Should I be concerned about this?

[medjay]

None of my hotmail or other internet handles contain my actual indentity. So imagine my surprise when I came across a random piece of junk mail addressed to my real name!

Is this common? And how could they have gotten ahold to it? And how do I keep it from happening again?

 

[Monazwx]

Are you sure that it's not contained in your profile?
If not, then that's one hell of a coincidence.
I'd have that checked out.

 

[Darkthought]

You must have subscribed to a site/registered software with your real name, and gave that address for contact info.

 

[MorgaineLaFay]

Did you ever apply for anything using your email that you would have entered in your real name?

That's really the only way.

I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Raina]

Just a guess, but they probably harvested it from an e-mail message that was forwarded and forwarded and forwarded with the headers left on.

One (or more) of your friends has your e-mail address listed in their address book with your real name attached.

So when they send some thing to you the header will look something like:
"Your Real Name (E-mail)" <fakename@hotmail.com

Then it gets forwarded and the header stays there...then some enterprising spammer harvests it.

edited: damn typos

 

[medjay]

I have a legit e-mail address that I use for on-line shopping and such. The hotmail accounts are just fluff. I don't recall ever mixing the two but I guess it's possible.

I suppose it's not a big deal.

 

[greybeard]

given the current sorry state of civil liberties in this country at the moment, anything is possible.................I think I'd be concerned a bit................

greybeard

 

[Guest]

 

[Problem Child]

Ask Lance. He's taken on the mantle of "Chief of Paranioa" around these parts.

Yee-ha.

 

[phrodeau]

Don't worry. I get lots of e-mail that has wrong or misspelled names where my real name should be. It's the rare spammer that can spell correctly.

If you don't respond, they have no way of knowing what your real name is.