Be careful giving out your email address on message boards

CaptainCarl · Jul 4, 2006

Be careful giving out your email address on message boards. I just read an article about how the newest scam going is for people asking for your email address or asking you to email them, and thus getting your email address.
They then use information, that they have picked up about you on the message boards to steal your identity. It would seem especially worriesome on a gambling forum such as this, where they know you are at betting at Sportsbook X, use say Neteller, etc.., and they can drain your accounts. Many gamblers may even fear going to the authorities.
The article said that usually these people will also have threads like " What do you do for a living", "Where do you live", etc.., trying to get as much info about you as possible.
Be careful, if you are listing your email address as part of you profile especially.

Tulsa · Jul 4, 2006

Thanks, Captain. I appreciate the Rx separating our emails from our Rx posting handles. I can only imagine how annoying it could very well be otherwise and as you point out, somewhat dangerous. tulsa

Sugarbear · Jul 4, 2006

Thats an old con thats been going for awhile.

Fishhead · Jul 4, 2006

Good advice

JudgeWapner · Jul 4, 2006

Like that avatar Capt.

Doug · Jul 4, 2006

You could easily give out a hotmail type of address to unknown folks, and maintain your real everyday address for known friends.

CaptainCarl · Jul 4, 2006

Doug said:
You could easily give out a hotmail type of address to unknown folks, and maintain your real everyday address for known friends.

Doug,
That is probably the smartest thing to do. Good advice.

BAGIANT · Jul 4, 2006

I just heard about a Jury Duty scam. They call you up and say you didn't report to jury duty like you were supposed to and when you tell them you never got the notice,they ask for your ssn and other personal information.

barman · Jul 5, 2006

Always use a hotmail or yahoo for posting to a website or when registering for a website etc

Those addys are the ones which get the most unwanted SPAM.

Either the site you register at shares it (often in defiance of supposed privacy policies...porn and gambling sites especially), or if posted on a webpage, aggressive marketers use software to spider the web and harvest email addresses for general SPAM.

A hotmail or yahoo addy can be easily closed every 6-12 months when SPAM starts accruing and wasting your time, and you just get a fresh ID.

Save your important personal and business emails for just that - personal and business.

Steve