Someone keeps using my email address. WWYD?

[InaccurateDream]

Someone keeps using my very boring firstname lastname icloud account.

I know it sounds like a minor irritation but it's more than just spam. Eg they bought loads of stuff at Walmart using the address so I was getting order confirmation, order dispatch, order arrived emails, product reminder emails etc. It's at least 'medium annoying!'

I'm getting loads of insurance emails, lots of Fox Nation ones. And it's all the same person so not spam as such, but purposeful activity.

Last year she bought flights using my email. I could see her full name, address, names of her children and even had access to cancel the flight.

I got in touch with the place where she bought it and asked them to take the account down. They did - until the next time.

She's just bought a new flight (short internal US flight)! I can cancel it in one click. I'm really tempted to - what would you do?

There was a US phone number in the booking details so I have messaged it (it was on imessage) and asked them to stop using my email address please (I was nice). I sent a follow up saying I would cancel the flight in the morning.

Message has been delivered but not read. Of course that could be fake too.

I can't find her on social media/Facebook. Though I have messaged someone who could be her son.

I just don't know if it's laziness, stupidity, maliciousness. Probably the first. But it's making me grumpy when I think about it (which is only when I get a new email with all her details in it!).

Would deleting her flight be a step too far?

(have changed username for this thread)

[Purplewithred]

That is totally weird - I would assume it's a mistake, but maybe I'm being naive. Can you change your password or something?

[Lockheart]

It's clearly just someone who has a very similar name mistyping their email. Presumably she must be wondering why she never gets confirmations.

Try calling the number in a few hours, once the US is awake!

[ExcellentSquiggles]

I’ve had this a couple of times. One was a kid trying to sign up for roblox and similar and another some guy in America buying cars parts and a Walmart account. I messaged the American guy (found him on Facebook) and he was apologetic and it’s not happened since. The kid ... at first I was cancelling accounts but they kept signing back up so now I just sign in and change the password so they get locked out!

I’d be tempted to cancel something less important than a flight but I wouldn’t blame you for doing it!

[Lockheart]

You could even write to her as you have her address.

[dancinfeet]

Cancel the flight, change the password, and send her a good old fashioned letter (since you have her name and address) telling her to stop fraudulently using your email address. Job done.

[EmpressWitchDoesntBurn]

Is her full name very similar to yours - is it obvious what mistake she keeps making?

[Wrotten]

@Purplewithred

That is totally weird - I would assume it's a mistake, but maybe I'm being naive. Can you change your password or something?

Changing the password doesn't do anything to help in this situation.

OP, I'd contact her once more (as she may think it's dodgy) and explain the situation again. If she still doesn't respond start cancelling everything.

[LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow]

is it exactly the same?? No "dots/fullstops/underscores" ? I am sure I read somewhere that sometimes systems don't see those so

firstnamelastname@emailprovider will get confused with firstname.lastname@emailprovider

so she may be using her correct address but the responses are being diverted to you??

I had an issue once with instagram I use my initials email for that and someone else had them with capital and an underscore. I sent an email via another account and also changed the password and signed them out, not had any bother since!

[HyggeTygge]

I get this every so often, it's been going on for years. Hers is lastname.firstname@isp and mine is firstname.lastname. i don't know how she forgets every so often but clearly she does as i get all sorts. I politely email the sender saying they should try the correct address. But if it's automated and flight bookings I'd just delete and ignore even though I know it's a pain. Don't mess with her booking, you could be breaking some US law or something.

[bananamonkey]

I have the same, I get her furniture finance payment emails, flights, theatre tickets, her hospital rota, her staff COVID vaccination appointment, her swingers site notifications

It’s very annoying. I replied to her HR dept about the rota and COVID jab but I just bin or block the rest, not my problem...

[InaccurateDream]

My icloud account has two-step verification and I changed the password recentlyish so that should be safe.

I have other email addresses and they all get spam so it's nothing new to me, it's the stupidity/brazenness of this one that gets under my skin!

I think it must be laziness over accidental. On gmail there's another person with a similar address to mine - hers has an extra initial in the middle that's easy to miss out, and sometimes I get stuff intended for her. But I understand that and am happy to forward it because we've been in touch now.

This current one has signed up to Fox Nation - the annoying thing about that is you can't log in from the UK so I can't even unsubscribe !

I suppose the next step is writing, I think the address is real at least as she's used it on a few things.

