Someone has my email….

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

They are using my email address to sign up for all sorts of stuff. They don’t have access to my mail account though. It just seems they are typing in my email into all sorts of items. Happens specifically Fri-Sun the past two weeks.

Anything I can do?

 

[HangOutdoors]

They are using my email address to sign up for all sorts of stuff. They don’t have access to my mail account though. It just seems they are typing in my email into all sorts of items. Happens specifically Fri-Sun the past two weeks.

Anything I can do?

Not really. Change your email address. Anyone can put any email address they want into any form for whatever reason to sign you up or subscribe to something. Of course if they can't access your email address it is a non starter. Some people think this is funny or do it to get back at someone. My Cyber Security Team deals with this consistenly all the time every day. Not fun!

 

[Bluewater272]

I eventually got tired of never ending spam despite unsubscribing to everything I could. Set up my own domain name, and share my actual email with very few people/services. Also set up a spam@domain.com email address. People at the store give me a funny look when I give them that one for their rewards programs.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I have all my own domains, I also have a couple of gmail accounts since I need those for certain things android and other stuff. Anyhow, I usually use 4 different ones Primarily on my own domains. 1 for Financial/Medical stuff, 1 for social networks, 1 for high security clearance stuff, 1 for games and xbox, and 1 for general everything else, etc. etc. Of course I do have work emails. as well. Set them all up in Outlook and I can navigate them and manage them easily on computer and mobile. If one gets compromised or abused, then I just need to switch that one out. Plus I age them out and change them, from time to time every so many years, keeps everything clean.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Not really. Change your email address. Anyone can put any email address they want into any form for whatever reason to sign you up or subscribe to something. Of course if they can't access your email address it is a non starter. Some people think this is funny or do it to get back at someone. My Cyber Security Team deals with this consistenly all the time every day. Not fun!

Changing my e-mail is a no-go. I just don’t understand the motive….. there has to be an endgame on this scam.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Changing my e-mail is a no-go. I just don’t understand the motive….. there has to be an endgame on this scam.

Just criminals …. My junk folder over floweth each day. Just keep marking the spam as spam and eventually your mail server will start shipping the spam to the junk folder. Been dealing with that crap for a long time !

 

[TimW451]

Mostly mark as junk per @FSH 210 Sport . Legit businesses I’d notify, but that doesn’t mean it would work. I had two people with similar names giving out my email for years. I had one person’s store e-receipts & social activity group messages, and another person’s auto maintenance reminders and health insurance emails.

There are nefarious possibilities. If someone is purposely using your email to find actual passwords or otherwise steal your account on that system. Are these distribution lists, or account creations? Are they trying to find out if you have an account already and determine your password? Are they going to steal your identity/ email by using social engineering to get into your email? I’d do whatever you need to do to have these “accounts” killed and scrubbed/flagged from your email account. If you are getting a lot of these you are clearly being targeted. Imagine a scenario where the perpetrator speaks to your email provider and convinces them that they are you because they can identify all these emails/accounts in your inbox and get your password. That should not happen, but never underestimate social engineering.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Mostly mark as junk per @FSH 210 Sport . Legit businesses I’d notify, but that doesn’t mean it would work. I had two people with similar names giving out my email for years. I had one person’s store e-receipts & social activity group messages, and another person’s auto maintenance reminders and health insurance emails.

There are nefarious possibilities. If someone is purposely using your email to find actual passwords or otherwise steal your account on that system. Are these distribution lists, or account creations? Are they trying to find out if you have an account already and determine your password? Are they going to steal your identity/ email by using social engineering to get into your email? I’d do whatever you need to do to have these “accounts” killed and scrubbed/flagged from your email account. If you are getting a lot of these you are clearly being targeted. Imagine a scenario where the perpetrator speaks to your email provider and convinces them that they are you because they can identify all these emails/accounts in your inbox and get your password. That should not happen, but never underestimate social engineering.

Spot on… the other thing I did was to set up two part login for my email and any account I have that has that capability.

 

[BlkGS]

Changing my e-mail is a no-go. I just don’t understand the motive….. there has to be an endgame on this scam.

In high school we would do this as a prank to each other. That was back before email had anti spam stuff in it.

Nowadays it's far more likely you gave your email out to a company that sold it to an affiliate, or someone captured it via a tracking cookie and sold it.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Last thought in this subject.

Group emails to large distribution lists of people who’s email addresses are clearly visible to all is where bots can pick up email addresses as well. Anytime I send out an email to a large number of people all the email addresses go into the bcc line.

Edit: If I get emails from people I know with those large distribution lists in the address line I ask them to use the bcc line, if they insist on the address line with large numbers of people then I block them.

 

[AmesJainchill]

Changing my e-mail is a no-go. I just don’t understand the motive….. there has to be an endgame on this scam.

Perhaps setting up an Allow List and blocking those not on it? Not sure if it's feasible depending on how many addresses you would need to add to it, but that might stop anything from coming to you from a source email address that you don't explicitly allow.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

In high school we would do this as a prank to each other. That was back before email had anti spam stuff in it.

Nowadays it's far more likely you gave your email out to a company that sold it to an affiliate, or someone captured it via a tracking cookie and sold it.

The selling is pretty common. Most of that stuff I unsubscribe from or it goes to junk anyways.

This doesn't feel automated. They are using my e-mail to submit requests for random things - like dentist consultation, sportsman association, lawyers, kitchen remodeling. I don't think it's a bot because it happens overnights/mornings on the weekends only. It is definitely over seas, I only get automated e-mail reponses, most seem to be in spanish.

 

[GTBRMC]

The selling is pretty common. Most of that stuff I unsubscribe from or it goes to junk anyways.

This doesn't feel automated. They are using my e-mail to submit requests for random things - like dentist consultation, sportsman association, lawyers, kitchen remodeling. I don't think it's a bot because it happens overnights/mornings on the weekends only. It is definitely over seas, I only get automated e-mail reponses, most seem to be in spanish.

Quite likely they are testing to see if you are paying attention.

Had someone steal my corporate credit card about 15 years ago. Unknown person donated $25 to the Red Cross, which caught my eye. While I was on the phone with the credit card company to inquire about that charge, a new charge came across for a donation of just under $50 to some rando food pantry.

Credit card agent immediately shut the card down. She said those were probing attacks to see if card’s legit owner noticed. If not, there would be a big charge without warning in the near future. If it was noticed, perp would melt away and try again with somebody else’s card.

An email address is not a credit card, but the perp here might similarly be probing for something. Strongly suggest you reach out to email carrier (MSN, Gmail, whomever) and close the email account despite the inconvenience.

 

[Bruce]

It likely is a group that sells business promotion services who uses email lists to pad their work or hires another company to do so.

It is the cost of having an aged email address.

GMail seems to be pretty good at filtering spam.

I have my own email server for which I have configured some spam filtering and use Thunderbird as an email client. I have a Known box that I filter email into from anyone in my address list. That lets me focus on the real email while I look at the random stuff that comes in occasionally.

 

[Robconn]

I have had a bellsouthsouth.net account for 20+ years. Last couple of months my iPhone (Verizon) would not download those email associated with bellsouth account. I would re-enter password and subsequently have to change password. Just a pain. And had to call AT&T to reset password with the tech support number provided. Since I no longer subscribe to any AT&T services, last week they went through the motions over the phone only to tell me after 20 minutes hearing keyboard taps in the background, they would not be able to unlock the account and instructed me to establish another one. So all my financial billing emails I no longer have access to. What was possible months ago is clearly not today due to unwillingness to support email platform that was corporately bought out by another. So a little off topic, a bit winded. Going forward, I will use Hang Outdoors suggestions with multiple accounts.

 

[BlkGS]

The selling is pretty common. Most of that stuff I unsubscribe from or it goes to junk anyways.

This doesn't feel automated. They are using my e-mail to submit requests for random things - like dentist consultation, sportsman association, lawyers, kitchen remodeling. I don't think it's a bot because it happens overnights/mornings on the weekends only. It is definitely over seas, I only get automated e-mail reponses, most seem to be in spanish.

Could it possibly be a typo? Like p98adrian?

I'm sure someone out there gets my spam mail or calls where I change one character from the right one, could be that kinds deal for you?

 

[drewkaree]

They are using my email address to sign up for all sorts of stuff. They don’t have access to my mail account though. It just seems they are typing in my email into all sorts of items. Happens specifically Fri-Sun the past two weeks.

Anything I can do?

This sounds like the modern day version of ding dong ditch. They don't have access to your account, they're simply ringing your doorbell (signing you up for stuff). If they don't have access to your account, I'm having a hard time figuring out what you're thinking NEEDS to be done, since you've stated that changing emails is a no-go. Changing emails isn't even a solution, as this will happen to the new address soon enough, so it points back to the original point - if they don't have access to your account, and this is simply making you report spam (or click delete), why do you feel the need to do anything? This will die down and/or your provider's spam filter will start to pick up on it and they will lessen.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

This sounds like the modern day version of ding dong ditch. They don't have access to your account, they're simply ringing your doorbell (signing you up for stuff). If they don't have access to your account, I'm having a hard time figuring out what you're thinking NEEDS to be done, since you've stated that changing emails is a no-go. Changing emails isn't even a solution, as this will happen to the new address soon enough, so it points back to the original point - if they don't have access to your account, and this is simply making you report spam (or click delete), why do you feel the need to do anything? This will die down and/or your provider's spam filter will start to pick up on it and they will lessen.

Agreed, at this point it is just annoying. I think it is something along the lines of what Bruce mentioned. I think I may try to wait it out for now.

 

[drewkaree]

Agreed, at this point it is just annoying. I think it is something along the lines of what Bruce mentioned. I think I may try to wait it out for now.

I think this may go in cycles as well. Within the last week, I have started getting emails again addressed to "PAI GOW" (fake name and +add to gmail for forms, to identify where the spam is coming from). This was something I did SO long ago with that name, that I can't even remember or track down where I originally used that tracker any more. At that time, it used to generate 8-12 spam emails per day, currently they're coming in at about 1 every 2-3 days. I think your decision of waiting it out will bear results you'll be reasonably satisfied with.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Follow up here - it just stopped after a few weeks. Really weird incident but glad it stopped.