see that happening too often unless you enjoy pissing off customers and not giving them what they want/paid for. dont piss of your clients and your clients wont be pissed at you.
CreativeNoti...
2 years ago

I agree, sounds odd that you were surprised she got a hold of you. Actually, I'd be happy to have such a stand fast client that actually worked to find me when I didn't give them my contact info. Most clients would have left.

I agree about the private registration as well. it's good for keeping a project under wraps until release date, but that's about it. I prefer to have it registered under a legal entity, with a PO BOX and a gmail account used only for domain registration.
alaasalman
2 years ago

Show up and do what exactly? Beat you up? Unless you're working for the mob, then there's nothing to be afraid of.

Some might argue that you probably need to set some boundaries with some intrusive clients, such as letting them know that you only accept business related calls to your cell phone for example. But generally speaking, most people will respect this.

I think what you're trying to express is how easy it is to know a lot about a person, even private info, from even just a simple search over the internet. And that is a bigger problem.
lr
2 years ago

Agree with others, this is your CLIENT not a hit man! Your client *should* have all your contact information.
Zigbot
2 years ago

You're surprised that someone could find some information using your name?

You must be using a different internet that I am, or you forgot about this arcane bit of doorstep blight:

Design - zigbotmedia.com
Rattlesnakes - fieldherper.com
artiste
2 years ago

I think I understand where anon is coming from. Obviously, my clients have my contact information; that is: my business cell number, my email address, and my home address. However, I might be a little put off if a client called me on my personal cell phone or my home phone, or at work if I had a "normal" job. The fact that the client found the information by looking up the who is info on the website is slightly disconcerting. Occasionally I have a potential client contact me on my personal cell or home phone, because a friend/client who has both numbers referred them to me and gave them the wrong number. In these cases, I just politely tell them that they've called my personal line, and I give them my business line. In any case, I'd rather have them call me on my personal line than not call me at all!
Mat
2 years ago

as offtopic as this comment is, doesn't anyone else find it humerous that the name "anon" is short for "Anonymous", rather fitting for this thread if I say so myself.

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