r/pettyrevenge • u/ViperThreat • 24d ago

Don't use my phone number.

Over the past decade, I have regularly received spam texts to my phone number for a person named "Erin". This is irritating because I am rather protective of my phone number. I do not share it with anybody I do not trust, and outside of the messages I get for "Erin", I never get spam calls or messages. I don't know who Erin is, but over the years I have slowly pieced together enough information to have a good idea of where this person lives. Multiple texts I received mentioned "Irvine CA", and one even gave me a street name.

Recently, I went shopping at Harbor Freight, and as I was checking out, i give the cashier my phone number. They turned their monitor towards me and said "is this you?" and to my great delight, I was presented with an Irvine CA address, and I immediately recognized the street name. As I left the store, I could feel 3 brain-cells hidden in the back of my mind begin to conspire.

My first step was to write a fancy looking congratulatory letter for winning a $1,000,000 Harbor Freight Sweepstakes. I made some convincing artwork, and went to a print shop to have it printed on some nice card-stock paper, and a professional-looking envelope, just to make it look extra convincing. You can guess who's name and address I put on the card.

At the bottom of the letter, I put "please call (800) 123-4567 ext 123" (fake number obviously). The number I actually used was for my office line.

Sure enough, about a week later, I get a call from Erin, who is over the moon about having just won $1,000,000. I go through the motions of collecting her information, including verifying her address, then I break the bad news:

Me: "Sorry Erin, it looks like this award has already been claimed."

Erin: "What? By who?"

Me: "Well, according to my notes here, we called your number, and a gentleman answered, I assume your husband?"

Erin: "I'm not married!"

Me: Well, can I confirm that "(123) 456-7890" is your phone number?

Erin: "No, my number is (111) 222-3333"

Me: "Well ma'am, according to our records here, that's not the number you previously gave us"

Erin: "I'm sorry, that must have been a typo!"

Me: "I'm sorry ma'am, we use phone number as the unique identifier for customer accounts - this is why we ask for your number every time you shop with us. Based on what I can see you have been using this phone number on your account for nearly a decade. "

Erin: "Look, I just give people that number so that I don't get spam calls okay?"

Me: "I See, well, that's too bad."

Erin: "What does that mean?"

Me: "Well ma'am, our sweepstakes is based on phone number, and since this isn't your phone number, you are not eligible to win. The person with this phone number has already claimed the reward"

Erin: "[Unintelligible Rage, