"Failed Login Notification" email

[Wingsy]

I received an email from C-D about an hour ago which states:

Dear Wingsy,

Someone has tried to log into your account on City-Data Forum with an incorrect password at least 5 times. This person has been prevented from attempting to login to your account for the next 15 minutes.

The person trying to log into your account had the following IP address: ***.*.**.***

All the best,
City-Data Forum

The ***'s are me blacking out the reported IP address which, to be clear, is definitely not my IP address. Not even close. The IP address it listed is out of Stockton, CA.

So... what's up with that? Are attempts to hack into C-D accounts common? Or is it just someone who screwed up and has a name similar to mine?

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Wingsy

I received an email from C-D about an hour ago which states:

The ***'s are me blacking out the reported IP address which, to be clear, is definitely not my IP address. Not even close. The IP address it listed is out of Stockton, CA.

So... what's up with that? Are attempts to hack into C-D accounts common? Or is it just someone who screwed up and has a name similar to mine?

Probably just someone who made a mistake, but it could be someone who has issues with you. It's a good reminder to make sure that your password here is strong and secure... at least 8 characters, a mix of letters and numbers and not containing any names or words in a dictionary. That would be the ideal way to prevent any "accidental success" by the mistaken parties.

[Wingsy]

Thanks for the quick response, Bowie... I appreciate it. Is there a way I can give the IP address to you or another moderator so you can check and see if it is already attached to an active account that might be trying to mess with me... or alternatively, attached to an account with a user name similar to mine?

It's been years since I worked with vBulletin backend... but I know the other php-driven forums have the functionality for mods or admins to check activity on an IP address. I'm assuming vBulletin has the same functionality since it's a pretty basic feature.

I obviously have no need to know the results of such a check in terms of who is involved, etc... but I would appreciate it if staff would take a look at that for me and at least let me know if attempts are actually being made to get into my account specifically. I'm fairly confident my password is secure enough... but one can never be too careful.

Thanks again!

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Wingsy

Thanks for the quick response, Bowie... I appreciate it. Is there a way I can give the IP address to you or another moderator so you can check and see if it is already attached to an active account that might be trying to mess with me... or alternatively, attached to an account with a user name similar to mine?

You can send the IP address via DM to one of the Senior Moderators. This is an unusual situation, so I'm not sure how they'll want to handle it.