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Problem with spam in new "unused" Hotmail account. How can that be?

mooly

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Posted January 21, 2012 at 8:08AM

Some weeks ago I opened a new Hotmail account with the sole intention of using it just to acquire a Windows Live ID and to use for notifications from MS forums.

This account has never been disclosed to anyone ever and yet it has started to receive spam... fake Rolex watches, pills and potions etc. I never open any and just delete them.

I believe Hotmail has a reputation for spam, and my experience seems to confirm it.

I reported this on the appropriate Hotmail problems link and it was looked into and the reply was to the effect that "we don't know why this happens but it just does".

I have a similar Gmail account that has never ever receieved one single spam email in 2.5 years.

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Jameslayer

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Posted January 21, 2012 at 9:12AM

I get very little spam on my hotmails acount. Probely 2/3 a month.

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Zurdo

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Posted January 21, 2012 at 10:00AM

Did you make up an address that could be anything like a proper name eg j.smith@hotmail.com? I have a hotmail account with an address that is not in any dictionary etc. and recieve hardly any spam.

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Zurdo

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Posted January 21, 2012 at 10:36AM

"Recieve" isn't in any dictioonary either! Could never spell that word!

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Woolwell

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Posted January 21, 2012 at 11:22AM

Are you sure that it hasn't been hacked? I would change the password.

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mooly

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Posted January 21, 2012 at 11:53AM

Zurdo... no, it's a "made up" name of characters and numbers.

Woolwell... I wouldn't know how to tell for sure if an account had been hacked. The password is strong, a random and unrememberable string.

As mentioned, it's only used to receieve incoming alerts.

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eedcam

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Posted January 21, 2012 at 1:06PM

Most of thespam I get on Hotmail including ROLEX fakes dont evne have my email address or even close on them Hot mail is absolute crap security wise .Even more annoying is regular news letters that their SMART screen filter thinks suspicious I have to click on to see the whole of the letter . Now if they can do that how in the blazes do they allow mail not even remotely addresse to me throughn ,fair enough it does go to the junk folder but any half decent filter would stop that

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