[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Airbornelawyer

This may be a really stupid question, but maybe not.

There has been a meme around for years - I'm sure some of you have heard it - where you are asked to come up with your porn name. You are supposed to use your first pet's name and the street you grew up on. I don't know the origin of the meme - maybe it predates the internet for all I know.

But here's the question, or rather series of them:

Aren't these two bits of information among the most common security questions web sites like your bank use to confirm your identity? And, especially with pet's names, among the most common passwords? Does it strike anyone as odd that a fun little internet meme/parlor game also just happens to be a way of getting potentially sensitive information in an apparently innocent manner? Is it possible this whole thing started as a hacker trick?

You could be right, Tarzan Elm.