Posted by LKT/CA on 5/19/12 12:31pm
Msg #421319

Create A Junk Email Acct

Was talking to a friend about email security and she had a great suggestion on how to avoid being overly spammed or hacked on important email accounts so I thought I'd pass this along.

Create a junk email account to use only for signing up for "whatever" online or otherwise. Example: At the mall, a fair or a conference and you're filling out a registration card and need to include an email addy - write in the junk email addy. Signing up for a contest to win a free Ipad - write in the junk email addy. Registering online for something - use the junk email addy. Buying something online (i.e. Amazon.com, Zappos.com, Macys.com, etc.) and need to register? Use the junk email addy.

No contacts should be stored in this email address. Do not email anyone from this account, except for the businesses or entities you registered with. If you get scam emails saying a friend is trapped overseas and please wire money - they have no one in your contact list to connect to because you didn't put anything in the contact list. So their scam email goes no further than you.

Create the junk email addy without using any part of your name. One suggestion is to use a hobby. A friend collects tea kettles so her email is [e-mail address] (not her true email addy).

The businesses or entities you register with may give your email addy to third parties - doesn't matter because this is why you created a junk email. You may be sent an email along with 50 other recipients that didn't utilize the BCC so now those 50 other people have your email and can spam you with their stuff - so what, that's what the junk email is created for. Hope this helps.

Reply by LKT/CA on 5/19/12 1:10pm
Msg #421321

To add...

Just log into the junk email addy twice a month to delete everything, or if possible, set up parameters within the account so the junk and spam emails are automatically deleted by the system.

Reply by ananotary on 5/19/12 1:13pm
Msg #421322

That is exactly what I do. I like to follow the deal sites, etc but my main email address was clogged and I was missing things I didn't want to miss. I unsubscribed from everything and resubscribed under my junk email address. Has worked like a charm!

Reply by MW/VA on 5/19/12 7:59pm
Msg #421340

Good idea. I suspect, but can't prove, that a

lot of the hacking is going on through logging on to FB. There seems to be a pattern among folks I know that have had their accts. hacked into over the last few months. Odd that they only pirate the contact list & use it to send out spam.