[Robostripes]

I had this!! I used to get so many emails for this woman who had the same name as me. I messaged her loads of times but she still didn’t stop doing it. The crazy thing was that she put my email address down as her ‘back up’ for another email account! So I used it to go in and change her password. Then sent her an email with the new password and told her I’d keep doing it if she didn’t stop using my address and to be more fucking careful! That finally sorted it out! It is really annoying and while cancelling her flight seems harsh you do need to do something big to wake her up.

[Leftphalange]

Just mark the fox nation as spam and then you won't even see it in your inbox

[OffRampHilton]

I get that it’s annoying and needs to be resolved but why would you cancel her flight? What actual tangible benefit would that bring to you?

If anything, it’ll just increase the number of emails you receive as you’ll receive cancellation confirmations etc.

I get that you’re annoyed, but cancelling her flight is petty and mean. She could have an exceptionally important reason for needing to travel.

[InaccurateDream]

Her name is my name. I'm a relatively early adopter of online stuff so it's common for me to get emails for other people on all my accounts. I suppose it could be a full stop issue or similar, but you'd think by now she'd have realised or do it less often! This is the only case where I regularly get receipts for things I really shouldn't, big things they are paying for.

On Walmart I think I could even see her credit card details! I got the account cancelled but you must be able to do a 'quick purchase' without logging in as she still buys stuff from there.

Sigh, I'm just venting really. It's not a huge issue just annoying!

[InaccurateDream]

I haven't cancelled her flight, but I am tempted.

I could change her seat! Would that be a middling sort of acceptable evil activity?

[CharlotteUnaNatalieThompson]

@OffRampHilton

I get that it’s annoying and needs to be resolved but why would you cancel her flight? What actual tangible benefit would that bring to you?

If anything, it’ll just increase the number of emails you receive as you’ll receive cancellation confirmations etc.

I get that you’re annoyed, but cancelling her flight is petty and mean. She could have an exceptionally important reason for needing to travel.

If it's an exceptionally important reason to travel you'd think she could take enough care to put in the correct email address

I'm not sure I'd cancel her flight but I'd be tempted....

[TriangularPrism]

Why would you cancel her flight? Such a dickhead move. She obviously doesn't realise that she's putting the wrong email in.

Not everyone is an "early adopter" of all things technical. Just write her a letter explaining what is happening and what she needs to do.

[IsThisNameTaken]

I've had this for years - a woman in Canada is convinced she has my email address (that I've had ever since firstname.lastname emails became common many years ago). I've had loads of personal stuff, party invites for her kids, appointments, holidays etc. I used to email her, and anyone who sent an invite, telling them it wasn't her email address but never received a response from anyone at all.

[Aposterhasnoname]

I have one of these. It’s someone with the same name as me but just missing a dot out of her email account. Irritating, but not the end of the world.

[looptheloopinahulahoop]

My DH gets this a lot - I am not sure why this happens, but it's almost certainly nobody deliberately using your email, but for some reason emails to similar addresses to yours being funneled to your email address. For example if you are [email protected], [email protected] might also be going to your email address. And remember it's not the recipient's fault, it's the sender's if they put in the wrong email address. I am sarahssmith, but occasionally people forget the middle s and send it to sarah.smith and it goes to a Sarah Smith (not my real name in case you were wondering) in the US. She actually used to pass things on years ago but eventually got fed up.

At one point though DH was getting information from someone like Currys about installing a washing machine and they were so unconcerned when he pointed out the emails were going to the wrong place. It has also happened to my mother - she has an Irish name and gets emails from a dentist in Dublin ;)

So anyway it could be people mistyping or your email provider not directing the emails properly. Or both.

[looptheloopinahulahoop]

It is a bit weird that she doesn't notice the flight confirmations aren't arriving though!

[Whatabouttery]

I get this too.
Once a psychiatrist emailed about sessions...! Their mistake, they were mortified when I pointed it out.

I was tempted to cancel an order once but felt it would be a bit evil.

I did call a shop first time it happened but they explained that some people just make one up for receipts. Irritating but not much I can do.

I have someone at work in a different dept and city, we have a number different in our emails and I keep getting hers! I just ping them on.

I used to get stopped at airports in the US because my name was on a no-fly list (common name) and they'd just do a security check the same time to fill their quota!!

[Redcrayons]

I had this as well. The other person has the same first initial and surname and mine is rcrayons@.
I used to reply and tell them it’s the wrong email but now I just delete them
She probably has the email and password saved on her laptop so doesn’t notice it’s the wrong one.
You could always go in and change her passwords so she’s forced to reset them.

[Mosaic123]

I get this too. Occasionally I write back to the company to tell them they are wrong. Mostly I block the company and delete the email.