How did FIRE/Cabot get my email address?

[Guest ilovemycat]

Hello, all.

 

Can anyone shed light on this for me?

 

Today I received an email to my personal email address from FIRE debt recovery.

 

They are, as ever, chasing me for a debt which I dispute - but that's not what bothers me.

 

What I want to know is how and/or from whom they got my email address?

 

I don't use any networking sites and there's no indication of my name (which anyway is almost as common as John Smith) in my email address.

 

Over a long period of time I've had lots of phonecalls and letters from fire/cabot/whoever - all blowing hot air and b/s - but never any contact via email before today.

 

And I've certainly never emailed them!

 

These days I bin all letters unanswered and their phone numbers are auto-barred so I never take their calls or speak to any of their agents.

 

So I can't work out how they've suddenly got my e address.

 

What's additionally odd about this message is that it seems to be in the form of a paper letter that's been scanned and then sent via email subsequently.

 

I don't really know what to make of those details that tell you about an email's "pathways" etc,

but it looks like this one came via Germany or maybe Poland.

 

Maila1.kundcenter.com is an address that shows up in there.

 

Does that mean anything to anyone?

 

Anyway,

amongst other things,

 

I'm worried now about the overall safety of my email address and whether I should scrap it altogether - though it'd be incredibly inconvenient.

 

I'd really appreciate some advice.

 

Many thanks ILMC

[dx100uk]

not given it to a mobile phone company or an insurance company

and they've got it from you CRA file?

 

dx

[Guest ilovemycat]

not given it to a mobile phone company or an insurance company

and they've got it from you CRA file?

 

dx

 

Nope - nothing like that I can think of

[dx100uk]

have you ever gotten a cra report?

 

until you look you wont know

 

see below

 

noddle is free.

 

dx

[Guest ilovemycat]

have you ever gotten a cra report?

 

until you look you wont know

 

see below

 

noddle is free.

 

dx

 

No, I've not had one in over 20 yrs. I'll get on that now. Thank you.

[unclebulgaria67]

not given it to a mobile phone company or an insurance company

and they've got it from you CRA file?

 

dx

 

Comparison sites are a well known harvester of information.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I have been told but have not confirmed that e-mail addresses are harvested by comparison sites and similar organisations and then are made available for a fee.

[intend]

Simple - Change email address

[Conniff]

If it's the same one you are using on this site, there is no way that was guessed, they must have traced you through something you use or have entered your email address into.

[citizenB]

Do you do any online shopping?

[Guest ilovemycat]

If it's the same one you are using on this site, there is no way that was guessed, they must have traced you through something you use or have entered your email address into.

 

It's actually not the one I'm using on this site - but it's one that's equally random/irrelevant/unconnected to my name and/or personal details of any kind. So what you say still applies. There's no way an email address like that one could've been guessed/worked out logically from the info they already had on me. So if, as you say, they got hold of it via a site I'd previously entered my email address into - then does that mean someone I do business with has sold/given my info out?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Probably data capture advertising is one way, last year Kellogs had a massive promotion on a new product where a bag was delivered day one with e-mail address

to cotact for a code that had to be entered on the bag which was left outside the following day the correct code on the bag the household recieved a commercial size pack of the cereal the take up was massive nationwide, many of these promotion are carried out.

[Guest ilovemycat]

Probably data capture advertising is one way, last year Kellogs had a massive promotion on a new product where a bag was delivered day one with e-mail address

to cotact for a code that had to be entered on the bag which was left outside the following day the correct code on the bag the household recieved a commercial size pack of the cereal the take up was massive nationwide, many of these promotion are carried out.

 

I really would like it to be something relatively innocent like that, Brigadier. But I haven't responded to promos, etc, in that 'impulse click' kind of way for quite a few years - precisely because I'm wary of giving out my details/contact info too freely. Obviously I can't claim to be able to remember every registration I've ever made with that email address, but I tend to keep it to a minimum. I don't enter comps or join networks like Face/Twit/etc, and I don't do surveys. I don't sign up for much really - on account of being an antisocial grinch, I suppose. However what I DO do quite a bit of is online shopping. Mostly I shop through Amazon (which I imagine to be safer..?), but not exclusively. And a "leaky" shopping site is presumably dodgier than most, right? - coz they have a certain amount of your financial info, etc? Jeez, I'm scaring the sh*t out of myself!

