Someone is using my email. Sort of. What to do?
Discussion
So this is quite unusual...
Someone has got their email address incorrect and is using mine to sign up to a few things. Sounds a bit fraudy on the face of it, but I don't think it is.
So far, I've seen a few orders for Walmart, and this week he's applied to a bunch of jobs via a job site.
The guy using it is from America, but I can't work out why he's still doing it. Surely if you order something, and don't get any email you'll be questioning why?
But now he's actually got a job interview, and he's never going to see it! (all of these emails go unread until I spot them - sometimes weeks and weeks later as its not my primary email).
So... how to stop them? On one email I have an address for a Walmart order, although that order was cancelled as they thought it might have been fraudulent. So that's making me wonder if the address on the order was the fraudsters - or maybe I'm just over thinking it and in fact it was stopped because he couldn't find the emails.
How best to deal with it? I'm thinking of writing a letter to that address in America and telling him (if it is his address) that he's got the wrong email and to double check!
Thoughts?
Someone has got their email address incorrect and is using mine to sign up to a few things. Sounds a bit fraudy on the face of it, but I don't think it is.
So far, I've seen a few orders for Walmart, and this week he's applied to a bunch of jobs via a job site.
The guy using it is from America, but I can't work out why he's still doing it. Surely if you order something, and don't get any email you'll be questioning why?
But now he's actually got a job interview, and he's never going to see it! (all of these emails go unread until I spot them - sometimes weeks and weeks later as its not my primary email).
So... how to stop them? On one email I have an address for a Walmart order, although that order was cancelled as they thought it might have been fraudulent. So that's making me wonder if the address on the order was the fraudsters - or maybe I'm just over thinking it and in fact it was stopped because he couldn't find the emails.
How best to deal with it? I'm thinking of writing a letter to that address in America and telling him (if it is his address) that he's got the wrong email and to double check!
Thoughts?
Don't think you can. I've got a couple of people in who seem to routinely give out my email address, and I know when they've had a home maintenance visit, car insurance quotes, or an upper back wax in Islington.
Even if you contact the firm and get them to amend their records, you can't fix stupid and they simply give your address out as a contact for another firm a few weeks/months later.
Even if you contact the firm and get them to amend their records, you can't fix stupid and they simply give your address out as a contact for another firm a few weeks/months later.
I have this too. Again an American.
I have been sent money, (not a scam), which I didn't cash.
Airline tickets. Internal us ones, so no use to me. (which I upgraded the car on).
And a university sports (American football) scholarship. I had a long chat to the university, around admiring their confidence in a sport I had never played, (and that it wasn't meant for me) that moved on to about rugby, life, jobs etc. He genuinely said he would honour the scholarship if I wanted to come over to study. If I wasn't married young family etc I would have done!
The rest of the crap, pizza orders, receipts get marked as spam.
I have been sent money, (not a scam), which I didn't cash.
Airline tickets. Internal us ones, so no use to me. (which I upgraded the car on).
And a university sports (American football) scholarship. I had a long chat to the university, around admiring their confidence in a sport I had never played, (and that it wasn't meant for me) that moved on to about rugby, life, jobs etc. He genuinely said he would honour the scholarship if I wanted to come over to study. If I wasn't married young family etc I would have done!
The rest of the crap, pizza orders, receipts get marked as spam.
You can't.
I have the same thing.
If you use Gmail there's a quirk where if you are fredbloggs@ then email to fred.bloggs@ or fre.bloggs@ all goes to you so maybe check what address the actual emails are being sent to.
Only thing you can really do is if anything comes in from a real human that might be sensible enough to see a reply is just let them know.
I have the same thing.
If you use Gmail there's a quirk where if you are fredbloggs@ then email to fred.bloggs@ or fre.bloggs@ all goes to you so maybe check what address the actual emails are being sent to.
Only thing you can really do is if anything comes in from a real human that might be sensible enough to see a reply is just let them know.
I get this due to the way gmail treats email formats.
I have firstname.lastname@gmail.com. Google ignores dots and I have a guy with the same name who has decided to use the address to sign up for things. He can never check the email so he just uses it for what he wants.
I was paranoid for ages until I spent ages talking to support and being assured there is no way he can see my emails but I can see his.
So far I have his mobile contract, train ticket receipts, dating sites including pictures and threads detailing enough information that would allow me to really ruin his day.
I called him, explained and he couldn’t care less as it was his son setting it all up. I’m still suss mind you so moved anything sensitive to my own domain.
I have firstname.lastname@gmail.com. Google ignores dots and I have a guy with the same name who has decided to use the address to sign up for things. He can never check the email so he just uses it for what he wants.
I was paranoid for ages until I spent ages talking to support and being assured there is no way he can see my emails but I can see his.
So far I have his mobile contract, train ticket receipts, dating sites including pictures and threads detailing enough information that would allow me to really ruin his day.
I called him, explained and he couldn’t care less as it was his son setting it all up. I’m still suss mind you so moved anything sensitive to my own domain.
Only ever had it at work, in a massive conglomerate
First name is one of the disciples in the bible, surname is the 28th most common name in the USA and pretty common here.
Given that I worked there on and off as a contractor, there ended up being 3 versions of me, 2 of which should have been obsolete, and 5 other versions of me that did exist in the organisation.
So something like Pit.Pony5@rolls-royce.com
I think my last one was Pit.Pony22@rolls-royce.com
I used to get one senior finance directors very sensitive emails.
I used to forward them to him with a Cc to the originator. I didn't read them, beyond realising that it wasn't for me.
He got very stropy once with the person who had made a mistake, who I also was dealing with on a frequent basis, and I actually offered to change my name. My humour wasn't appreciated by either of them.
First name is one of the disciples in the bible, surname is the 28th most common name in the USA and pretty common here.
Given that I worked there on and off as a contractor, there ended up being 3 versions of me, 2 of which should have been obsolete, and 5 other versions of me that did exist in the organisation.
So something like Pit.Pony5@rolls-royce.com
I think my last one was Pit.Pony22@rolls-royce.com
I used to get one senior finance directors very sensitive emails.
I used to forward them to him with a Cc to the originator. I didn't read them, beyond realising that it wasn't for me.
He got very stropy once with the person who had made a mistake, who I also was dealing with on a frequent basis, and I actually offered to change my name. My humour wasn't appreciated by either of them.
I have an ongoing issue with a Dr in America handing out my email as his. I don’t use the middle ‘dot’ in the name but an initial. I’ve had all sorts, including a welcome pack from a new hospital requesting scrub sizes, to the only on I responded to, an invite to a poker night.
They seemed a decent bunch, all prepped to chip in to actually get me there once they realised the error
I was considering it, but realised whilst it’d be a funny story I don’t play poker and have better ways to spend my time.
They seemed a decent bunch, all prepped to chip in to actually get me there once they realised the error
I was considering it, but realised whilst it’d be a funny story I don’t play poker and have better ways to spend my time.
Thanks for all the replys everyone, some great stories in there! 
And b
hstewie and Davie_GLA, mine is gmail also. I have checked the address and you are correct!! My addy is firstname.surname and the one being emailed is firstnamesurname.
I can't believe that Google has such a quirk that it allows emails to go to other peoples accounts! Definitely a lesson there in online privacy. :s
I'll mark them as junk - and I'll not be using my Google account for anything containing personal or sensitive data!
And b
hstewie and Davie_GLA, mine is gmail also. I have checked the address and you are correct!! My addy is firstname.surname and the one being emailed is firstnamesurname. I can't believe that Google has such a quirk that it allows emails to go to other peoples accounts! Definitely a lesson there in online privacy. :s
I'll mark them as junk - and I'll not be using my Google account for anything containing personal or sensitive data!
Cloudy147 said:
Thanks for all the replys everyone, some great stories in there!
And bhstewie and Davie_GLA, mine is gmail also. I have checked the address and you are correct!! My addy is firstname.surname and the one being emailed is firstnamesurname.
