Gmail is messed up

Lately I have had a ton of weird stuff going on with my loveable Gmail account. It all started with me getting weird emails about a “new” account I set up (although I didn’t). These messages started arriving with services I had signed up to (which I didn’t) from an email address I don’t own which is eerily similar to my real gmail address.

For example, if my gmail address is Ihaspc@gmail.com, the new address is ihasp.c@gmail.com.

The strangeness is this: I had a password reset email come to me for the address with the extra decimal in it. I did it (through google directly) and it changes the one WITHOuT the decimal in it. Indeed, when I email the mystery second account it goes to my non-decimalled account. When I try to log into the account with the decimal in it, it takes me to my non-decimal account.

I got an email saying I added the decimal account to my yahoo account (which I didn’t) and when I linked it (verified link to yahoo first) the starting account wasn’t mine – it started with a V – and I was able to unattach the decimal account to that email address.

It’s thoroughly confusing. I did virus checks et al with nothing.

It would be my guess some phisinh service signed up the email address for confusion but somehow it has become integrated with my non-decimal email address.

I am curious if this has anything to so with google’s recent gmail collapse end of February but can’t be sure.

Any ideas?

6 comments / Add your comment below

  1. Gmail ignores decimals in the pre-@ name. You can add or remove them at your whim. i.has.pc is the same address as ihaspc.

  2. Thanks Zubon!

    Interesting – I am supposing that other email addresses don’t register that way? It seems as though someone tried to register a decimal derivative of my account under their yahoo acct. In doing so it sent me the confirmation link.

  3. I find that really interesting, considering that gmail wouldn’t let me sign up with a firstlast configuration, but as soon as I put first.last, I could sign up for that email.

  4. I also received notice that there was a security vulnerability and there was “unintended” public access to one of my google docs – which thankfully wasn’t important

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