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

You have a broadband suppiier and other internet access point, there are sites where you can enter an IP address and track the user, any one any where may have pivked up your e=mail address, may be ask how you were traced

[dx100uk]

not with BT are you?

 

dx

[Guest ilovemycat]

You have a broadband suppiier and other internet access point, there are sites where you can enter an IP address and track the user, any one any where may have pivked up your e=mail address, may be ask how you were traced

 

Sorry, Brigadier - I don't really understand. My computer/Internet nous is quite limited. Are you saying I should track the cabot/FIRE email and find out who the original sender was? Because I'd certainly like to - I'm not even convinced it genuinely came from them. It just looks wrong somehow. I was thinking of getting Email Tracker Pro. Any thoughts?

[Guest ilovemycat]

not with BT are you?

 

dx

 

Hi, dx. No, BT aren't my ISP. They provide my landline service and I do get the occasional email from them. I got my report from Noddle, btw. It didn't show much info on me at all - in fact far less than I know for sure is out there. It certainly didn't list any email addresses as being available to see publicly. Cabot have registered themselves as creditors so I've taken issue with that. Thanks for the Noddle suggestion.

[dx100uk]

then its BT i bet you are using that email with them.

 

thats what happened to me.

 

little tick box you forgot.

 

def BT.

 

dont waste money on traccker pro

 

just look at the header info.

 

whata your email prog? outlook?

 

dx

[Queens_king]

Hi

 

Be aware that Hotmail.com and .co.uk and Live.com sell bulk email addresses along with the IP address of the owner (many people just tick the "read T&C's" without first reading them). Once you have the IP address you can obtain whatever info you require with ease. Excite.co.uk is owned by a huge catalogue company and boltblue.com along with two or three other sites that I used to use but cant remember

[snugs1235]

Hi

 

Be aware that Hotmail.com and .co.uk and Live.com sell bulk email addresses along with the IP address of the owner (many people just tick the "read T&C's" without first reading them). Once you have the IP address you can obtain whatever info you require with ease. Excite.co.uk is owned by a huge catalogue company and boltblue.com along with two or three other sites that I used to use but cant remember

 

Hi,

 

I just read that and now im curious because I have a hotmail email. Are you saying that others can see what im doing on the internet?

[dx100uk]

i had an email ad the never got spam

 

i moved and signed up for BT broadband

 

that email has been spammed for the last three years

 

looking at all the mail it had

it had no spam till i used it to sign up on BT broadband in 2008.

 

dx

[Queens_king]

Hi,

 

I just read that and now im curious because I have a hotmail email. Are you saying that others can see what im doing on the internet?

 

No, what I am saying is that 80% of email sites sell your email address and IP address. They will look for the IP address associated with any on line transactions and match that to the email. Having spoken to an IT expert they say that the matching is 75% correct. The email providers dare not give names and addresses though

 

As for seeing what you are doing your ISP do that all the time

[EbenezerTwist]

Hi,

 

I just read that and now im curious because I have a hotmail email. Are you saying that others can see what im doing on the internet?

 

If a given party was interested,yes. People miscalculate what info trails they might leave.

[Guest ilovemycat]

Hello,

 

my ancient laptop went temporarily wrong. I didn't mean to be rude.

 

Obviously the thread's long dead and it doesn't need me to bury it

- but I did just want to say a belated thanks to everyone who took the time to answer.

 

I guess I'll never find out by what exact route my email address got into 'bot hands,

but just the fact that it did at all has given me a timely wake-up nudge.

And that's no bad thing.

 

My considered opinion now vis-a-vis online exchange ..... Trust no one - at all! (present company excepted)

 

Again - many thanks. ILMC

Edited November 18, 2012 by dx100uk
swearing and inappropriate language sections removed - dx

[ericsbrother]

all of the comparison sites sell on data, as does gmail etc. The problem is that the people who buy the info arent too bothered who they sell it on to or whether it is legal for them to do so. A lot of the ambulance chasers get their into that way. Anyway, you cam put a block on the incoming mail so you dont have to be worried by it. If you want a hassle free free email provider use rediff.com. based in India so should make interesting lookup for the DCA's if they try