Why do people think my 21-year-old Gmail address is theirs?
It’s been a long time since I created my Gmail address, having secured an invitation early in the Gmail Beta and, during the first 15+ years, I thought it was mine, all mine.
Naturally, there is some level of spam and Gmail does a good job of keeping that out of my Inbox. What I never expected was that somebody – make that some people – would consider my email address as “theirs”. It makes no sense that someone uses my email address because they will never be able to read emails arriving there.
But it’s true and it is amazing. Here’s a potted history of how others have used my email address thinking it’s theirs:
| Year | What (The F!?!?) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | MD Couriers in the UK email me about some delivery that I have requested to make. |
| 2019 | UK: I apparently ordered some items (including Vibrating Knicker Crotchless Black and Small Thai Anal Love Beads) from Ann Summers to be delivered to my home in Burgess Hill. UK: VW/Audi customer services email me about the early termination of a lease on my car. USA: Dick’s Sporting Goods asked me how my recent purchase of “Yaktrax Hand Warmer” was and if I could review them. Unknown: I (NinjaZombie294) need to verify my account on bungie.net. USA: In peak lockdown, I signed up for “HelloFresh”. Thanks for that…. |
| 2020 | USA: Just before Christmas, I ordered a Apple iPhone 12 Pro 128GB in Silver from Verizon. Followed by numerous usage statements, I thank you!! |
| 2021 | USA: Catherine J Hillier emails me about an interview I have tomorrow. USA: Some lawyers start emailing me about “discovery” in a case. |
| 2020 | Australia: Time for some new tyres on the car? Yes, from Bridgestone Select Ballina! UK: Marshall Merc-Benz Van Fareham tell me my vehicle, B13 LJB, needs an MOT. Unknown: “I” created a PlayStation Network account on a boring August Saturday. |
| 2021 | UK: I signed up to make shopping at Asda easier. Australia: 29th November, a police office called Graeme Smith in NSW emails me that I am required to attend a court and includes an attachment to confirm my date of birth and where I live (East Wardell, New South Wales). USA: 2023 signed up for Verizon services; unsubscribe does not work. USA: My Activision account membership emails tell me that “Zombies are Coming to Call of Duty.” |
| 2024 | UK: Someone signs me up at halfords.co.uk for customer benefits programme. USA: 16th May some CFO with my email address gave it to headhunters. USA: Apparently, my neighborhood is now using a free app called Nextdoor Winfield Rd and I should join….. Canada: I booked a hotel room in the Season Inn in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sadly it was pre-paid and I could not cancel it. USA: 22nd September, I get a Happy Birthday email from a Dodge dealer, Jake Sweeney, in Cincinatti, OH. I may have bought a vehicle at a later date…. USA: I bought a Smart Ceiling Fan™ from loox.io. I know this because they emailed me to review it. UK: I did not turn up to WebBuyAnyCar.com with my car (number plate BK13 UWZ). USA: February saw “me” sign up to get alerts from EmergencyEmail.org. No thanks. USA: 6th March some wealth management person at Goldman Sachs emails, perhaps because I am a CFO. It seems my “namesake” is not a clever CFO…. USA: 29th April bought a Kindle Paperwhite (16 GB) – 2024 – Black at BestBuy. New Zealand: 4th May booked a doctor’s appointment in at Rebalance Clinic in Auckland. Appointment(s) cancelled immediately. USA: In May, I signed up for Ollie’s Army in Harrisburg, PA. UK: I have 18 Health & Beautycard points at Supercard. USA: Apparently, my PeacockTV account needs me to “Update your payment to keep streaming”. Or change the password…! |
In all seriousness, this has varied from being amusing to an annoyance, usually resulting in a changed password and disabled notifications where possible (after all, if you’re stupid enough to create an account with my email address, I’d rather lock you out and mark the emails as spam or disable them – because I know you will create the account again if I delete it).
The logic of sign-ups with email is broken.
It’s clear that somebody giving a person an email to add to a CRM system most likely will not result in a validation and verification cycle but it has to be the case that emails are verified before a system moved onwards in the user journey.
This brings us to Apple.
It’s July 2025 and I have a new Apple ID. Of course I do….
Well, clearly I don’t but one of my alter-egos in the world, one of the ones who believes my Gmail address is their email address, does.
And here we reach peak stupidity.
I don’t want an Apple ID for my Gmail address, I really don’t. But if you create one, I will really, really change the password and lock you out. For your good as well as mine. And because IT’S NOT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!!!!
Apple, in their infinite wisdom, has allowed a person to create an Apple ID with an email that the person cannot verify. I don’t know what this means for that Apple ID and its capabilities, it probably cannot be used “properly.”
And yet I cannot lock the person out of an account – created with my email address – because it’s tied to a phone number in a country unknown to me.
And so this Apple ID sits in limbo and I will doubtless get a bunch of emails sent to me triggered by a person who sounds like me. I should know, I already have some emails!
🔒 Key Limitations Without Email Verification
- iCloud Access Is Restricted
- You cannot use iCloud services like iCloud Drive, Mail, Photos, or Find My iPhone.
- App Store, iTunes, and Apple Music
- You may not be able to download apps, music, or other media.
- Purchases, subscriptions, or downloads may be blocked or restricted.
- iMessage and FaceTime
- These services will not fully activate until the email is verified.
- Device Activation Lock / Find My iPhone
- While the device may still show the Apple ID as linked, many features of Find My iPhone won’t work until the account is verified.
- Account Recovery and Security
- You won’t be able to fully enable or configure two-factor authentication.
- Account recovery options may be limited, making it harder to reset your password or recover the account if locked.
- Family Sharing and Subscriptions
- You cannot be added to a Family Sharing group or share subscriptions.
- iCloud Email Address Creation
- You can’t create or use an @icloud.com email address.
It’s time to improve the logic.
It is crystal clear that many online systems avoid the overhead of blocking a user journey until an email verification loop can be completed. It slows the process down and of course could lead to broken user journeys at registration – something that most companies seek to avoid.
The fact is that it has to happen. People have to demonstrate control over an email account otherwise somebody (like me) will reset their password and lock them out. I can accept a little mistaken email here and there but I believe the examples above show that sign-up processes are BROKEN and this benefits nobody.
After posting this entry, I will of course seek to find a way into Apple’s blunt-fronted support system so that I can get my email address out of their system. It will probably end up with some mention of GDPR (like I had to do with Halfords who would not allow unsubscribe and wanted ID to delete the account).
Wish me luck! And follow the tags and categories on this post as I will continue to highlight the cases where my email address is adopted by people with no access to my emails!
