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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Traffic? AIBU? Google. Receiving another's emails for years.

281 replies

WhereTheSuburbsMeetUttoxeter · 05/08/2023 22:48

I'm not entirely sure where to head here.

It has been going on for years. I receive her FB notifications, the odd email addressed to her. Now my storage is 98% full - this makes me thinks it involves both accounts.

I'll explain as easily as I can - say my Gmail is google.user @ Gmail . Com
Hers is googleuser @ Gmail. Com

She lives in America in a town that has the same name as a UK town and we both have the same name. The only difference is the . in the email.

I've looked at how to report. It doesn't seem like any scam as it's being going so long. Imagine she is mabelsmithtown and I am mabelsmith.town

I don't know where to start with getting in touch. I tried to email her and it came back to me!

Sorry, boring for a Saturday night but surely there is something amiss and wrong here.
I first noticed when getting Facebook notifications thinking, I don't know that person. But I can't find her on Facebook either.
It's highly unlikely that I've 98% filled my Gmail.

Just looking for thoughts or how someone can help me get in touch with someone?

OP posts:
floflip · 05/08/2023 22:52

I had a similar issue. Eventually I had an appointment confirmation come through. I emailed the company back, explained and politely asked they inform the other person and ask them to stop using my address. She contacted me and didn't believe me until I forwarded her on some emails that looked like they needed her attention. It still happens occasionally but I usually just delete

SmartHome · 05/08/2023 22:53

This doesn't sound right as in Google land that is the same address. So name surname at Google is the same as name.surname at Google. It's the same email address. She must just be using your address as it the same as her name? Can you log into that account?

flutteronbye · 05/08/2023 22:53

That's odd, I have a gmail account and as I have randomuser@ gmail.com I can also use random.user and r.andomuser (I've done this for new accounts to avail of new user offers), it will always come back to me, no one else. Sounds like the person has accidentally used your email address, they won't be getting your emails. Why not message them directly on facebook?

SmartHome · 05/08/2023 22:56

As long as you can login to the account just ignore it. you're getting her emails because she's using your address. She won't be able to see those emails (maybe change you're password to be sure). The emails you are sending 'hee' are doing back to you because you're sending them to yourself. The dot doesnt make any difference in Gmail.

justasoul · 05/08/2023 22:56

googleuser and google.user are the same email on gmail - hers might be a letter different for example but she’s using yours by mistake. If you’re getting her Facebook notifications, can you find her there and message her?

monpetitlapin · 05/08/2023 22:57

Just close this account and get a new one with the same address but with a number on the end or something. Job done.

HyggeTygge · 05/08/2023 22:59

As others have said, it's the same address in Google's eyes. I have regular emails addressed to someone with my name in another country - but our names have the first and last names swapped around if you see what I mean. It just means they've given their own email address incorrectly to various places. I get all sorts of confidential stuff!

Delete them to stop them using your storage. Google won't be able to do anything.

You could probably sign into her facebook account as you'd get the password prompt to your email address, but I don't know how you could do that in a nice way to achieve what you want... she needs to change the email address registered on her facebook account to one she actually uses and can access.

HyggeTygge · 05/08/2023 23:01

monpetitlapin · 05/08/2023 22:57

Just close this account and get a new one with the same address but with a number on the end or something. Job done.

Does anyone really do this when they receive misdirected emails?!

You definitely don't need to do this - for me this would be a major hassle as I have so much set up with my google account it would take ages.

MadAboutIt · 05/08/2023 23:02

Is it a case that her name could be spelt slightly differently but people are defaulting to a more usual spelling like yours?

burnoutbabe · 05/08/2023 23:05

I have this with yahoo mail.

I can't close her Facebook going to my email as I can't identify any of her friends to get past security!

I do log in and change passwords for anything else I get signed up for so they can't use it.

It's annoying (luckily I don't use that yahoo mail often)

CheersToMe · 05/08/2023 23:07

Probably other people guessing or misspelling her email.

My mum gets this occasionally because gmail also doesn't differentiate between its @gmail.com @googlemail.com etc,

Original poster
WhereTheSuburbsMeetUttoxeter · 05/08/2023 23:15

SmartHome · 05/08/2023 22:53

This doesn't sound right as in Google land that is the same address. So name surname at Google is the same as name.surname at Google. It's the same email address. She must just be using your address as it the same as her name? Can you log into that account?

No she isn't using my address and the emails that come through are for her

I.e there is no. . There, no misspelling, no mistake they come through with her email address.

OP posts:
Original poster
WhereTheSuburbsMeetUttoxeter · 05/08/2023 23:17

CheersToMe · 05/08/2023 23:07

Probably other people guessing or misspelling her email.

My mum gets this occasionally because gmail also doesn't differentiate between its @gmail.com @googlemail.com etc,

No... I check the emails, I check the detail, I send receives codes.

They are being sent to her, but coming to me.

They are being sent to her address and coming to me.

I don't how to explain it any clearer.

OP posts:
Original poster
WhereTheSuburbsMeetUttoxeter · 05/08/2023 23:19

MadAboutIt · 05/08/2023 23:02

Is it a case that her name could be spelt slightly differently but people are defaulting to a more usual spelling like yours?

No.

It's a different Gmail address, it isn't mine. Similar but not mine.
It's shows her email address that's how I know it's not my email address.

OP posts:
Houseofpainjumparound · 05/08/2023 23:23

I keep getting the single use codes to reset my password have done for years despite not requesting it...... its very odd sometimes I get 2 or 3 a day for a week then it goes quiet before starting again

Merrilydancing · 05/08/2023 23:24

This happened to my dh and likewise it wasn’t a typo. This individual was getting married and we heard all of the arrangements, including date and location in the UK.

I think that my dh went to google to get them to stop it but apparently it is a “thing” with google.

Original poster
WhereTheSuburbsMeetUttoxeter · 05/08/2023 23:26

I GIVE UP.

SHE has her own address. HER email comes to ME, with HER email address.

People are emailing HER with HER CORRECT address, however
They are coming to ME.

I'm asking if there is any way to contact Google.

It's not a misspelling, it's not a mistake, it's a different email address arriving in my inbox.

I'm going to bed I'll look further tomorrow, because this isn't typos, this is 2:emails almagamating.

I checked out the Facebook friends, they're a 1000 miles a from me. I know her name, I know what business she is in.

Just, this isn't because someone has typed something wrong 🙄

OP posts:
Original poster
WhereTheSuburbsMeetUttoxeter · 05/08/2023 23:28

Merrilydancing · 05/08/2023 23:24

This happened to my dh and likewise it wasn’t a typo. This individual was getting married and we heard all of the arrangements, including date and location in the UK.

I think that my dh went to google to get them to stop it but apparently it is a “thing” with google.

Hallelujah! Thank you.

Do you know how he contacted them?

I'll catch up tomorrow so don't worry tonight.

OP posts:
TimeIhadaNameChange · 05/08/2023 23:29

She shouldn't have been able to register that address. As others have said, [email protected] and [email protected] will go to the same inbox.

Have you tried emailing Google? I presume you've tried getting in touch via FB. Maybe try messaging a few of her FM friends to see if they can get the message to her.

Merrilydancing · 05/08/2023 23:30

He’s asleep now but I’ll try and remember to ask him in the morning.

lljkk · 05/08/2023 23:32

There was a long thread about this happening to many MNers, years ago. I don't think they had a simple solution, either.

Since she is American (I think?) I am surprised you can't find her physical street address & send her a postal letter. Address tends to be easy.

ThereIsIron · 05/08/2023 23:33

As everyone has said, [email protected] is the same as [email protected] as far as Google/Gmail is concerned.

I have the same problem. The email address I use is [email protected] and I get loads of emails for [email protected] when I know for a fact it should be [email protected] i.e. the user keeps forgetting to put their middle initial in. I just delete them all now as they're received.

cakewench · 05/08/2023 23:35

Adding a . doesn’t make it a different address with gmail, though, which is why so many of us are confused about what’s happening. I regularly use additional .’s to change my email if registering multiple times for a service that requires different emails. Cakewench, c.akewench etc would all come to my email as gmail basically disregards that punctuation.

I have a regular issue with people with my same name in other countries. I assume they’ve type something slightly incorrectly when I get them. I sometimes respond if it’s a personal one or if I’m getting spammed because of a bill, otherwise I just block and forget them (in the cases of email lists etc)

BonneMamanIsMyJam · 05/08/2023 23:36

It happens to me too. But as others have said, the same email address letters of the alphabet with any dots added cannot be registered to another account so she is definitely just typing it wrong. I know the woman whose email I get does this.

They must be very sloppy to type it incorrectly so many times but it happens all the time. I get so much personal info about this person.