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Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

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Re: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

#171

Post by Implicated »

treebornfrog wrote: post #130

Got a guy with my same first name and surname. Been getting his bank statements, his amazon orders, class emails, share purchases/sales. Its a joke. Edit: been happening for around 5 years. Its also entertaining at the same time to see what he's doing on another continent. I'm torn, dammit Google!

I have this problem, except it's a whole nation (seemingly) of people due to how common my last name is in a specific country.

My address is [first initial][last name]@gmail so anyone with a first name that starts with the same letter as mine and the same last name (which, there are SO MANY).

I get;

job offers family photos (I typically respond letting these people know they're not getting through to whoever they're intending) verizon bills (I'm also a verizon customer and they absolutely refuse to take my email off of the other two accounts - I've also texted both accounts since they're numbers have come through various times in the correspondences and they don't even acknowledge my communication let alone update their accounts - they're always late on their payments, but have the newest iPhone's all the time :D) purchase receipts from so many retailers I don't keep track (some of these people have real silly amounts of money) auto purchase receipts bank emails lease offers (just today I had to respond to a leasing agent who was trying to let someone know they got a place they were trying to rent in NYC for crazy money)

It's mind blowing to me how many people get their email address wrong and miss so many important emails, seemingly without ever realizing it.

Re: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

#172

Post by robbyking »

A coworker of mine got an email once containing important scholarship information intended for a high school kid in Florida. He did a little looking online and found the kid's and his parent's actual email addresses and forwarded the email to them.

So here's where it gets weird/dumb: the kid replies to my friend and his parents and says, "hey mom, you put the wrong email address on my application, there's no dot in mine."

So my coworker, being the only tech savvy person on the thread replies. "Well, actually, [...]" and explains how dots are(n't) handled in Gmail address. Then the parents then reply and write, "but that's your old Gmail address, we had to get you a new one when we moved to Florida."

At this point my coworker gave up and the kid presumably lost his scholarship because his family didn't know you could keep your Gmail address when you moved houses.

(If you're reading this, hi Jake H.!)

Re: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

#173

Post by adenner »

liquidgecka wrote: post #83
Santosh83 wrote: post #6

I have been getting financial emails from several people for many years at my GMail ID. They apparently have given my address but without the dot. But what mystifies me is how these people keep going for years without ever realising they aren't getting account transaction emails (from their banks), notifications of stock trades, even OTP emails etc. How is it possible for people to use these services for years withou…

Been there. I posted about this before but I own a 5 character common first and last name @gmail.com address. I get misdirected emails _constantly_. Usually I am polite about it and let people know, but sometimes I make a game of it. I was invited to participate in a drum circle with an offer to pay for my flight to which I replied that I would love to join, but they would also have to pay for drum lessons. I got a m…

As the lucky early adopter of gmail I got my last name only @gmail.com. It has been a blessing and a curse.

I have a boilerplate "you have the wrong address" email in multiple languages that I use to reply to the first email from real people. If they persist they then get added to my auto-reply "you have the wrong address" and delete rule.

For automated emails, I don't even bother trying to unsubscribe. They all get added to the delete blacklist rule.

Some of the more fun mistakes I have gotten have been multiple years worth of tax documents from New South Wales, Wine Tastings in South Africa, Church Choir concerts in Germany, and resumes for a receptionist in Colorado at a Gym.

Re: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

#174

Post by dripton »

Santosh83 wrote: post #6

I have been getting financial emails from several people for many years at my GMail ID. They apparently have given my address but without the dot. But what mystifies me is how these people keep going for years without ever realising they aren't getting account transaction emails (from their banks), notifications of stock trades, even OTP emails etc. How is it possible for people to use these services for years withou…

My gmail doppleganger signs me up for mostly animal charities and religious stuff. I keep unsubscribing and marking as spam. Sometimes I wonder if she does this on purpose, giving a "fake email" to people she doesn't want to deal with. If so, Diane, there's a real person with that email, and quit throwing all your spam at me.

Re: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

#175

Post by cylentwolf »

This has only recently been a problem for me. There is a nice gentleman with my same name who picked up the gmail address without the dot. He lives in Arizona. Has a library membership. Plays in a softball league. I am not sure how much of my email he gets. I haven't set up a filter yet but I will eventually. I like seeing what my doppelganger is up to some times.

Re: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

#176

Post by edgarvaldes »

pc86 wrote: post #143
Santosh83 wrote: post #6

I have been getting financial emails from several people for many years at my GMail ID. They apparently have given my address but without the dot. But what mystifies me is how these people keep going for years without ever realising they aren't getting account transaction emails (from their banks), notifications of stock trades, even OTP emails etc. How is it possible for people to use these services for years withou…

> But what mystifies me is how these people keep going for years without ever realising they aren't getting account transaction emails (from their banks), notifications of stock trades, even OTP emails etc. Because they never received the first one, so it's not abnormal to miss the n emails after that.

I think this is the real answer. For those people there is no disruption in communication, because it never begins in the first place.

Re: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

#178

Post by tialaramex »

deathanatos wrote: post #170
Santosh83 wrote: post #6

I have been getting financial emails from several people for many years at my GMail ID. They apparently have given my address but without the dot. But what mystifies me is how these people keep going for years without ever realising they aren't getting account transaction emails (from their banks), notifications of stock trades, even OTP emails etc. How is it possible for people to use these services for years withou…

> But what mystifies me is how these people keep going for years without ever realising they aren't getting account transaction emails The inverse happens too! Sallie Mae regularly snail mails me to tell me that the (snail mail) address they have on file for me — the same one they send this notice to — is undeliverable! I get all the normal mail (like account statements), too…

I get physical mail for a previous owner, even though I've lived here for five years. Usually I notice, I write "Not at this address" and cross through the address in Sharpie then shove it into a mailbox, per regulations.

More recently I forgot to check the front before opening. I realised when the contents were about a mortgage account, I don't like debt so I certainly wouldn't have a mortgage.

Apparently the previous owner still has a mortgage on this place, which would worry me if not for the fact I have monitoring set up so I know the Land Registry says it's mine, which means even if the idiot bank thinks they've got security for a loan they are wrong and the government will cheerfully tell a court of law that if asked. Hopefully they just didn't update the name of the mortgage and actually security is now in the form of some other property bought with the proceeds of the sale to me, but who knows, these idiots didn't understand "Not at this address" for five years.

I decided to call the bank about this mistakenly opened letter, but because of COVID they weren't usefully taking calls. I could remain in a queue for fifteen minutes and then get automatically dumped out with "We're sorry" if I wanted. So I just chucked the letter in the recycling.

If you need a recommendation for a Bank never to do business with in the UK (certainly not to trust with regards to where their customers live) it would be Halifax.

Re: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

#179

Post by johnchristopher »

robbyking wrote: post #172

A coworker of mine got an email once containing important scholarship information intended for a high school kid in Florida. He did a little looking online and found the kid's and his parent's actual email addresses and forwarded the email to them. So here's where it gets weird/dumb: the kid replies to my friend and his parents and says, "hey mom, you put the wrong email address on my application, there's no dot in m…

> At this point my coworker gave up and the kid presumably lost his scholarship because his family didn't know you could keep your Gmail address when you moved houses.

Didn't your colleague forward the information ?

Re: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses

#180

Post by jasonv »

robbyking wrote: post #172

A coworker of mine got an email once containing important scholarship information intended for a high school kid in Florida. He did a little looking online and found the kid's and his parent's actual email addresses and forwarded the email to them. So here's where it gets weird/dumb: the kid replies to my friend and his parents and says, "hey mom, you put the wrong email address on my application, there's no dot in m…

I occasionally see a public-ish figure with a website where they publish their email address. This last week, saw someone who advertised their "@cox.com" address. I move way too often to have any kind of confidence in a utility email address like that.
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