I have a Gmail account that I don’t use any more, although it’s still there. The email to it gets forwarded to my everyday email account after passing through Spamcop‘s filters. I keep the account open because it’s got stuff in it that I want to keep, and I still sometimes get legitimate mail through that account.
I think I’ve probably mentioned maybe once or twice on this blog that I really despise spam, and I think spammers are the absolute scum of the planet. What’s that? I have a whole blog category dedicated to spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, and spam (baked beans are off, do you want spam, instead?)? Oh, yeah, that’s right. I guess I have mentioned it.
Well, proving once again that they are, indeed, the absolute scum of the planet, spammers managed somehow to get into the Gmail account that I no longer really use and sent spam to every person in my address book. That includes friends, family, business associates, and so forth.
Happily, no one has emailed me in a rage demanding to know why I spammed them. Two of my friends have emailed me to let me know they got spam from my account, but both of them knew I wouldn’t spam anyone deliberately and assumed correctly that my account had been compromised.
I’ve taken all appropriate precautions with that account. Changed the password, deleted EVERY entry in the address book (since I don’t use the account to mail from, I don’t need them there), changed the secret question, and, since a couple of my own addresses were in that address book, I reported the spam I received, so the crappy spamvertised website will hopefully get kicked off their server by their host for spamming.
The thing that bugs me the most is the thought that people got spam from MY account. I mean, I was on the net before spam was really a problem (yes, there was a time when that was the case). I’ve been a vigilant spam fighter and spam reporter since the sleazy spammers figured out how to abuse the network with their filth. The idea of MY account spewing forth this crap into cyberspace is quite horrifying. It’s kind of like knowing someone went through your underwear drawer and actually wore your underpants: gross and disturbing.
So, well, if you got spam from me, it wasn’t from me, although I apologise, anyway. I’m still investigating, though I don’t know how much I can actually find out, given that the spewing of spam took place on someone else’s server and not my own, and I’ve got exactly zero access to any of the logs, etcetera.
I have a few friends who practice various sorts of magic(k). Perhaps I might enlist their assistance in putting a hex on the person or persons who did this… Hmmmm…… *evil laughter*
