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I use a different email address for every service. About 15 years ago, I began getting spam at my diversalertnetwork email address. I emailed DAN to tell them t

I use a different email address for every service. About 15 years ago, I began getting spam at my diversalertnetwork email address. I emailed DAN to tell them they'd been breached. They responded with an email telling me how to change my password. I guess I should feel lucky they didn't try to have me criminally prosecuted.

ipaddr 8mo ago
That could be a hack or something the company sold to a third party.
- mihaaly 8mo ago
  During a property search for rentals in the UK I created a throwaway alias email (to my regular account) as I did not really trust them with my data. This was not for those requiring me to provide credit check papers and name of children (!! yes, you read it right, name of children!) at the very first contact in their web form just to start conversation about if there is viewing ability or not, and then perhaps schedule one. No. Those were avoided completely (despite the desperate property market for renters, I am not that desperate: eventually we left the UK in a big part because of property troubles). Two of those were reported to the relevant authority (one case got confirmed after several months, but still pending after more than a year. The other sank, apparently. My trust in the UK institutions is not elevated). There were more than two requiring full set of data on the prospective viewing candidate. The throwaway email was for the ""reliable"" ones. The trusted names. Or those without over-reaching data collection (one big name, Cheffin, one of the reported one, had over-reaching habit). Having a throwaway alias proved benefitial. From zero spam to my email suddenly spam started to arrive with about 4 / week frequency. Kept coming until the alias got disabled. Cannot tell which was the culprit, only have a shortlist based on timing. But that never ever elsewhere used email somehow got to fraudster elements from the few UK property agent organizations I contacted. In very shor time (few weeks).
  - derelicta 8mo ago
    The absolute hell that is looking for a place to live in the UK. I remember having to submit a copy of my passport to one of those letting agencies. I don't even know how they process it and how it is stored, but I am convinced it's just stored on some random personal OneDrive at this point.
kwanbix 8mo ago
Same with me. I started to get spam from the email I used for a Portuguese airline. They didn't even respond.
- kolinko 8mo ago
  always cc the local GDPR office when reporting such things
  - fuzzy2 8mo ago
    They won't do anything. Had this exact scenario with two Shopify-based sites where my address somehow ended up with the second shop. Reported it, shop 1 investigated themselves and found themselves to be innocent, case closed.
    - firtoz 8mo ago
      Shopify shares these I think, no?
      - fuzzy2 8mo ago
        That would be illegal. I doubt Shopify are to blame here, it's more likely one of the gazillion plugins that every shop uses was the vector. Either way, it's highly likely the shop owner is the data controller, from a legal perspective. (Scenario: E-Mail address A with shop A, address B with shop B, then received a newsletter I did not subscribe to [already illegal] from shop B to address A. Only common data point: PayPal account.)
  - deaux 8mo ago
    They'll just be incorporated in Ireland who are more than happy to be a haven for such criminals.
    - paulryanrogers 8mo ago
      Where can I read more about this?
vaylian 8mo ago
How do you generate the email addresses? Do you run your own e-mail server or do you use a third-party service?
- nicce 8mo ago
  Own the domain put catch-all for that domain. No need to generate anything.
  - spixy 8mo ago
    How did you solve problem, when your emails are put into spam folder in gmail?
    - nicce 7mo ago
      I haven’t used gmail. No idea about the problem.
- Alive-in-2025 8mo ago
  A few ways I've heard about - DuckDuckGo.com has a system that generates a random email address on their domain where you can request "a new email address" whenever you need one; you request a new alias and they create a permanent mapping to your real address from that new address. Then mail sent to say Foo-Bar-Hotdog@duck.com goes to you, duck remembers the mapping that this goes to your address. You can reply back and duck handles the anon mapping. Or you can have a catchall email address on your own domain, where anything sent to any alias on your domain gets forwarded to your own address. Then hamburger@myDomain.com and mcdonalds@myDomain.com goes to your real private address. you don't have to set it up. Anytime you join a new service, say reddit, you tell them your address is "reddit@myDomain.com". All of these have a level of pain associated with them. And they aren't that private. The government could no doubt get a court order to pierce the obscured email addresses. There's proton email and many others. All of these are too painful for most people. I have wondered if people who want to be really secret set up a chain of these anon mail forwarding systems.
- everybodyknows 8mo ago
maximus-decimus 8mo ago
Every single time I order from KFC, I get an e-mail by a hot girl in my area. You think I can sue them for free chicken wing buckets?
- zipping1549 8mo ago
  Those aren't spam. Its that hot girls really want your wings.

ipaddr 8mo ago

That could be a hack or something the company sold to a third party.

mihaaly 8mo ago
During a property search for rentals in the UK I created a throwaway alias email (to my regular account) as I did not really trust them with my data. This was not for those requiring me to provide credit check papers and name of children (!! yes, you read it right, name of children!) at the very first contact in their web form just to start conversation about if there is viewing ability or not, and then perhaps schedule one. No. Those were avoided completely (despite the desperate property market for renters, I am not that desperate: eventually we left the UK in a big part because of property troubles). Two of those were reported to the relevant authority (one case got confirmed after several months, but still pending after more than a year. The other sank, apparently. My trust in the UK institutions is not elevated). There were more than two requiring full set of data on the prospective viewing candidate. The throwaway email was for the ""reliable"" ones. The trusted names. Or those without over-reaching data collection (one big name, Cheffin, one of the reported one, had over-reaching habit). Having a throwaway alias proved benefitial. From zero spam to my email suddenly spam started to arrive with about 4 / week frequency. Kept coming until the alias got disabled. Cannot tell which was the culprit, only have a shortlist based on timing. But that never ever elsewhere used email somehow got to fraudster elements from the few UK property agent organizations I contacted. In very shor time (few weeks).
- derelicta 8mo ago
  The absolute hell that is looking for a place to live in the UK. I remember having to submit a copy of my passport to one of those letting agencies. I don't even know how they process it and how it is stored, but I am convinced it's just stored on some random personal OneDrive at this point.

kwanbix 8mo ago

Same with me. I started to get spam from the email I used for a Portuguese airline. They didn't even respond.

kolinko 8mo ago
always cc the local GDPR office when reporting such things
- fuzzy2 8mo ago
  They won't do anything. Had this exact scenario with two Shopify-based sites where my address somehow ended up with the second shop. Reported it, shop 1 investigated themselves and found themselves to be innocent, case closed.
  - firtoz 8mo ago
    Shopify shares these I think, no?
    - fuzzy2 8mo ago
      That would be illegal. I doubt Shopify are to blame here, it's more likely one of the gazillion plugins that every shop uses was the vector. Either way, it's highly likely the shop owner is the data controller, from a legal perspective. (Scenario: E-Mail address A with shop A, address B with shop B, then received a newsletter I did not subscribe to [already illegal] from shop B to address A. Only common data point: PayPal account.)
- deaux 8mo ago
  They'll just be incorporated in Ireland who are more than happy to be a haven for such criminals.
  - paulryanrogers 8mo ago
    Where can I read more about this?

vaylian 8mo ago

How do you generate the email addresses? Do you run your own e-mail server or do you use a third-party service?

nicce 8mo ago
Own the domain put catch-all for that domain. No need to generate anything.
- spixy 8mo ago
  How did you solve problem, when your emails are put into spam folder in gmail?
  - nicce 7mo ago
    I haven’t used gmail. No idea about the problem.
Alive-in-2025 8mo ago
A few ways I've heard about - DuckDuckGo.com has a system that generates a random email address on their domain where you can request "a new email address" whenever you need one; you request a new alias and they create a permanent mapping to your real address from that new address. Then mail sent to say Foo-Bar-Hotdog@duck.com goes to you, duck remembers the mapping that this goes to your address. You can reply back and duck handles the anon mapping. Or you can have a catchall email address on your own domain, where anything sent to any alias on your domain gets forwarded to your own address. Then hamburger@myDomain.com and mcdonalds@myDomain.com goes to your real private address. you don't have to set it up. Anytime you join a new service, say reddit, you tell them your address is "reddit@myDomain.com". All of these have a level of pain associated with them. And they aren't that private. The government could no doubt get a court order to pierce the obscured email addresses. There's proton email and many others. All of these are too painful for most people. I have wondered if people who want to be really secret set up a chain of these anon mail forwarding systems.
everybodyknows 8mo ago

maximus-decimus 8mo ago

Every single time I order from KFC, I get an e-mail by a hot girl in my area. You think I can sue them for free chicken wing buckets?

zipping1549 8mo ago
Those aren't spam. Its that hot girls really want your wings.