Wtf?

[stormkeeper_lovedoris]

I got an email thanking me for my order with Parents.com. It was sent to an email address that I use only with Livejournal, ffnet, and with friends. The email said their magazine will go to my old address - an address I haven't lived at for 2 years. I certainly did not place this order!

I started worrying that someone got my credit card or bank info. Checked all my accounts just now and there are no charges I didn't make. The email from parents.com says my "order total" is zero - like I'm being charged nothing.

But I don't get it. Not a lot of people have this email address of mine, and pretty much anyone who does would have to know that I moved two years ago.

Of course a search of parents.com finds no phone number that I can contact them at.

What do I do? I guess I need to keep checking all my credit and bank accounts to make sure that no one has hacked them.

Comments

[razycrandomgirl.livejournal.com]

maybe it was a gift?

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

Maybe but I really think that anyone who knows we're adopting would know that I haven't lived at that address for 2 years.

[razycrandomgirl.livejournal.com]

good point. I don't know what to tell you. :S I hope you find out.

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

*Hugs*

Thank you.

[denisia.livejournal.com]

I'd change your email password and the passwords for anywhere else that uses the email address, just in case. It could be a phishing email or it could be that you've somehow ended up on a mailing list.

Maybe it IS a gift, though? Is there anyone with whom you've lost touch that might have had your old address/etc. and might be compelled to send you a gift?

I did some digging and found this for you: worth trying, anyway.

800-727-3682 email, support@parents.com

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

Good idea - I will change those passwords! I just can't think of how I got on some mailing list since I only use this email address for LJ, ffnet, and a few friends (like you!) :)

Thanks for the phone # for parents.com!! I appreciate it.

Maybe it IS a gift, though? Is there anyone with whom you've lost touch that might have had your old address/etc. and might be compelled to send you a gift?

I just can't think of who though. Anyone I've really lost touch with wouldn't know we're adopting. But I will keep racking my brains...

Thanks again!!

[denisia.livejournal.com]

Did you sign up for anything at all to do with adoption or parenting when you were at the old house? A newsletter, a meetup group, anything at all?

I just checked for you on spokeo.com ... you are there under both current and last address and they have a creepy amount of info. I'm guessing you are on some sort of marketing database. Anytime you sign up for something you're getting your info thrown into a marketing database unless you opt out. OR, if your email address was available at all on either LJ or FFnet they could have harvested it and matched it. :(

BTW you CAN pull your info from Spokeo:

www.spokeo.com/privacy

I don't know about the laws in your state, but in CA you are allowed to ask a business where they got your name and address...might be a good idea here. :( *hugs*

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

Holy shit that is a lot of info on me!! I am going to tell them to pull my info out. Wow!

Thank you for telling me this!

[denisia.livejournal.com]

Some other good ones to keep an eye on:

Intellius.com
whitepages.com

The list here has some places you can opt out:
http://www.privacyrights.org/node/1448

IMHO it's a good idea to keep your info private on these just for the sake of preventing identity theft and stalking...

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

Apparently trying to keep one's identity private is a full-time job now!

[denisia.livejournal.com]

Sadly so. Data is the most valuable commodity right now. And some of those sites, like the Lexis/Nexis ones, don't have opt-outs, which is extremely scary.

I've gotten to the point where I check privacy policies before I buy or sign up for anything, I have a throwaway email address without my full name for mailing lists/contests, and I keep a template email in my email folder so that when I buy something/sign up for something on a website, I can quickly send a "please do not share, sell or rent my information to any third parries..." email if necessary.

[shar-bernadotte.livejournal.com]

Oh how exciting...alas, not the right kind of excitement. That sucks. I hope everything gets worked out.

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I still don't really know how they got my info, but fortunately as far as I can tell, nothing was hacked into or anything.