Phantom screennames materializing on buddy lists?

[Mike133]

Every once in a while I'm on AOL Instant Messenger, I get a IM from someone completly unknown.

Usually something like this:

Them: Who is this?
Me: Who are you?
Them: (name)
Me: (name)
Them: I don't think I know you...
Me: How did you get my sn?
Them: I just found it on my buddy list...

and that my friends is my question

Is there some kind of bug that somehow places random names onto buddy lists by accident?

I ask this because usually these people live very far way...sometimes overseas where I cannot possibly know them or know anyone who might know them that had given them my sn.

This has not yet happend to me...but like I said I usually get one of those types of messages once every two months. Now, since I have no life...I want to find out what is going on.

Thanks for your input

[sweeper2]

depends...if your on forums like this or other forums and you put down your AIM name....anyone can get it...there are alot of people from over the world that are on this forum and over at Tech IMO...etc...

[Mike133]

ya very true but the last few people i've gotten were little schoolgirls...now i'm not saying little schoolgirls don't use IMOTech but lets just say elementary schoolgirl techies are a minority

but i dont think its from forums or what not, just because they descirbe it as my screenname jsut popping up on their list...i ask them how they get it and they say they never saw it before