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Ask HN: People who use different emails everywhere, who sold you to spammers?

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Re: Ask HN: People who use different emails everywhere, who sold you to spammers?

#231

Post by vfistri2 »

croon wrote: post #209
brenainn wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was getting some dude's email for about 7 years. Started with newsletters and discussion threads for a journalism guild and a teacher's union. I found that amusing and left it, but one day emailed whoever was in charge and let them know I'm not the intended recipient. Stopped for a while and then it started again and I ignored it. But in the last few years I started getting hotel reservations, golf course membershi…

> I was getting some dude's email for about 7 years. Started with newsletters and discussion threads for a journalism guild and a teacher's union. I found that amusing and left it, but one day emailed whoever was in charge and let them know I'm not the intended recipient. Stopped for a while and then it started again and I ignored it. I had a similar experience, funnily enough golf course memberships too. Doing minim…

it has gotten so bad in usa, with creep calling. Seems whenever somebody is not happy with something their immediate response is you are a creep. I find those kind of people disturbing.

Re: Ask HN: People who use different emails everywhere, who sold you to spammers?

#232

Post by derN3rd »

hamburglar wrote: post #123
_s wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve had a few folks use my email. This is going to prove wildly unpopular but I just reset the password using the email, go in and delete the account (or submit a ticket with support to do so). They can make a new one with their own email if it’s important.

Not wildly unpopular with me. I’ve canceled multiple Netflix accounts using my $firstInitial$lastName@gmail account. My excuse if they ever challenged me would be to say I thought it was fraudulent because I didn’t set it up and I didn’t want my email to be the only contact method. Edit: there is one boost mobile customer who has done this to me and I can’t figure out the exact address they used (the thing where you…

If you still get emails from them you can open the email source on GMail and see where the email was originally sent to (the full address) with all dots and +x addition in it.

Re: Ask HN: People who use different emails everywhere, who sold you to spammers?

#234

Post by fps_doug »

mriet wrote: post #222

The SMTP standard allows you to add a "suffix" to part of your email address that is ignored when delivering the message. I never give out my raw email address, I use: - name+twitter@gmail.com for twitter - name+amazon@gmail.com for amazon - name+hacknews@gmail.com for HN etc Makes it very easy to track down who sold out me email -- and filter on it.

I know this "trick" made the rounds several years ago. I figured it seems like a temporary solution only; once companies selling your data or hackers harvesting it get the memo they'd just remove the +xxxx part and then what?

Re: Ask HN: People who use different emails everywhere, who sold you to spammers?

#236

Post by buro9 »

Two sources:

1. Companies who use dark patterns to spam you even though they implied they wouldn't, and who continue to spam you even after you try and unsub from them. Even Google are bad at this... you can explicitly unsub from everything but dare to purchase another product and they'll yet again include some tiny checkbox somewhere that has resubbed you. These feel like Sisyphean subscriptions.

2. Individuals with similar names who cannot get their own email right and seem determined to never receive their travel documents, insurance policies and other things, and who leave you subscribed to obscure local mailing lists like the one for dog rescue in Florida which I am a BCC on and I can't get the list owner to effectively unsub me, or the school in North Carolina who keep telling about my namesakes child who needs to prep some piece of homework and they tell me this via a no-reply address.

There's not a lot of "leaked email address is used for spam" as one imagines... at least, it's almost zero.

Re: Ask HN: People who use different emails everywhere, who sold you to spammers?

#238

Post by benibela »

narag wrote: post #23

I mostly use one single address, but I can tell you exactly where all the spam comes from: idiots whose name is the same as mine. They give my address as if it belonged to them. Probably they created addresses like narag33@server and they believe that it's narag@server instead. So not only I receive all the spam from dubious sites that they suscribed to, but also their legitimate mail from lists and friends. My names…

Facebook is the worst: https://imgur.com/jQj1EwE

I do not have a facebook account

Re: Ask HN: People who use different emails everywhere, who sold you to spammers?

#239

Post by usr1106 »

withinboredom wrote: post #188
usr1106 wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> where all the spam comes from The problem is the word spam. What you describe, misdirected mail from completely legal businesses is not really spam, even if it is junk for you personally. There is aggressive marketing of very vaguely related products you have actually registered for. There is marketing of illegal products mostly using harvested addresses. There is phishing often using stolen addresses. If you want…

Spam has a legal definition: Unsolicited commercial messages. If the actual receiver didn’t solicit the message, it is spam. It doesn’t matter if the business is legitimate or not, if anything it makes it worse because the FTC occasionally does fine companies for sending spam. Legally, you have to verify the email address before sending any further messages. If you don’t, you open yourself up to some serious fines if…

So phishing and Nigeria letters are not spam because it's not commercial but criminal activity? Not everybody would agree.

What about selling fake products?

Re: Ask HN: People who use different emails everywhere, who sold you to spammers?

#240

Post by withinboredom »

usr1106 wrote: post #239
withinboredom wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spam has a legal definition: Unsolicited commercial messages. If the actual receiver didn’t solicit the message, it is spam. It doesn’t matter if the business is legitimate or not, if anything it makes it worse because the FTC occasionally does fine companies for sending spam. Legally, you have to verify the email address before sending any further messages. If you don’t, you open yourself up to some serious fines if…

So phishing and Nigeria letters are not spam because it's not commercial but criminal activity? Not everybody would agree. What about selling fake products?

You’re getting into fraud territory and leaving spam territory.
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