I can't believe that Google has such a quirk that it allows emails to go to other peoples accounts! Definitely a lesson there in online privacy. :s
!
It hasn't. firstname.surname with a dot anywhere or no dot is a ll the same account, They don't actually have firstnamesurname, they just think they have. I get email from idiots giving out both firstname.surname and firstnamesurname.And b
hstewie and Davie_GLA, mine is gmail also. I have checked the address and you are correct!! My addy is firstname.surname and the one being emailed is firstnamesurname. I can't believe that Google has such a quirk that it allows emails to go to other peoples accounts! Definitely a lesson there in online privacy. :s
!
Yes, I continue to get these all the time. I thought I was being clever getting my firstname.surname@gmail.com - if only I’d known! 
BMW orders from Oz, multiple job interviews and offers from SF, doctors appointments, etc etc. Many of the automated ones are from noreply addresses so there is no way of doing anything about it other than creating rules to send them straight into the bin if I can be bothered.
I am occasionally still in touch with a namesake from Western Canada and his extended family who despite all their best efforts find themselves getting his email address wrong, time and time again. I have a standing invitation to drop in and see them next time I’m in Vancouver!
BMW orders from Oz, multiple job interviews and offers from SF, doctors appointments, etc etc. Many of the automated ones are from noreply addresses so there is no way of doing anything about it other than creating rules to send them straight into the bin if I can be bothered.
I am occasionally still in touch with a namesake from Western Canada and his extended family who despite all their best efforts find themselves getting his email address wrong, time and time again. I have a standing invitation to drop in and see them next time I’m in Vancouver!
Cloudy147 said:
Thanks for all the replys everyone, some great stories in there!
And bhstewie and Davie_GLA, mine is gmail also. I have checked the address and you are correct!! My addy is firstname.surname and the one being emailed is firstnamesurname.
I can't believe that Google has such a quirk that it allows emails to go to other peoples accounts! Definitely a lesson there in online privacy. :s
I'll mark them as junk - and I'll not be using my Google account for anything containing personal or sensitive data!
They're not other peoples accounts it's just how Google treats addresses.And b
hstewie and Davie_GLA, mine is gmail also. I have checked the address and you are correct!! My addy is firstname.surname and the one being emailed is firstnamesurname. I can't believe that Google has such a quirk that it allows emails to go to other peoples accounts! Definitely a lesson there in online privacy. :s
I'll mark them as junk - and I'll not be using my Google account for anything containing personal or sensitive data!
The basic issue is that the bloke you're getting emails for doesn't know his own email address.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: They're not other peoples accounts it's just how Google treats addresses.
The basic issue is that the bloke you're getting emails for doesn't know his own email address.
The basic issue is that the bloke you're getting emails for doesn't know his own email address.
xeny said:
It hasn't. firstname.surname with a dot anywhere or no dot is a ll the same account, They don't actually have firstnamesurname, they just think they have. I get email from idiots giving out both firstname.surname and firstnamesurname.
Aaah, I understand now. Thanks for clearing that up guys, appreciated! 
I think I'll write to the address on one of the emails on the off chance and tell the guy to sort his email out - see what happens!
For about a month I got loads of them for a guy doing airport taxi work in the US. Oddly no-one seemed to get annoyed that he didn’t respond - maybe customers just called him.
My name is fairly, but not very, unusual - of Irish origin. For years I’ve been getting someone’s medical insurance statements (US) and someone else’s broadband bills (Canada). A woman has also used the address for some kind of Friends Reunited type thing.
The only one I’ve ever responded to was a UK storage contract - the firm answered and apologised.
One of my granddaughters has an odd one where about once a month gets pizza confirmations but the name on the orders is completely different to hers.
My name is fairly, but not very, unusual - of Irish origin. For years I’ve been getting someone’s medical insurance statements (US) and someone else’s broadband bills (Canada). A woman has also used the address for some kind of Friends Reunited type thing.
The only one I’ve ever responded to was a UK storage contract - the firm answered and apologised.
One of my granddaughters has an odd one where about once a month gets pizza confirmations but the name on the orders is completely different to hers.
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