So suddenly I have a lot more spam showing up. All kinds - nigerians, credit cards, bathroom remodeling, lonely women, plastic surgery, you name it. I was getting 30 or so per month, and now it is more like in the hundreds.
Does this mean that I’m at more risk for other internet-y stuff like Identity theft? What ought I be doing about it?
You’re probably only at risk if you respond.
That advice is wrong if the emails contain detailed personal information beyond your name and email address. If an account number or portion of one shows up accurately in an email, you need to hire a ID protection service - and change your accounts. But this is unlikely, judging by the quantity you describe.
Right now they’re phishing. Don’t bite the hook.
I personally own my own domain and everywhere I register on the internet has that websites name @ my domain as my email address as far as they are concerned. I know exactly who sold my email address to spam producers.
And sometimes they don’t get them any other way than guessing. Send out a million randomly generated @gmail emails and see which ones don’t come back as “does not exist” errors.
Set up a few filters and most of your spam can be dealt with without you ever seeing it.
So far it seems to just be name and email. I guess someone discovered that my email (firstname.lastname at largeinternetemailconcern.com )has an actual person behind it, and I’ll be getting more forever. Thanks for the advice.