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Someone is using my father's name as their own when doing family research.

Melanie Corbin
Melanie Corbin ✭
July 16, 2021 edited July 10, 2024 in General Questions

I have seen someone using my late father's name as their own name when doing my family research. This is really bothering me. I am not sure why anyone would be inclined to use someone else's name. I have tried to find out if I am related to this individual and it states no relation. What can I do about this situation? I feel it is very inappropriate and it is bothering me. Thank you.

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Answers

  • MNuttall
    MNuttall ✭✭✭
    July 16, 2021

    Hello, @Melanie Corbin.

    Do you mean that another contributor on FamilySearch has a contact name that is the same as your deceased father's?

    Here's the definition of Contact Name:

    • Your Contact Name is Always Public. Your contact name is visible whenever you edit a record or submit a memory. When you created your FamilySearch Account, the system assigned a default contact name. You can change it to your real name, a modified version of your name, or something else.

    Have you tried sending a message to this person?

    It would also help us to know where you have seen this contributor's name -- if you could give us an example or place to look (ID numbers of individuals). And, is your father in Family Tree? If so, has this other contributor worked on your father's record?

    We need a little bit more information to do some investigation to help you resolve this issue.

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  • Gordon Collett
    Gordon Collett ✭✭✭✭✭
    July 16, 2021

    Many people have the same name. Are you sure this isn't his real name? If I throw my name into one of those people finding websites, there are, ignoring middle names, 19 of me found in the United States. There are 27 Melanie Corbins listed on that same site so there is a chance that someone will complain some day that you are using her name for your user name.

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  • Melanie Corbin
    Melanie Corbin ✭
    July 16, 2021

    This is not their real name. They have an entirely different name. I am unsure why they would choose to use my father's name as their own. I've emailed them to question their reasoning. It shows that my father made a change to my fifth great-grandfather's birthplace. I will wait till I hear back, hopefully, they will respond.

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  • Paul W
    Paul W ✭✭✭✭✭
    July 16, 2021 edited July 16, 2021

    You are still making the issue very difficult to understand. If your name were not Melanie Corbin, how would other FamilySearch users know that? I just don't get how you know this person does not share the same name as your father, and are able to work out their true name is something different.

    Some time ago, I was convinced my account had been hacked, as a person with a really similar name to mine started making entries against the relatives I'd entered to Family Tree. His response confirmed this was pure coincidence and his username (if not real name) was just two letters "short" of mine. (I'm Paul Wrightson, he is Paul Wrights.)

    1
  • DebDT
    DebDT ✭✭✭
    July 16, 2021

    https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-report-abuse-spam-inappropriate-memories-and-other-content

    The above URL has instructions for reporting abuse, spam, offensive comments, etc. You can read over this and decide if what is happening in your case is abuse of your father's name.

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  • dontiknowyou
    dontiknowyou ✭✭✭✭✭
    July 16, 2021

    This is not their real name. They have an entirely different name.

    @Melanie Corbin : How do you know that?

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