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Original poster

My email address being used by someone else with the same name

68 replies

SarfE4sticated · 01/04/2018 09:40

Hi there,
Hope you can help - someone with the same name as me, living in a different part of the country, is using my email address. I am getting bombarded with invoices from online shopping sites, and lots of spam.
Because I am getting their online shopping paperwork, I know their address and mobile number. I have emailed the sites they are shopping with to let them know that they are using the wrong address but there is usually a 5 day time lag in their response and in that time I get loads of emails.
I don't know what to do about it. I googled my name and in their area they are known as a 'crime family' (local paper description) so I don't want to get on the wrong side of them.
What do I do?

OP posts:
Mamaryllis · 01/04/2018 18:16

I have an alter-ego that works for L'Oreal, another that is on a church committee (who must, frankly, be pissed off that she never turns up for meetings, or responds to emails) and another that works for a school. I can provide details of which students are switching classes, and records of confidential meetings between parents and the HT. I assume she is the administrator. I reply to sender asking them to check their records. Periodically I get an 'oops, apologies' but a few months later it happens again.

Redglitter · 01/04/2018 18:17

But you're doing them a favour. They're probably baffled as to why they're missing so many emails. It's not as if you got the phone number through dodgy methods. It's the simplest solution and is doing you both a favour. Would you think it was rude if someone phoned you under these circumstances. I get wrong emails meant for someone in Wales. If any of her nails had a phone number I wouldn't think twice about phoning

Original poster
SarfE4sticated · 01/04/2018 18:23

I wonder if a big and brash THIS IS THE WRONG EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE AMEND YOUR RECORDS email to the sender might drive the point home a bit. Possibly with a threatening image like this one...

Possibly not for the feint-hearted though!

My email address being used by someone else with the same name
OP posts:
Original poster
SarfE4sticated · 01/04/2018 18:27

I'll see if I get anymore Red. Have asked the online shopping companies to speak to them, so maybe that will drive the point home a bit.

OP posts:
TheFifthKey · 01/04/2018 18:31

My alter ago used to work for Google and still gets her Gmail address wrong! Not my fault she didn’t sign up quick enough to get her full name and I did...

She’s booked in for a hair appointment to have her greys covered up, I know that much Grin

agentdaisy · 01/04/2018 22:41

I had this at school where they used first initial and last name as your email/intranet log in. I ended up being given the same login as someone else and it was a pita to sort, best bit was I got blamed for using the wrong login by my teacher until I showed them the paper with my login details that they'd given me. Still waiting for the apology though.

It's why I don't use just my name as my email now. I add in a word so it's almost impossible for someone to end up with the same one. So instead of [email protected] I'll use [email protected].

Original poster
SarfE4sticated · 02/04/2018 08:30

Email at school Daisy? We had fountain pens and ink pots!

OP posts:
Tatiannatomasina · 07/04/2018 02:21

I have this with a lady in the UK - I am in Oz. She spends an awful lot of money at very.co.uk I occasionally have a look at the furniture she buys to see if i like it but alas, same name, very different tastes 🤣🤣🤣

achangeisasgoodasabreakdown · 07/04/2018 02:31

This never happens to me, but I kind of wish it did. My DM types her email address wrong almost every time she enters it into something, but I can't see anyone enjoying her emails - just a lot of Marks and Spencers, the very occassional hotel, and more golf than a sane person could stomach.

koyaanisqatsi · 09/04/2018 09:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MsHomeSlice · 09/04/2018 09:35

i made up a gmail account for facebook which was my initialsFB and somewhere out there is a dotless version and i sometimes get sign ups for that, but not very often

it's definitely the that's the issue!

Instagram mailed me a password change with the dotless version, so I changed it. I often wonder if some poor soul is weeping tears of temper trying to hack back into their own instagram account :o

DeegeeDee · 13/04/2018 14:06

Loving this thread as had wondered what to do about the "others" when I started getting these emails in the past couple of years and yes it's gmail. He is an oil and gas executive in Texas with power drills, hotel rooms and large cars regularly ordered, she is in Kansas and doing a lot of interviews but neither as interesting as the mafia.

Did mail a few of the sites to say wrong email address but no responses and when in America last year called her and left a message but suspect she ignored the weird message as I still get emails. Now I just put them all into spam.

Original poster
SarfE4sticated · 14/04/2018 15:10

Judging by the amount of tracksuits mine ordered, I don't think they're as stylish as the mafia Grin.
The emails have stopped now, so hopefully the calls from the customer services people have helped.

It's sad when our name doubles lead more exciting lives than us isn't it.

OP posts:
Corneliusmurphy · 14/04/2018 15:19

Thought this was going to be something different; years ago a friend got a really shitty email complaining he'd taken the email address that the complainer should have! Genuinely thought it would make him give up the email address... Grin

MsJuniper · 14/04/2018 15:24

I have had this twice: first for a Domino's Pizza account, so I get notified if they've ordered a pizza (don't know if they've ever wondered why they aren't getting confirmations etc) and second and more excitingly, as a supporter of one Donald Trump. It seems like someone made a donation once using my email address so I now receive regular updates from the POTUS, with subject lines like "No, Steve! We ARE building the wall!". I'm also regularly asked to take part in polls saying whether I think DT is doing a Fantastic/Great/Ok/Other job as president. DH is appalled that I haven't unsubscribed but it's the most entertaining thing that's happened to me in years.

Daisymay2 · 14/04/2018 15:33

I had someone sign up with my email address to Ebay. Kept on being notified of her "winnings" She was buying a load of stuff for her 3 kids. Kept asking suppliers to notify her of the wrong address and also contacted her via EBay but she said she had not used my gmail address to set up her account.
E Bay were useless. In the end I contacted her via Ebay again copying details of what she had purchased and including her address details. My message was very curt I had had about 200 messages for her at this point and was a little fed up.
Interestingly, I had an email advising me I had changed my Ebay account within 15 minutes so she acted when she realised I had her address.
Cancelled her Dropbox application as well!

Daisymay2 · 14/04/2018 15:41

Oh and to a different gmail account using my previous surname, I keep getting invitations reunions at UC Davis in California faculty of Agriculture. There is a lovely guy who keeps emailing apologies when a different part of the faculty has failed to update their records.

bunbunny · 14/04/2018 16:12

@AnarchyKitty - I'd have been tempted to try to forward the lot on to the ex wife's lawyer if he was trying to hide a load of stuff! Grin

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