How do you delete accounts you did not sign up for?

[Jibz]

... or: when did the "Click here if you did not sign up for this service" links disappear from account verification e-mails?

I have a few different e-mail addresses in use, and like most I guess, I sometimes see people have signed up to something random using one of my e-mail addresses. I figure in most cases it's a typo that results in this, but it's annoying none the less. Sometimes I click an unsubscribe link if the e-mail doesn't look too scammy, but mostly I just report it as spam and don't see it again.

But now someone has signed up to DropBox and Skype using one of my e-mail addresses, and there is no apparent way to tell them that I did not sign up myself.

DropBox apparently merrily lets you sign up using whatever address you like, and then you can use that account, pretending to be that person, and you only miss out on a few features like shared folders, and the fun fact e-mails DropBox team sends you -- because I get that spam instead .

I don't know if Skype accounts need to be verified for you to use them, but they certainly do not need to be verified for you to receive lots and lots of e-mails with fun facts. And again, there is no apparent way to tell them "I did not sign up for this" in the verification e-mail.

So what are my options?

I could ignore it and mark all that mail as spam. But someone is pretending to be me using my e-mail address for his DropBox. And what if I ever needed to create a DropBox or Skype account using that address?

I could use the password reset process to try and take over these accounts and delete them. That seems morally objectionable at best.

I could report the problem to their support people. What are the chances of this actually doing anything? I tried with DropBox, reported it a couple of months ago, nothing, not even an automated we received your report e-mail.

[4wd]

I've had emails from Spotify, Microsoft, Skype, Steam, and some dating site in the last few months that were the result of some f***tard signing up to those services and using a gmail address the same as one of mine but missing a period within it - eg. fred.nurk(a)gmail.com and the emails are for frednurk(a)gmail.com - all because GMail doesn't count an address with a period as different from one without.

So, for those sites:
1) I click the Forgotten Password link and input the email address, (which will end up in my inbox),
2) log into the site with the new password and proceed to change everything about the account, (address, phone number, CC details, sex, EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING),
3) change the email address to a disposable one using, for example, Mailinator as something I'm not likely to remember past the next 60 minutes, (eg. skype5ucksth3big0ne@mailinator.com),
4) wait for the confirmation on the mailinator inbox and acknowledge the change of email address if required,
5) log back into the site with my new email address and change the password to something random, wait for confirmation email if necessary.
6) log out.

Unsolicited crap no longer received and one more happy f***tard somewhere on the planet.

This worked for Skype, Steam, Spotify, and the dating site - Microsoft were kind enough to send an email first asking if it was me that joined up to Live and if it wasn't just don't confirm the email to be removed.

I don't see this a morally objectionable since AFAIAC whether by design or stupidity they have caused this to be my problem, I'm just implementing my preferred solution ... and I have absolutely no qualms about doing it.

[tomos]

I've had emails from Spotify, Microsoft, Skype, Steam, and some dating site in the last few months that were the result of some f***tard signing up to those services and using a gmail address the same as one of mine but missing a period within it - eg. fred.nurk(a)gmail.com and the emails are for frednurk(a)gmail.com - all because GMail doesn't count an address with a period as different from one without.

I'm confused there - are you blaming gmail as well?
If they dont "count an address with a period as different from one without", surely they wouldnt allow the variations to be created as separate addresses in the first place?

[4wd]

I'm confused there - are you blaming gmail as well?
If they dont "count an address with a period as different from one without", surely they wouldnt allow the variations to be created as separate addresses in the first place?

Google don't allow an email to be created that is the same as one that already exists that has periods ... that's not what I said.

I said it was the result of someone signing up to a service using an email that was a non-period variation of one of mine.

The fact that Google doesn't allow creation of the variation implies to me that the person did it deliberately or they're too stupid to wonder why they either don't receive any emails from the service or can't log back in using their real email address, (in the case of an honest typo, eg. fred.burk - in which case they've probably created another account with their correct email address and left me receiving spam).

Probably half of all the spam I receive is because Google choose to think fred.nurk == frednurk

I know that in the RFC they can do this but since they, (Google), are the cause of me receiving this crap they should allow me the option of turning it off rather than having to either create filters or put up with it.

So yes, I am blaming Google also for having to deal with this problem.

And before I forget, I check Account Killer first to see if there is an easy way to delete the account.

http://www.accountkiller.com

Also, the longer that Google-allowed variation of my email address is spread around on sites I never signed up for, the more likely the spam volume will increase - I'm being proactive in dealing with it.

[Jibz]

Thank you for the input .

I contacted Skype, and unlike DropBox they replied, and told me to reset the password and ask them to delete the account, so I have done that for both now.

[cthorpe]

I occasionally get stuff like that.  My response is to to what 4wd does.

The worst (at least for the individual who did it) was a few months ago when some guy with my same name used my email address when saving an online application for a security sensitive civil service job.  I got an email telling me that I could access "my" application by clicking a link.  When I clicked the link, I was taken directly to the application with every single bit of private information about this guy.  SSN, driver's license number, birthdate, current address, past addresses, phone numbers, current employer, past employers, family member info, and other assorted info required for governmental background checks.  I was surprised that no password was required to access the saved application.

In that case, I called the dude and told him what he had done.  He seemed genuinely surprised that the email address, which I have had since gmail launched, was not his email address.

C

[bit]

Maybe try this:
Just Delete Me

[lanux128]

gmail is terrible at this. if someone sets my email as *their* recovery address, gmail merrily sends me a congratulatory message (with an advice to disregard if it was not intentional). shouldn't they first send a verification code to the person who keyed-in my email as their recovery email?

[4wd]

gmail is terrible at this. if someone sets my email as *their* recovery address, gmail merrily sends me a congratulatory message (with an advice to disregard if it was not intentional). shouldn't they first send a verification code to the person who keyed-in my email as their recovery email?

Since I don't use recovery email addresses, does it tell you who you are a recovery address for?

Send them an email politely asking them to change it ...

Then you can get nasty if they don't do it. 

Just Delete Me

Account Killer covers more accounts.

[lanux128]

gmail is terrible at this. if someone sets my email as *their* recovery address, gmail merrily sends me a congratulatory message (with an advice to disregard if it was not intentional). shouldn't they first send a verification code to the person who keyed-in my email as their recovery email?

Since I don't use recovery email addresses, does it tell you who you are a recovery address for?

Send them an email politely asking them to change it ...

Then you can get nasty if they don't do it. 

Just Delete Me

Account Killer covers more accounts.

i contacted one such person and he said that couldn't get his username of choice so he used the one google suggested. then he goes on to use the email that he *did* want as the recovery email because according to him, that is what google told him to do. i am pretty sure he got it wrong but i still feel that google dropped the ball on this one by not asking for verification.

but thanks for the account-killers! will go through them to see if they are effective.