Be careful what you ask for. Following the Aug. 18 hack of the infamous cheating site Ashley Madison, people have been scrambling to see if anyone they know is listed in the released email addresses of the 37 million users.
Australian radio show Nova 96.9’s Fitzy and Wippa recently aired a segment in which hosts Ryan “Fitzy” Fitzgerald and Michael “Wippa” Wipfli plugged email addresses into a search engine live on the air to see if people’s partners had an Ashley Madison account.
Caller Jo submitted her husband’s information, noting that his work hours had changed, he often kept his phone close to him, and “bits of money” had been disappearing without explanation.
“When that little thing came on the news about the Ashley Madison hack, he sort of went a bit funny,” Jo told the DJs. “I asked him straight out and he said, ‘Don’t be stupid, we’re married. We’ve got two kids.’”
But when the two shock jocks plugged in Jo’s husband’s information, it was a match for the Ashley Madison search engine.
“Are you serious? Are you freaking kidding me?” a shocked Jo asked. “These websites are disgusting and that girl that called before, she should be ashamed of herself.”
Jo was referring to the show’s first caller, who said the site wasn’t just for cheaters and claimed she often used it to meet single men.
“I don’t know if we should have done that,” one DJ said, sounding nervous. “That hasn’t left me with a good feeling.”
The other DJ tried to ease Jo’s concerns after she hung up abruptly, noting, “In that situation you can’t just say this is a definite [indication he’s cheating]. It’s not a guarantee.”
The FBI is currently investigating the Ashley Madison hack after a group called The Impact Team took credit for the breach.
