Yeah, I work in email security. This looks like the text message version of the spray+pray spam attacks.
Some UK statistics:
Top five scams of 2023 to date
- Parcel delivery scams (49%) - texts or emails claiming to be from a delivery company to reschedule or pay additional delivery fees in an attempt to get people’s personal information or bank details. Or false tracking information is given for items bought online, which never arrive.
- Banking scams (29%) - correspondence claiming to be from one of the banks attempting to get people’s bank details
- Online shopping scams (25%) - items bought online which never arrive, often once the seller has the money they block all contact from the buyer. This can also happen with sales through social media and apps
- Investment scams (24%) - get-rich-quick schemes
- Tax or government support related scams (24%) - correspondence claiming to be from the government about support available for energy bills, and asking for personal information including bank details.
The charity’s data revealed over-75s were the most commonly targeted, with 87% facing a scam and most often via telephone. The next most at risk age-group was 18-24 years, with 84% targeted and usually via text or mobile messaging. This demonstrates how scammers attempt to tailor their approaches to take advantage of their targets.
I know for an absolute fact that it’s not possible, because if it were, every bank account in the world would already have been emptied. If Google allowed multiple people to sign up for the same address, then folks would have made copies of all of the addresses already, and then used the “Forgot my password” button on every other account everywhere to get a new password emailed to them.
I think that if that had happened, we would have noticed.
Plus, of course, you yourself just quoted Google saying that this can’t happen.
Since you are getting dangerously close to calling me a liar, outside of the Pit, I will just leave this issue alone. Poor form for a moderator. I only know what I have experienced, and that several other gmail users have complained about.
For 2 or 3 years, I have been getting text messages from probably a hundred phone numbers by now, all texting Julia who is selling her house at 36647 Sycamore St.
The messages do not come as “text” but photos of a text message, so I can’t see them on preview and have to open them to read them. They all contain a link to an “offer”.
I have never responded or clicked the links, but I report and block each number. Doesn’t seem to help.
You’d think Julia would have sold her house by now…
The Freelance Shills = Band name.
Are you sure you weren’t being scammed? Or ar least baited into one? Because I do believe it is possible to spoof an email address.
But if (for example) you created the account “joeblow@gmail” and someone else tried to create an account called “joe.blow@gmail” or “JOEBLOW@gmail” and Google considers those "joeblow"s the same because they don’t count periods and caps, wouldn’t the second person be unable to make the account because it was already taken?
Yes. That’s not possible.
But also,
It’s definitely possible to spoof an email address.
I’m not calling you a liar. I’m calling you mistaken. Lots of people genuinely think they’ve seen things that are impossible.
I’m guessing Stacey gave an incorrect email address (yours) by mistake - maybe she dropped a letter when she recited it, or dropped a number, said an “m” but they heard “n”, forgot to include her middle initial, someone reversed an “ie” as an “ei”, etc. This has happened with my email address (2 of the above choices!) and a friend’s.
My Gmail address is in the form firstname.lastname@gmail.com, but someone out there thinks they have firstnamelastname@gmail.com. So I know all about what model car he owns, what sporting goods store he shops at and which company he uses for cell service. I have no idea why he thinks he has this address.
I’ve been getting similar texts. All mention the same name (not mine). All from different numbers (over a dozen). All with a link that must be clicked (I don’t).
Hello xxx xxxxxxx, unless you reply to us, we can’t move forwards. Keep in mind its more important for you at this place. ::linky::
xxx, verification process must be complete today ::linky::
My favorite:
Hey there! Could you aid us in identifying the owner of xxx-xxx-xxxx [my cell number]? ::linky::
Lol no.
Thanks to running coach for the link on the Pig-butchering scam: that looks like it.
They were disturbingly tenacious, given that I routinely labeled their work as spam.
“Thinks”? There’s no reason why they couldn’t as those are entirely separate email addresses. The fact they use names is irrelevant.
If this is the kind of thing that @Dallas_Jones is referring to, they are both right and wrong. It is certainly impossible for multiple people to have the identical Gmail address, but close like that? No problem, Gmail do not require the email address to use your name, or indeed any name.
…Those are the same email address. As far as gmail is concerned, they are indeed identical.
My understanding is that they’re not “entirely separate email addresses” but that in fact they’re the same email address, because Gmail ignores periods in email addresses. Their support page says
Dots don’t matter in Gmail addresses
If someone accidentally adds dots to your address when emailing you, you’ll still get that email. For example, if your email is johnsmith@gmail.com, you own all dotted versions of your address:john.smith@gmail.com
jo.hn.sm.ith@gmail.com
j.o.h.n.s.m.i.t.h@gmail.com
I have to admit I was unaware of that. But “you own all dotted versions of your address” must mean that still, it is not possible for two people to have the same address when disregarding dottedness.
I had something similar happen with my phone number once.
I started getting a lot of wrong number calls for a new local business. I was able to determine that we had the same phone number EXCEPT for one digit in the area code.
My phone number had the area code typically associated with the geographical area I lived in. The business, even though it was located in the same geographical area as myself, had an area code typically associated with another geographical area. I assume it was a cell phone.
So, I got a lot of wrong numbers and I told everyone that called that they had the wrong area code.
But one day I get a call and this guy starts screaming at me, accusing me of stealing his phone number and hijacking his calls. He was furious.
I told him he didn’t know his own phone number and reminded him of his area code. He hung up.
It’s odd how different people react when they call a wrong number. Most times, when you say “Sorry, you seem to have called a wrong number”, they apologise and hang up. sometimes they call back a few moments later because they have copied it down wrong.
Some people, however, get irate as if it’s my fault for not being the person or business they wanted. They seem to be unable to accept that they are the ones in the wrong and can even get abusive.
We now have a phone that rejects spammers and gives anyone else who is not on the list a recorded message asking them to identify themselves. We then have the option of accepting or rejecting the call.,
Twentyish years ago I got a wrong number call to my landline. No big deal, except it was 3 am and the woman was very drunk. She thought the person she was trying to reach was avoiding her, and argued with me at length.
So, I had her number on caller ID. The next night I set an alarm for 3 am, woke up, and called her and gave her shit. I kept doing this night after night.
The fourth or fifth night I called she broke down crying. She apologized for starting it and asked me to stop because it was messing up her sleep. I stopped.