Share via

My email is being used to sign up for subscriptions and newsletters all over the world. Hundreds of them. Is there a way to stop this?

Anonymous
2022-01-22T01:28:35+00:00

My email is being used to sign up for subscriptions and newsletters all over the world. Over 500 in the last 8 hours. Is there a way to stop this?

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For business

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
  1. Anonymous
    2022-01-22T02:10:54+00:00

    Hello ClaytonCarlson

    Hi, I'm Karl and will be happy to help you today.

    There is no way to prevent anyone from using any email address to subscribe to something - simply can't be done.

    Typically, when subscribing to something, an email is sent out asking you to confirm that it was you who actually subscribed and if that isn't done, the sign-up request is ignored.

    There really is no benefit for a spammer to bulk sign up anyone to things so this is a little curious. May I ask what kind of emails you are getting that indicates that you actually subscribed to these things?

    The following is a standard reply I give to those who ask about a sudden increase in <spam> and <unexpected> log in attempts which you may find of interest

    The usual source of a sudden increase in failed login attempts or spam mail received is that the email address was harvested by a hacker who breached a data base on a website where you subscribed to something. That database gets repeatedly sold to other hackers/spammers on the dark web.

    Many people think that hackers penetrate the actual Microsoft servers to gain access to email accounts when that isn't the case. Instead they gain access to an actual account via any number of other ways including phishing emails.

    You can check to see if the email address comes up on a breached database on the following website created/run by Microsoft MVP Troy Hunt.

    https://haveibeenpwned.com/

    Pwned websites

    https://haveibeenpwned.com/PwnedWebsites#Epik

    Other articles that may be of interest

    The 773 Million Record "Collection #1" Data Breach

    https://www.troyhunt.com/the-773-million-record...

    How Do Spammers Get My Email Address?

    https://www.lifewire.com/how-do-spammers-get-my...

    Protect your privacy on the internet

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/409145...

    *** if you find that the email address was on a breached website where a password was also entered, what you really do want to do is make sure that the same email address/password combination is NOT being used on other sites (i.e. Social Media, Facebook, Paypal, Amazon etc) and if that password is still the one being used on your email account - make sure to change it immediately. Not a question of <IF> a hacker will test those account(s) - just a matter of <WHEN>

    Required Forum Disclaimer: The above links is a non-Microsoft website. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

    20+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments

2 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2022-01-22T06:10:19+00:00

    These emails I'm getting appear to be happening too fast for a human. I'm starting to suspect that maybe a bot is doing them. As you also said - what could the possible benefit be to the perpetrator? It's just harassment. Although, buried amongst them was a fraudulent transaction against my credit card of over $800. I was thinking maybe the other emails were a smoke screen. But I cancelled the credit card, and the transaction was cancelled, so nowhere for the perp to go from here. I'm hoping, at some point, something/someone will get tired or run out of places to subscribe to.

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2022-01-22T05:59:30+00:00

    As you surmised, the emails I'm getting are the ones requesting confirmation or whatever the next step is to complete a registration.

    Thanks for your response.

    I'll check the database as you suggest.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments