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Original poster

people with same email address

28 replies

itsnotmeitsu · 16/02/2022 23:10

When I registered my email address many years ago supposedly I'd be the only one who had that address (gmail). Over the last few years that's turned out not to be true. It started off with me receiving emails that, when I checked, had a full stop in the address. Then emails were coming to me with an address exactly the same as mine. Largely it's been amusing to see that I'm teaching in the USA, or being invited to various conferences. I like to see what I'm getting up to across the world. However, the email I got today makes it much more worrying.

I assume it's some kind of phone contract; but due to the email I received I now have the name, birthdate, address and mobile number of a stranger. Imagine what I could do with that information if I was in any way technology-savvy? Well actually I have no idea what I could do with it, as I'm useless when it comes to technology and thankfully I have no criminal tendencies.

OP posts:
RebeccaCloud9 · 16/02/2022 23:12

Surely they haven't got the same email address, but the sender sent it to your (similar) one by mistake?

UserPotato · 16/02/2022 23:15

It's not the same email address, it's a very similar one.

It's quite common to get emails where someone has either given the wrong address or the sender has typed the wrong address in.

I had loads of cheerleading scholarship info when my namesake was going to university. I emailed her and told her she needed to be more careful when she was giving her email address out or she was going to end up missing out on opportunities.

Violetmo0n · 16/02/2022 23:15

Yeah it can't be the exact same.
Could be something as simple as an O and 0 being mixed up.

YellowDots · 16/02/2022 23:18

Then emails were coming to me with an address exactly the same as mine.

Well yes. Emails to your address will come to your account.

Think of it like a phone number. Someone misdials and they end up ringing you by mistake. They don't have exactly the same phone number as you.

littlefaith · 16/02/2022 23:21

I've had this problem too. Ended up with personal photographs, holiday bookings, wedding planner info, acceptance letter from child's school, sports clubs, school reward system log in, essays for proofreading, safety recall for their car etc. All for someone on another continent. I diligently forwarded everything along for several years, contacted the real recipient and told them they were consistently giving out the incorrect email address then eventually got fed up. Now I just ignore. Pisses me right off that someone is so utterly stupid as to make the same mistake over and over and over again Angry

Ulelia · 16/02/2022 23:21

If it has a full stop it's a different email address. [email protected] is a different address to [email protected], for example.

It happens. Especially in the US where data protection laws are more lax (I don't know if they differ by state maybe?)

A few years ago, due to the same email address mix-up, I got sent the full details of a house move from a solicitor in California, with bank details contacts, financial history etc for both the vendor and the buyer of a beautiful house in malibu. Fascinating to see the house! But nothing to do with me. I replied and said I'd delete it but was just alerting them to a data breach, and got a very casual reply thanking me for letting them know. They continued to cc me into every email about the purchase for weeks though!

littlefaith · 16/02/2022 23:23

Our emails are the same bar a middle initial. Along the lines of sambell@gmail and sammbell@gmail

BurntO · 16/02/2022 23:26

OH this happens to me. Someone in Arizona with the same name as me. Both gmail addresses but mine has no . in between names and theirs does. I get receipts, wedding venue details, car rental details, doctors appointments….baffling. I can tell they’re legit emails so I reply and say they have the wrong person and I always get an apology back from the business…but does this person not wonder where their emails are going?? I am taking about 3 emails a year but for the last 8 years but it’s all Important stuff, not spam

alexdgr8 · 16/02/2022 23:29

where i used to work, i would sometimes get emails for someone with a similar name. these were internal emails, intranet.
there was a directory of all employees, and their dept job title.
we were different genders, depts and jobs.
it was just carelessness. the senders didn't bother to read the directory properly.
they would send confidential information about named minors, medical matters, legal matters, and personnel information inc bank details.
when i pointed out that they and the employer could face legal sanctions for data breach, i got replies such as they didn't like my tone.
this was a public authority. not much sense of duty or public service.

ShineTogether · 16/02/2022 23:33

I have the same problem. I use shine.together@gmail and my doppelgänger uses shinetogether@gmail

I get things addressed to the one without the dot delivered to my inbox all the time. It's creepy and I hate it. What are they seeing that belongs to me?

justasoul · 16/02/2022 23:37

Dots make a different in some providers, but not Gmail.

ScotInExile · 16/02/2022 23:44

I get this too with a lady in the US. When I queried it I was told that gmail accounts do not differentiate between names with a dot and names without so if your address is [email protected] you will also receive mail sent to [email protected]. It's a problem with gmail itself and is not always down to someone mistyping the address.

Ulelia · 16/02/2022 23:48

@justasoul interesting, I didn't know that. Thank you!

BurntO · 16/02/2022 23:49

@ScotInExile

I get this too with a lady in the US. When I queried it I was told that gmail accounts do not differentiate between names with a dot and names without so if your address is [email protected] you will also receive mail sent to [email protected]. It's a problem with gmail itself and is not always down to someone mistyping the address.
I concur. I get these emails and they DO have the dot in the address but I still receive them when my email has no dot. It’s gmail and it’s a massive flaw
Lindy2 · 16/02/2022 23:57

DH has someone with almost the same email apart from one is .co.uk and one is .com

Unfortunately his namesake is dyslexic and often muddles up the correct ending of his email so DH gets the email instead. They've actually had email conversations with each other about it.

DH tends to forward on any important stuff. He's received namesake's exam results in the past.

Namesake is now on lots of dating sites using the wrong email which has resulted in DH receiving emails from several possible new lady friends which was a bit of a surprise. It's lucky I trust DH! 😂

withiceplease · 16/02/2022 23:59

I get this at work. Same nhs trust, slightly different spellings of my name. I used to forward them to the correct person. Then I just gave a polite reply. Now I give a less than polite reply e.g 'check recipient'.
I think I'm going to go down the data breach route now
I was asked to sort sandwiches for a lunch a few years ago. I wish I hadn't forwarded that one!

JoBrodie · 17/02/2022 00:02

Yep, [email protected] and [email protected] are just aliases (also [email protected]) - all go to the same mailbox.

I've had loads of these over the years with my Gmail but also worth being aware of potential scams. In this example Netflix would allow two people to sign up with different (though actually the same) email addresses, so Account 1 would be [email protected] and Account 2 could be [email protected]. Only one person would get requests for payment cards to be updated and might not notice the variant email address... jameshfisher.com/2018/04/07/the-dots-do-matter-how-to-scam-a-gmail-user/

Jo

Original poster
itsnotmeitsu · 17/02/2022 00:04

@ScotInExile > Yes, exactly. Someone has set up a web address which is identical to mine and it's been allowed. There's other emails coming to me because of the added full-stop, etc, but there's also obviously someone with the exact email address I have, and the worrying thing is that I may not be a useless technophone who's receiving their information.

OP posts:
pisspants · 17/02/2022 00:05

I have this with someone who has the same name as me - not a common name but she is co.uk and I am .com or vice versa. I get all sorts for her. One time I cancelled a booking as thought it was mine as had something else similar planned in a similar location on similar dates and thought I'd fucked it up. She got very shitty about it!

altforvarmt · 17/02/2022 00:05

When I registered my email address many years ago supposedly I'd be the only one who had that address (gmail). Over the last few years that's turned out not to be true. It started off with me receiving emails that, when I checked, had a full stop in the address. Then emails were coming to me with an address exactly the same as mine.

You are the only one with your email address. If other people use your email address erroneously (with or without full stops because that makes no difference with gmail), you will receive those emails.

There's someone in the UK with my name who keeps using my email address for her Covid tests.

And another in the US who uses my email address to sign up for various streaming services. Disturbingly, when I've tried to flag the problem to the companies involved, one of them told me to log into the account (her account!) and cancel the subscription.

MaryAndHerNet · 17/02/2022 00:08

I got some holiday snaps once via email of a family I don't know.

"Here you go mum, the photos I said about"
Was the message.

I replied telling them that my daughter was only 6 so if you're a long lost son I don't remember having it'd be nice to meet you.

He replied back apologising and such.

We had a bit of a chat, turns out they were in Turkey and having a fab time.

He emailed a week after to clarify the mistake:
My email is something like [email protected]
His mum's email is [email protected]

Original poster
itsnotmeitsu · 17/02/2022 00:09

@justasoul > Thanks for pointing this out.

OP posts:
1990s · 17/02/2022 00:16

@Ulelia

If it has a full stop it's a different email address. [email protected] is a different address to [email protected], for example.

It happens. Especially in the US where data protection laws are more lax (I don't know if they differ by state maybe?)

A few years ago, due to the same email address mix-up, I got sent the full details of a house move from a solicitor in California, with bank details contacts, financial history etc for both the vendor and the buyer of a beautiful house in malibu. Fascinating to see the house! But nothing to do with me. I replied and said I'd delete it but was just alerting them to a data breach, and got a very casual reply thanking me for letting them know. They continued to cc me into every email about the purchase for weeks though!

Not with Gmail. Gmail doesn’t recognise fill stops in the bit before the domain (the @) so these are the same email address.
AuntyBumBum · 17/02/2022 00:22

I'm in a similar position. I'm [email protected], but someone else thinks they're jemimanicholls without the dot. Whatever they're email address actually is, it's not that, because their messages used to come to me!

Google allows you to set up filters. So I've got one that deletes anything addressed to jemimanicholls as soon as it arrives. It works great and I haven't seen her messages for a couple of years except when I very occasionally look in my trash folder. I'm still amazed to see what's languishing there. Important messages, personal emails, photos etc. Some Jemimas are a bit dim.

Redglitter · 17/02/2022 00:31

I've got THREE numpties who think my address is theirs

1 is a person in the Edinburgh area who I get emails about their business plans

2 is someone down south who is interested in Rock Chior & dog walking - among other things

3 is the client of an idiot lawyer in the US who will insist on cc ing me into confidential emails. I've lost count of how often I've told him I'm not his client but it makes no difference- totally unprofessional

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