Gmail spam catastrophe

[mswarts]

I have never gotten spam before because I am prudent with my email addresses. As a result, the 5 pieces of spam that have fallen into my gmail Spam folder are mind-boggling.

The messages are all from different addresses:

Sammy Tobin <[email protected]> offers pirated software

Winnie Richey <[email protected]> offers pirated software

Carolyn Salas <[email protected]> offers pirated software

Mel Cain <[email protected]> offers a Rolex

Rupert Morris <[email protected]> offers a Rolex

The messages always get close, but never quite, to my email address. They'll add a suffix like the following to my username part of my email address:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Thanks in advance for anyone who can determine how these spammers got my address, how these messages are even getting to me with the wrong address, or how I can get it to stop.

[Rob Veteran]

Most spammers use brute force attacks as well as e-mail harvesting from websites, i.e. they take a domain "@gmail.com" and put random characters in front - doesn't cost them to send mails so they get ones right every so often.

The "wrong address"... it's v. easy to spoof to and from e-mail addresses so there's nothing new there. Nothing you can do to stop it - but if Gmail's filtering it correctly into Spam you really have nothing to worry about.

[xxpor]

Why does it matter? If its in f=your spam folder i dont see a problem

[russ0943]

i have recently been getting pirated software spam too. There was someone who used to rip email addresses off of neowin.

[Otis]

So you should be putting it in a post as joeblow[at]gmail[dot]com

or something like that to avoid harvesters.

[Another_Paul]

Can you get a good deal on those Rolex offers? :p

[Cobra]

Got 1 spam email (into my Spam folder, ofcourse). Quite shocking. :no: Doesn't look good.

[attila the hun]

No need to worry, guys. Just unite our forces and fight back! Follow my signature... Trust me, it takes spammer sites down in seconds.

[navicaph]

I received 4 spam messages today in my gmail account, first time ever!

[RotAtoR]

I'm also getting a bunch of these spam messages, and this is at a gmail address I have not given out to anyone anywhere yet. You can tell by the to addresses that is close to yours, but not quite, that it's being sent by a brute force method. There's nothing you can do about it, no one has your address in their spam lists.

[accesser]

The big players in e-mail like gmail,hotmail,yahoo need to calibrate and share details when we click ?repot spam?

If myself and heaps of others get spam that is from [email protected] to my gmail account Gmail should be able to repot this to hotmail?s servers when we report it.

[Hankyone]

i get like 10 a day (gmail and msn), all in the spam folder

i just don't bother

[Caledai]

GMail seems to have a system, where if the email address is not exact- it sends it to the closest match.

ie

caledai is email. cale.dai would work. (Note - this is not my gmail address, just a play on my login name.)

[BroChaos Veteran]

i was sad to see the spam on my gmail start too...i always figured it would happen though...

[trix]

So you should be putting it in a post as joeblow[at]gmail[dot]com

or something like that to avoid harvesters.

i'm sure harvesters are clever enough to harvet those aswell now,

i've just been geting loads of emails in my junk folder lables "SEXUALY EXPLICIT:" thank god gmail got them all!

[+John Teacake MVC]

Yeah I've never given my G Mail out to anyone I dont trust yet ive got a few spam e mails ovber the past few days.

[dragon2611]

my gmail gets spam but then i dont care its my spam box

i use that email mostly when i signup for forums and some websites.etc

at least then most of the spam i get goes there and most of that gets caught by gmails spam filtering anyway.

although some spammer seems to have gotten hold of my domain email account :crazy: :( guess its time to turn up the sensitivity of spam assasin.

[StevenNT]

i would'nt call this a "catastrophe" as it was bound to happen one day.

Plus i have been getting the odd "R0LEX" and "Cheep softwares" spam that has been slipping past the Exchange spam filter from my legacy NTL e-mail account.

maybe i should stop checking that mailbox in 2005 as there is nothing on there i need anymore.

Edited December 5, 2004 by WindowsNT

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

I have only ever gotten one spam in my gmail account, in the spam folder, so im not worried. I look at my hotmail block list and it's pages long.

[HoochieMamma]

I'am getting those types of ones aswell offering me pirated XP and Office cd's...pfft, I dont need people selling me them for me to get them :ninja:

[matt3h]

My friend hasnt given out his gmail but is already getting pirated software emails, becoming comon now lol!

[Technique]

i get no spam with my ISP's email address :) And i've hda it years

[dmp3]

I've been getting about 10-12 SPAM messages a day/night.

What's funny is, when I look at where it's being sent to, it doesn't say my email address.

It says it's being sent to an email address similar to mine, but it's not my email address, so how do I end up getting it?

[Rudy]

I've been getting about 10-12 SPAM messages a day/night.

What's funny is, when I look at where it's being sent to, it doesn't say my email address.

It says it's being sent to an email address similar to mine, but it's not my email address, so how do I end up getting it?

585047728[/snapback]

your email could be in the bcc field

[Rudy]

No need to worry, guys. Just unite our forces and fight back! Follow my signature... Trust me, it takes spammer sites down in seconds.

585035718[/snapback]

i cant believe people actualy use this horible piece of software.....spam is bad but dosing isnt any better