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)

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.

I have this too op. It's an American woman I see her bills and payments for toll roads, flight bookings, holiday plans with her friends then emails discussing the holiday afterwards
I have replied so many times even to the friends saying it's the wrong address but never get replies. I wonder if it's a scam of sorts

If you don't use that email address anyway just close it.

I’ve never had this happen but my emails aren’t [email protected] etc

Why are you being so harsh? I've done this before, I wasn't concentrating and I sent this woman some really private info. She was also not very nice about it. It's an easy mistake to make especially when you have work emails, private emails, emails in old names, joint emails. I'd write to her and let her know.

@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.

I haven't cancelled it... just venting as I say above.

I think she does/must realise by now. It's been a long time. And I've tried a lot of ways to get in touch. I could write to her, yes. But it's annoying. Not saying I'm an early adopter to be smug - it just means you're more likely to get other people's email. Most of the time it doesn't bother me. This one is doing a LOT with my email.

@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.

No, it's her fault as she's putting that email address in as hers when, say, booking a flight. They don't take those addresses out of the form and retype them in manually for the confirmation emails!

@RedHelenB

If you don't use that email address anyway just close it.

I do use it unfortunately, so that's not an option.

@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!

It will likely be this. DH has [email protected] and gets a lot of stuff intended for [email protected].

Write to her to let her know it's happening.

My maiden name email address was in the form jdoe@... I once got John Doe's bankruptcy paperwork and court details!

@Sleepyquest

Why are you being so harsh? I've done this before, I wasn't concentrating and I sent this woman some really private info. She was also not very nice about it. It's an easy mistake to make especially when you have work emails, private emails, emails in old names, joint emails. I'd write to her and let her know.

I don't think I've been harsh. This isn't a one-off mistake. This is spanning a couple of years. I've tried messaging her now, tried to look for her in other ways, I've asked various companies to let her know. I've changed passwords so she should realise next time she logs in. Also, it means she's not getting any confirmation emails, which you'd think would be helpful!

I unsubscribe when I can. I set up redirection to junk when it's particularly annoying (eg loads of different walmart emails from slightly different walmart addresses) but really what I'd like is for her to start using her own email.

It's not a big issue, but big enough for me to vent on Mumsnet admittedly :D.

Normally when it gets really bad I get grumpy about it, half-heartedly look for her, then forget about it for a few months.

Yes, perhaps I'll cancel the cheque/write to her. But I was trying free routes first as I don't particularly want to spend money on overseas postage.

This happened to me but luckily I found the woman on Facebook. She was a older woman living in the States and was just getting mixed up with the address.

Are you sure it's not accidental, I have a similar formatted address and the other "Jane blogs" sometimes puts .com not .co.uk so I've had occasional stuff, managed to email her and it hasn't happened since.

But how much effort is it to ignore emails. You literally have to do nothing. Why are you giving this any headspace whatsoever?

Ignore any emails not for you. Get on with the rest of your life. Job done!

I wouldn’t bother writing to her. It’ll cost a few quid to post to America and take ages to get there. If she’s ignoring your texts why would she pay attention to your letter?

I had a similar situation, but only on FB. Someone had signed up with my exact address which had preventing me access to my account. However I could log into hers.

I was unable to get a response from her, and FB gave me back my account, which I didn't want after all this, and they stopped answering my messages asking why they had allowed someone else to use my e.mail.

Due to not getting anywhere I did get really fed up, so added loads of friends to her account, changed her profile pic and prevented her for accessing it. I no longer get her notifications.

In your case, the person may not have a clue what they are doing, but the responsibility for their use of e.mails is down to them. After contacting everyone concerned and getting nowhere, I would be likely to cancel the flight, and if possible book them on one that goes somewhere else. It might make them aware of what a risk she is taking with her own security because there seems to be no other way to do it, unless you can bounce the e.mails back.

When this happened to me I set up a new email address. Sent a message to everyone in my contacts telling them that the current one was being closed and this was the new way to contact me. Then closed the old email down. It's not that difficult to deal with, you just have to be aware of needing to change contact info if on-line shopping etc. I did that as I went along. I clear cookies regularly anyway for security, so often need to re-enter my email address.
That way when the airline send her an email it will bounce back to them and they will realise there is a problem.

This happens to me ALL THE TIME. I have a very boring name and got a Gmail very early on. Other people have the same address but with numbers after the name. I get all sorts from loads of people. Passport renewals, phone bills (usually verizon), car bills (usually Honda), Dr appointments, the wallmart stuff.

My most recent one was an incident report for something and the scan had the correct email on it, they'd just not bothered with the numbers.

I almost once cancelled something because I was so fed up. I've contacted the companies before, or tried to contact the person. Now I just report as spam and delete, unless it seems very important and there's an email address to reply to.

I'm half glad it's not just me.

I had this with my sons account. He's 7 so doesn't actually own it yet but it's for me to send him emails . Turns out someone with the same name thought his email was a gmail account and not an iCloud account . I was getting the same
Sort of emails . Then one day his mum emailed him a photo of them both and I replied saying this isn't his account and
My sons account was xxxxxxxxxx@gmail.

I did think that they must be wondering where all the confirmation emails were going .

I had this with an email address that wasn't my name. It was a silly phrase and the email address was used for things like forum registration and PayPal notification etc. I keep my firstnamesurname one for volunteer stuff/job application etc. I got college acceptance information, car hire details all sorts. All I can think was the man who did it was using a variation of spelling of a word. I got stuff from his friends with a load of photos so emailed to say can you please tell Drew to check the email he is giving out!!! It stopped after that.

Gmail doesn't see dots/fullstops in email addresses so if you are Jenny.Smith you also have JennySmith and J.enny.Smith and basically any combination of dot in there and it's still your email address. Gmail wouldn't allow someone to register Jenny.Smith if you already have JennySmith. Likewise capitals and lower case.

It's annoying and you have my sympathies

And it is annoying. Once or twice is fine but I spent ages worried that I was somehow getting scammed or being signed up to things like Grindr maliciously. Or someone was attempting to get into my accounts ( because I had password requests !) .

This happens all the time, it's easy to make a typo

I get emails for someone of my name but obvioulsy a slightly different address (I don't know what it is to contact her) and there is an American lady of the same name as me who gets my messages when senders type .com rather than .co.uk

It's a tad annoying but not something I give any mind to

Why do you think it’s brazen or even laziness rather than a genuine error?

My email is also very secure 2FA, check security page often. I'm not deleting my whole ancient Google account because other people can't type their email in properly.

Once is an error. Over and over and over again despite being told is laziness.
Isn't it basic stuff that if you have to put your email address into something important - job application, flight booking etc you check and double check?