Maxwell Lol wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@localhost.localdomain:
Yes I also assign different return addresses to different vendors and merchants. Just because of the complexity, I've standardized on about a half dozen addresses shared between dozens of vendors. Recently I've started getting spam to the address which Woodcraft and several other (apparently innocent) vendors share for my system. So here's your collaborating evidence. Now I know who sold or lost my address - thanks Woodcraft.
I give every vendor I deal with a new and unique e-mail address.
Well, I started getting spam sent to the address that only I and Woodcraft know about. There are several possibilities
1) spammers used a dictionary to guess the account name, but "woodcraft" isn't a common dictionary word.
2) Spammers hacked my system. That's unlikely. I use a hardened Linux mail system behind a firewall with virus checking, etc.
3) Spammers got into the system that sends out the woodcraft e-mail messages.
I'm betting #3. Anyone else have collaborating evidence?
p.s. Borders also seems to like to help spammers...
I'm seeing some words in your post that appear to be a contradictory...
All three of your possibilities seem to place the blame on actions taken solely by the spammers. However, you end your post with "Borders also seems to like to help spammers... "
To me, your use of the word "also" implies that you think Woodcraft helped make your e-mail address available to the spammers.
Are you placing blame on Woodcraft, the spammers, or a combination of the two?
Random guessing has a lot to do with it. If you want an email that gets little or no spam you need to google the email creation rules. They are similar to creating a good password
I'm seeing some words in your post that appear to be a contradictory...
All three of your possibilities seem to place the blame on actions taken solely by the spammers. However, you end your post with "Borders also seems to like to help spammers... "
To me, the use of the word "also" implies that you think Woodcraft had a hand in making your e-mail address available to the spammers.
Are you placing blame on Woodcraft, the spammers or both?
Maybe. I have an email address that is never given out and is used strictly to send one piece of mail to one other controlled address a day. I still get spam. Could have been a guess by a spammer that knows Polish aircraft from WWII plus a couple of digits.
If Woodcraft allowed (through incompetence) spammers to hack into their database, then yes, they are responsible as well. If they hired a software company to do this for them then this company deserves a share of the blame.
But this is still just a theory. Perhaps my machine was hacked.
While theoretically true, I watch the logs on my mail server. I see each failed guess (I get a User Unknown). I don't see to many of these, and when I see a dictionary attempt in place, I firewall the server from the attacker, so they can no longer send e-mail.
For some reason you have neglected to list possibility #4: Woodcraft sold their mailing list to whomever is spamming you. No hacking involved. Just a straight cash transaction.
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:AVFAi.2841$j23.774@trndny06:
Yup, and it's pure coincidence that spam started for Maxwell about the same time as mine. Like I said, I use that address for about a half dozen vendors so I couldn't narrow it down before. It is one hell of a coincidence the spammer is dictionary guessing two guys with Woodcraft accounts simultaneously. And I do monitor the mail logs on my server also, but recently cleaned out the spam trap, so now i'll pay a little more attention to particulars about this addresses spam, which it had gotten none for several years.
My bet is #4. Nobody reads company policies about what they are authorized to do with your email address once you click the submit button. It is probably clearly stated somewhere in their policy.
I see and hear a lot about people receiving huge amounts of spam, but I've never been bothered with it. A few come in sporadically but nothing that wears out my delete button. Several months ago, I got at least one email each day encouraging me to buy some off-the-wall penny stocks that were guaranteed to triple (or more) in value within a few weeks, but that stopped after a week or so. I noted the ID of a few of them and checked on them later. Every one had lost value. Wish I had shorted them. Figure it was someone trying to inflate demand for the stocks to drive the price up so they could sell theirs.
Right now, some fool is trying to sell me some kind of outrageously expensive watch for some seriously discounted price. I took my watch off when I retired 5 years ago and haven't worn it since. Think I'll pass on that offer, too.
That's about it for the spam I get, and I take no special pains to hide my email address from vendors or anyone else, for that matter. I do have a rule on my inbox that sends emails from anyone not in my address book to a junk folder and automatically deletes any of those that aren't addressed specifically to me. Maybe that's getting rid of all the junk.
I have an account that I have had for more than 10 years, back then, one included a valid e-mail address with one's Usenet postings. That account now gets on the order of 300+ e-mails per day. It amazes me the number of people concerned about my need for time pieces or the size of one of my anatomical features. I used to use that address for all on-line transactions, but it has become so clogged with spam, any confirmation e-mails are washed out by the spam. I've missed confirmations from Grizzly and Woodworkers Supply.
So, I'm now in the process of abandoning that address to the spammers. I've notified those from whom I wish to continue to receive e-mail and changed account ID's with those merchants who use the e-mail address as an account ID. I will periodically delete all e-mail from that account with no effort expended to read any of it. Since it was the primary e-mail address for my ISP account, I can't just delete that box, or I'd do so.
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