5 ms·

I get an absolutely endless parade of other people's data to my gmail account. Doctors send me MRI scans. Bankers send me foreclosure notices. Airlines send

I get an absolutely endless parade of other people's data to my gmail account. Doctors send me MRI scans. Bankers send me foreclosure notices. Airlines send me tickets. Undertakers send me condolences. The preponderance of evidence suggests that relying on individual vigilance on a large scale does not work as well as relying on the vigilance of large organizations.

dyingkneepad 7y ago
Your experience is far different than mine. In 15 years I only got probably like 2 accidental emails. Is your email something like john@gmail.com?
- wccrawford 7y ago
  I'm somewhere in-between your experience and the parent's. I've had 2-3 instances where it appears that someone put my email address on their account by accident, and I got their auto insurance claims, etc. There was no "click here to verify this is your address" email sent for those. I also got a lot of email for a high school reunion where the school was named after someone who shares my name... And people routinely left off the numbers in the email address, ending up with mine. The rest of the not-mine emails all look like phishing attempts to me, and not just mistakes made by some office worker.
- msh 7y ago
  I have firstname + two letters @gmail which rarely gets wrong email but then back from the nineties got firstnamelastname @ Hotmail.com which properly get at least one misdirected mail a month.
- trequartista 7y ago
  My email is firstname.lastname@gmail.com. Both my first and last names are not super common, but off-late I'm seeing multiple people with the same combination when I google my name. I get bank statements from 3 different banks, job offers and even the occasional nude selfie - all intended for someone else. I have tried to reply, click on unsubscribe links - but nothing seems to work. It stops for a few days and it starts again.
darkwater 7y ago
Your comment is quite anecdotal I would dare to say, and anyway the scope of single individuals messing up is quite, quite smaller than the scope of $LARGE_COMPANY. Even if you sum all those individuals.
- Spooky23 7y ago
  Lol. The potential impact of a large company screwing up is massive. The risk is lower. I would assert that the probability of an individual overexposing their own data in any one year period is probably close to 75%. In my neighborhood, 5-6 cars are broken into every week, because the owners don’t lock the doors. If a process that simple isn’t handled well, folks aren’t handling more complex/abstract processes.
  - gowld 7y ago
    How do I leak my email or photos from my local machine? And if I do, then I'm likely still leaking my local cache/copy even if I use cloud.
    - oarsinsync 7y ago
      > How do I leak my email or photos from my local machine? Click the 'not now' button when your browser or OS pops up asking you to install a patch. Open <celebritynude>.jpg.exe. Download pirated software that is infected with other malware. Visit dodgy websites in an overly permissive browser in order to stream some media without spending money. (Most people, myself included, are guilty of at least one, if not more, of the above)
drewg123 7y ago
I assume that this not because Google is midirecting email, but rather because your email address is quite close to that of others. Mine is just my last name @gmail.com. It is a rather uncommon name, and I've met many others with that name, as I've accidentally received email intended for them.
- dehrmann 7y ago
  > Mine is just my last name @gmail.com. It is a rather uncommon name I'm in the same boat. And uncommon, but not rare. I've gotten emails intended for my brother. One time, I got a collector emailing about something with a rental car crash that I previously got confirmation email for. Recently, a Dutch woman discovered email and think she has my email address. It's amazing how many websites don't verify email addresses.
  - thedance 7y ago
    If Eurocrats really want to save the Internet they'd fine companies for sending anything to recipients who haven't been double-verified.
    - wizzwizz4 7y ago
      What does “double-verified” even mean? Though, in case you were wondering, GDPR requires continued consent for companies to use your email address; they have to delete it if they don't keep getting permission to keep it.
      - thedance 7y ago
        "Verified double opt-in" is a term of art in the world of email. It means you provide your address to consent to emails and you confirm the address with a link sent via email. https://mailchimp.com/help/about-double-opt-in/ https://mailchimp.com/help/about-double-opt-in/
  - boring_twenties 7y ago
    Some asshole bought a Lexus and entered my email address. I now get his loan statements and service reminders, on top of the advertising. They are all from noreply@, of course, and I would need to know the password to the account to unsubscribe. Sure I could reset it, but I'm not actually sure if it's legal?
uptown 7y ago
"I get an absolutely endless parade of other people's data to my gmail account." Same. Part of it is just incorrectly addressed emails sent to my primary address. The other flood of emails I receive is on a domain where I've got a catch-all, and I regularly receive emails intended for recipients on a similar domain.

dyingkneepad 7y ago

Your experience is far different than mine. In 15 years I only got probably like 2 accidental emails. Is your email something like john@gmail.com?

wccrawford 7y ago
I'm somewhere in-between your experience and the parent's. I've had 2-3 instances where it appears that someone put my email address on their account by accident, and I got their auto insurance claims, etc. There was no "click here to verify this is your address" email sent for those. I also got a lot of email for a high school reunion where the school was named after someone who shares my name... And people routinely left off the numbers in the email address, ending up with mine. The rest of the not-mine emails all look like phishing attempts to me, and not just mistakes made by some office worker.
msh 7y ago
I have firstname + two letters @gmail which rarely gets wrong email but then back from the nineties got firstnamelastname @ Hotmail.com which properly get at least one misdirected mail a month.
trequartista 7y ago
My email is firstname.lastname@gmail.com. Both my first and last names are not super common, but off-late I'm seeing multiple people with the same combination when I google my name. I get bank statements from 3 different banks, job offers and even the occasional nude selfie - all intended for someone else. I have tried to reply, click on unsubscribe links - but nothing seems to work. It stops for a few days and it starts again.

darkwater 7y ago

Your comment is quite anecdotal I would dare to say, and anyway the scope of single individuals messing up is quite, quite smaller than the scope of $LARGE_COMPANY. Even if you sum all those individuals.

Spooky23 7y ago
Lol. The potential impact of a large company screwing up is massive. The risk is lower. I would assert that the probability of an individual overexposing their own data in any one year period is probably close to 75%. In my neighborhood, 5-6 cars are broken into every week, because the owners don’t lock the doors. If a process that simple isn’t handled well, folks aren’t handling more complex/abstract processes.
- gowld 7y ago
  How do I leak my email or photos from my local machine? And if I do, then I'm likely still leaking my local cache/copy even if I use cloud.
  - oarsinsync 7y ago
    > How do I leak my email or photos from my local machine? Click the 'not now' button when your browser or OS pops up asking you to install a patch. Open <celebritynude>.jpg.exe. Download pirated software that is infected with other malware. Visit dodgy websites in an overly permissive browser in order to stream some media without spending money. (Most people, myself included, are guilty of at least one, if not more, of the above)

drewg123 7y ago

I assume that this not because Google is midirecting email, but rather because your email address is quite close to that of others. Mine is just my last name @gmail.com. It is a rather uncommon name, and I've met many others with that name, as I've accidentally received email intended for them.

dehrmann 7y ago
> Mine is just my last name @gmail.com. It is a rather uncommon name I'm in the same boat. And uncommon, but not rare. I've gotten emails intended for my brother. One time, I got a collector emailing about something with a rental car crash that I previously got confirmation email for. Recently, a Dutch woman discovered email and think she has my email address. It's amazing how many websites don't verify email addresses.
- thedance 7y ago
  If Eurocrats really want to save the Internet they'd fine companies for sending anything to recipients who haven't been double-verified.
  - wizzwizz4 7y ago
    What does “double-verified” even mean? Though, in case you were wondering, GDPR requires continued consent for companies to use your email address; they have to delete it if they don't keep getting permission to keep it.
    - thedance 7y ago
      "Verified double opt-in" is a term of art in the world of email. It means you provide your address to consent to emails and you confirm the address with a link sent via email. https://mailchimp.com/help/about-double-opt-in/ https://mailchimp.com/help/about-double-opt-in/
- boring_twenties 7y ago
  Some asshole bought a Lexus and entered my email address. I now get his loan statements and service reminders, on top of the advertising. They are all from noreply@, of course, and I would need to know the password to the account to unsubscribe. Sure I could reset it, but I'm not actually sure if it's legal?

uptown 7y ago

"I get an absolutely endless parade of other people's data to my gmail account." Same. Part of it is just incorrectly addressed emails sent to my primary address. The other flood of emails I receive is on a domain where I've got a catch-all, and I regularly receive emails intended for recipients on a similar domain.