3 ms·

I use my lastname [at] gmail (same as my HN username). Over the years, I’ve received all sorts of misdirected messages: medical, financial, support, even real e

I use my lastname [at] gmail (same as my HN username). Over the years, I’ve received all sorts of misdirected messages: medical, financial, support, even real estate documents. When it seems important, I do my best to contact the sender and let them know. What I’ve learned is that “no-reply” email addresses can cause real harm in situations where it’s critical to reach an actual person.

unangst 1y ago
Same boat. Obscure last name humans unite!
abustamam 1y ago
My dad's first name is my last name so my last name @gmail is taken by him :) But I have a relatively rare first name and even rarer last name due to my dad having a very rare first name, so I easily snagged first.last. Pretty sure to this day I've never even seen anyone with my dad's first name (or my last name). Meanwhile, my coworkers name is literally Adam Smith and his usernames tend to be adamsmith2 or 3 or 4. I once worked at a place that has two Brian Smiths who worked at desks across from each other. That was quite bizarre.
- tracker1 11mo ago
  I've worked in a few groups over the years with several other "Michael"... It's not fun when you get 4 in a group (dev/mgt teams) of like 15.
- ben_w 1y ago
  One place I worked, we had one guy with the same personal and family names of the (then) Director General of the BBC… working on a project with another guy who also shared both. I am not the horror film director I share a name with.
jspash 1y ago
I have lastname.firstname@gmail.com because first.last was already taken. Just curious, do gmail accounts ever expire? Will I ever get the chance to snag the other one? Or does it forever belong to my nemesis and life-long enemy?
- eth0up 1y ago
  Unused they have a half-life. Google Voice numbers much more aggressively so. It's somewhere in the document.
- roywiggins 1y ago
  After two years of inactivity: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290?hl=en https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290?hl=en
  - krainboltgreene 1y ago
    This answer is not actually correct. I have an account I deleted 18 years ago, still can’t make it again.
    - amarant 1y ago
      Could in theory be because someone else grabbed the account 16 years ago tho, unless I'm missing something?
      - tech234a 1y ago
        No Google does not allow creating a new account with a previously-used Gmail address. Each Gmail address can be used at most once.
      - krainboltgreene 1y ago
        I emailed the address to make sure: It bounce due to not existing.
- zaptheimpaler 1y ago
  Even if your google account is deleted, the email address is NOT recycled because it can be used to impersonate people - maybe the previous owner still has physical/digital accounts linked to that old email. As far as I know most services do this - an email address once registered is never released again.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
fn-mote 1y ago
> Over the years, I’ve received all sorts of misdirected messages […] Looking at my text messages, surely these are a mix of serious business and the starts of scams. How unsavory to think that helping someone could be a bad thing.
multjoy 1y ago
One of my gmail doppelgängers has started trading crypto and I am deeply concerned for them.
- animal531 11mo ago
  I think mine is worse off. He keeps being signed up for Facebook notifications on whatever activity he's doing.
astrange 11mo ago
I get a ton of email to my gmail address for other people with similar names. One of them was a director at Google, but I think she retired. Always assumed that meant I'd get a lame work email if I applied there.
tracker1 11mo ago
Absolutely... I've had the same issue (nickname is gmail name), and constantly amazed how many people don't "get" that you can't just claim any gmail address you like and start using it on websites anyway. I've gotten student financial aid docs, various product mailing lists, order receipts etc... it's amazing how many places take an email address and just start spamming without any validation at all.

unangst 1y ago

Same boat. Obscure last name humans unite!

abustamam 1y ago

My dad's first name is my last name so my last name @gmail is taken by him :) But I have a relatively rare first name and even rarer last name due to my dad having a very rare first name, so I easily snagged first.last. Pretty sure to this day I've never even seen anyone with my dad's first name (or my last name). Meanwhile, my coworkers name is literally Adam Smith and his usernames tend to be adamsmith2 or 3 or 4. I once worked at a place that has two Brian Smiths who worked at desks across from each other. That was quite bizarre.

tracker1 11mo ago
I've worked in a few groups over the years with several other "Michael"... It's not fun when you get 4 in a group (dev/mgt teams) of like 15.
ben_w 1y ago
One place I worked, we had one guy with the same personal and family names of the (then) Director General of the BBC… working on a project with another guy who also shared both. I am not the horror film director I share a name with.

jspash 1y ago

I have lastname.firstname@gmail.com because first.last was already taken. Just curious, do gmail accounts ever expire? Will I ever get the chance to snag the other one? Or does it forever belong to my nemesis and life-long enemy?

eth0up 1y ago
Unused they have a half-life. Google Voice numbers much more aggressively so. It's somewhere in the document.
roywiggins 1y ago
After two years of inactivity: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290?hl=en https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290?hl=en
- krainboltgreene 1y ago
  This answer is not actually correct. I have an account I deleted 18 years ago, still can’t make it again.
  - amarant 1y ago
    Could in theory be because someone else grabbed the account 16 years ago tho, unless I'm missing something?
    - tech234a 1y ago
      No Google does not allow creating a new account with a previously-used Gmail address. Each Gmail address can be used at most once.
    - krainboltgreene 1y ago
      I emailed the address to make sure: It bounce due to not existing.
zaptheimpaler 1y ago
Even if your google account is deleted, the email address is NOT recycled because it can be used to impersonate people - maybe the previous owner still has physical/digital accounts linked to that old email. As far as I know most services do this - an email address once registered is never released again.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

fn-mote 1y ago

> Over the years, I’ve received all sorts of misdirected messages […] Looking at my text messages, surely these are a mix of serious business and the starts of scams. How unsavory to think that helping someone could be a bad thing.

multjoy 1y ago

One of my gmail doppelgängers has started trading crypto and I am deeply concerned for them.

animal531 11mo ago
I think mine is worse off. He keeps being signed up for Facebook notifications on whatever activity he's doing.

astrange 11mo ago

I get a ton of email to my gmail address for other people with similar names. One of them was a director at Google, but I think she retired. Always assumed that meant I'd get a lame work email if I applied there.

tracker1 11mo ago

Absolutely... I've had the same issue (nickname is gmail name), and constantly amazed how many people don't "get" that you can't just claim any gmail address you like and start using it on websites anyway. I've gotten student financial aid docs, various product mailing lists, order receipts etc... it's amazing how many places take an email address and just start spamming without any validation at all.