2026-11-11 01:13 UTC
Replies (17)
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@MaddieM4@raphus.social 2026-11-11 01:19
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social A similar variant of this trick is useful for email addresses, using the plus sign. Mail to "foo+bar@gmail.com" goes to "foo@gmail.com", but you can still see the address it was sent to. This means you can sign up for things with an email address such as "mm4+walmart@gmail.com" and if you see spam to that address, you know it was Walmart that leaked your data. Most major email services work this way, but it is worthwhile to check by sending a test email before using this technique for anything important.
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@Lightfighter@infosec.exchange 2026-11-11 01:19
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social When was the last time an internet form asked for your last name? Other than government sites, I can't remember the last time I saw that.
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@arrrg@kolektiva.social 2026-11-11 01:16
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Put it in as your first name. It might work if they use your name in the communications. I knew someone who did that with different spellings of their name back when people got on actual mailing lists.
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@MercG@mindly.social 2026-11-11 01:17
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Why do you ask, Steven ButtPlugsDeliveredFast Baxter?
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@kwayk42@infosec.exchange 2026-11-11 01:18
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social 100% works, I even know people who use 'catchall' mail server rules so that they can even put the name of the website in an email address they give. Then they have mail rules to sort who sold their data
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@joshef@mastodon.social 2026-11-11 01:30
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Back when there were phone books and you didn't have a choice not to be in them I did the same (just changed the letters around in my middle name). Worked like a charm!
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@adelie@darkpenguin.social 2026-11-11 01:38
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Yes it can! Specifically @kwayk42@infosec.exchange 's example. I run my own (not at this domain) with a catchall (in postfix that's: @domain.com adelie@domain.com in your virtual-aliases or similar) And then it's mastodon@domain.com, amazon@domain.com, homedepot@domain.com and so on. Works perfectly and it makes cashiers look at me strangely. Win win.
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@GhostOnTheHalfShell@masto.ai 2026-11-11 01:39
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social I still get email from Democratic Party related sources that call me Jerel It isn’t my first name. And all the filthy Democratic leaders send me an email address addressing me as Jerel.
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@JigmeDatse@social.openpsychology.net 2026-11-11 01:43
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social If you can create unlimited email accounts (sometimes with something like a + after your real account name) yes, it can. The "real name" portion, can often get stripped, but the email address itself, won't.
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@w_b@mastodon.world 2026-11-11 03:34
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Or you can use plus addressing. User+company1@example.com and User+company2@example.com will be delivered to User@example.com but you can write rules to filter the messages.
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@woozle@toot.cat 2026-11-11 02:22
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social We use several catch-all domains for our email, and I make up a new address for each signup. The spam we get on those addresses doesn't always have a name in it, or a full name, but it often does... so yeah, it should work at least some of the time.
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@squirrelnuts@mastodon.social 2026-11-11 03:37
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social I don't know, and it's the first I've heard of it. I think I'll give it a try from now on!
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@antdude@mastodon.social 2026-11-11 05:22
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social but some web sites don't need your middle name. I do email aliases like ant+mastodonsocial@domain.edu.
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@zl2tod@mastodon.online 2026-11-11 07:30
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Give everything you sign up for an email alias consisting of their name. Some American lawyers get terribly hilariously grumpy about that.
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@zimbobble@mstdn.social 2026-11-11 08:08
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social But what if my middle name *is* CheapViagraNow?
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@roadskater@mastodon.social 2026-11-11 08:58
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social If you're not in a position to create one-off e-mail addresses for untying you log into, well, seems a possible alternative. I quit contributing to a charity after I got e-mail to that one-off address from some rando music club. Maybe it was promiscuous mailing list sharing, maybe it was bad IT security. Either way, f'em. There are other charities in town trying to serve the same purpose.
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@fflyn@mastodon.social 2026-11-11 10:03
@VeroniqueB99@mastodon.social Some websites also ask for the 'Geburtsort'¹ where I was born. In that case, I always put 'Kreißsaal'². 😆 ¹Geburtsort 'place of birth' ²Kreißsaal 'delivery room'