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Comment by dmje | Hacker News Reader

Quite gratifying to read that I'm not alone in this. I was really early into Gmail so have first.last@ and get a lot of stuff emailed to me that is exactly as you describe - not spam, just mistaken address. Hotel reservations, golf clubs, Republican party bullshit, hilarious copies of order receipts from gun shops...

(The last one of the above I replied to - it was an order for a rifle scope. I sent what I thought was an obvious joke email back asking whether it'd help me hit my neighbours' puppy at a mile range. The gun shop replied back suggesting an alternative scope... Moral: never apply UK style humour to US situations, especially not about guns...)

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I have the same with Gmail. I get lots of email for firstlast@ because someone can't be bothered to remember the numbers after their username. Then I have also gotten coffee receipts for a cardiologist (he likes Major Dickason's blend), wedding invitations, boating newsletters, and even modeling opportunities in a different country. It amazes me how many people either don't know their email address or can't imagine someone else might have a similar name.

Most of the organizations and individuals sending the emails are accommodating. Then there are the likes of Discord, that require you to confirm that you would like to delete "your" account, when it's not even yours. Nevermind that I have no desire to delete someone else's account. They also refuse to write you in English when you tell them you prefer it over Spanish. Luckily; I speak that too.

I received a background check result from a job application for a Florida sheriff's office.

At least it listed "my" address. :)

Relevant xkcd

https://xkcd.com/1279/

I have a goofy/edgy/"I thought it was cool when I signed up for it" address that is NOTHING like anyone's name, but people will absolutely sign up for cell phone plans and stuff with it. What is the plan here people? I could make someone's life utterly miserable if I was so inclined, unless it's a fraudster doing fraud things (I doubt it, the address and name they use has been pretty consistent) I have no idea why you'd put your legitimate information into someone else's hands like that.

The coffee receipts I can understand - if a shop uses Square or a similar tablet-based POS system, I could see requesting an emailed receipt, typing in the wrong email address, and then not noticing when it never arrived. Some of those systems link your email address to your payment method, so if you just hit "email receipt" every time, without double-checking and catching the typo, you (the wrong recipient) will just keep getting them.

> The coffee receipts I can understand - if a shop uses Square or a similar tablet-based POS system

Oh, no; this was direct from Peet's website. Doctor's office had a recurring shipment.

Or maybe they were out- UKing you :p

Hear hear.

I have lastname@gmail.com and keep receiving various e-mails intended for people with my surname. Insurance documents and other semi-confidential stuff included.

I have a lastname@gmail and I get a steady stream of material invoices for someone who builds prisons in Africa. I tried for a while to push back but to no avail. Upside - I know how much concrete is denoted by Zambian kwacha.

In my most generic address I mostly receive email from a Bolivian government officer, a Mexican government officer, and a Texan guy who has changed jobs a lot since before the pandemic. I've found and contacted them about the wrong address, but they never fully stopped using it for new accounts. At least I tried.

Same situation. I've been enrolled in a Canadian girls hockey team, received a recommendation letter for Dayton university, and various tickets for events in Australia. Glad I'm not alone.

I have first{initial} so I get emails for everyone whose initial is the same as mine

Funny how it's always the republicans who can't get their email address right.

I have similar problem, from trump watch newsletters to random local republican party emails, also received few invitations to parties, medical results, private photos from trips and the list continues. Also when the covid started I was cced on some action group that was solving the covid problem in their area. The worst thing is the spam from dating sites that I get.

I think the problem in my case is that the person uses exactly the same handler but at yahoo instead of gmail.

Oh, it's definitely not "always the republicans", the Democrats also can't figure out their own email addresses. I routinely receive DNC and other left wing nonsense, including invites to parties, Biden fundraisers, etc. to my more "generic" (ie. first initial, last name) Gmail account. I've marked these as spam, unsubscribed, etc. and still get them because either the orgs are dumb (wouldn't be a surprise) or people keep signing up again when they don't get them to their real address.

This is an "I'm dumb and can't remember my email address" issue, not a political one.

I also get the usual run of the mill receipts, reservations, etc.

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