Ask Amy: My husband’s oversharing opened the door to an interloper

Dear Amy: My husband’s job requires that he be active on social media. His primary account contains mostly work-related content, but he also uses it to direct people to some personal writing and photography. He has several thousand followers.

I am not active on social media for my own valid reasons, and I understand that my husband can manage his own choices. I have asked him not to post personal information about me, but he still shares more information than I would like.

When my mother died, he posted a “tribute” to her on his blog and promoted it on all his accounts. He included lots of personal details, including her maiden and married names.

A few days ago, he forwarded an email to me from a man who had read his blog. The man said he’d done genealogical research and had determined that his grandmother and my mother were half-sisters. He asked if our family was aware of this and invited someone to contact him for more information, if they were interested.