Over ten years ago, I worked at an Apple Store and my job title was “Creative” but that pretty much just meant I spent all day teaching cute little old people how to use their new computers.

One day, this sweet little old man came in for a lesson (we’ll call him Bob). Bob wanted to create an email address so he could email his granddaughter.

We pulled up the page (let’s call it email.com) and Bob started to enter his info and he came to the username section and asked what he should put so I said “oh, you know, something like [email protected] but more unique because that’s probably already taken.”

In order to give him privacy, I was looking away from his screen when he finally proclaimed “I got it! I’m [email protected]!”

I was absolutely shocked, so I looked over at his screen and that’s when I realized Bob had become the proud owner of [email protected].

@Alice my Gmail address is pretty much my name, but somebody with the same first and last somehow settled on "[email protected]" so when he gives people his email over the phone they hear "email FirstLast@gmail" so the just put in FirstLast and I get their hotel confirmations, tax returns, etc. It's been years and they haven't caught on.
@ScotttSee If you share the full name with this person and you have the confirmation/ticket info, you should start going on some of those trips!
@Alice considering at various times I've gotten things with his SSN on it, it's a good thing I can't be bothered to be evil lol.

@ScotttSee @Alice I have been dealing with this for a long long time. My Gmail is widely misused by people that aren't computer savvy or just give zero fucks. I change the password and keep the ones that I like. Google sucks for allowing people to register usernames with dots and at the same time making it go to the same inbox.

My ethics keep me from using the credit card, social security or medical data they keep sending my way. Even their children's!

@ScotttSee @Alice Once I changed their username on an educational platform to "stop putting your child's information at risk by using my email address, this isn't safe" but this particular American woman gives zero fucks and keeps doing this. I've dealt with her for decades.