Someone used an old email to register a web site account. Next steps?

August 28, 2015 9:03 AM

I just received two standard-looking emails from a legit-looking European Web site, one welcoming me to the site and the other asking me to verify the email address. I've received those hack-y "here's the password reset you requested" emails and just ignore those, but the welcome email included the username (the old email address) and password. What's the best way to deal with this?

The emails appear to come from a legitimate multinational company with a hefty Wikipedia page and concerns some kind of application submitted using an old email address that was forwarded to my main account. The email also states that it may take a few days to verify the application and seems to be of a wholesaler/retailer nature.

Is this just an routine phishing thing? A scam? Should I go and change the password/cancel application since I have the password? Ignore it? Report it using the Gmail report tools?

If it matters, the email address could possibly be someone's name, so it might be that old google mix-up that pops up here occasionally. Also, I have not been compromised by any known hack, either online or like the Target hack.

(I'm not sure if it's a good idea to name the company, but it sells a legal product that you inhale that is not pot.)

posted by Room 641-A to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

Best answer: Someone probably entered your old email address by accident while signing up for an account. My email is [common first name][initial]@gmail.com so I get about four of these a week. Just delete it, there's nothing you can do.
posted by theodolite at 9:07 AM on August 28, 2015 [8 favorites]

Best answer: If it's asking you to verify the email address, I'd suggest ignoring it. That SHOULD mean they're doing some sort of email verification. In which case, including the password is pretty stupid, but not your problem.

If you do try to rectify it, you'd run a good chance of 'verifying' the account.

My boyfriend and I both have enviable Gmail addresses, and this shit happens to us constantly. I've tried a couple of times to clear up that sort of misunderstanding when something seems unusually important, and it almost never works. Dumbasses don't understand what's happening and sometimes accuse me of being a 'hacker' or something. And the dumbasses at legitimate companies are usually the worst.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:14 AM on August 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

Best answer: This happens to me a lot with one of my email addresses. Usually I just ignore them, though if it's something particularly annoying (especially if it's not a "verification" but a "confirmation,"), I have been known to reset the password, login to the account and disable it.....
posted by primethyme at 9:50 AM on August 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Ignore it -- I get these things all the time. There's at least one soldier, one minorly-notable athlete, and one geeky CCG player who share my first and last name. I get a ton of not-for-me mail. Most of it I ignore, but for things like communications from the similarly-named soldier's CO (why he's using gmail and not .mil I have NO IDEA), and home-buying paperwork, I tend to politely reply to the sender and let them know that they have the wrong email.
posted by Alterscape at 9:52 AM on August 28, 2015

Best answer: Nthing to ignore it. It might be legit, but spear-phishing campaigns are getting more sophisticated all the time, and even if it is legit, getting a company to care about password security if they don't already is frustrating. There is very little upside to you in trying to do anything about this.
posted by Aleyn at 3:20 PM on August 28, 2015

Best answer: Oh good, that's a relief. And there was no other email weirdness so I'm just going to ignore it. Thanks!
posted by Room 641-A at 7:31 PM on August 28, 2015