Miss-directed Email

A curious tale in the Toronto Star today,

Meet Jason Young. The man who can’t stop getting your email

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/202...our-email.html

Behind a paywall (I subscribe)

Quote:

It’s been happening for over a decade. He’s been sent COVID-19 test results, plane tickets, and even become a steadfast member of a family chat — with a family he’s never met. At first, he’d take screenshots of the funny ones and share them with friends. Then, he’d respond to each one, letting the senders know they had the “wrong person.” But in 2008, when a DJ from upstate New York emailed out of the blue asking to “borrow Ms. Pinky tomorrow night” for a “gig” at his “house,” Jason Young just couldn’t resist. “Sure,” he wrote back. “Come by around 9. I’ll have Ms. Pinky ready.

”

and further,

Quote:

Since 2007, Young says, shortly after he signed up for his very first — and only — Gmail account, he’s received more than 1,800 emails sent correctly to his address, but intended for someone else. Over the last 14 years, he says he’s received about one every three days on average and they usually come in random bursts. Instead of being for Jason, the emails are sent to Joanne. Or John. Or another Jason. But, make no mistake, he says, this isn’t spam. It’s all personal.

How common is this? I've been using email since before the dawn of time and I don't remember ever receiving an email sent to my address because it was mistaken for someone else's (the only exception bring a couple on an internal mail system where the wrong name was selected from the internal directory).

My name is absolutely unique on this planet so i can see that the chances of it happening to me are somewhat slim but what about the "John Smith"s of the world?

The Star did contact Google but it was completely useless -- beyond "See our FAQ".

What are other people's experiences?

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/aYQZjXGNi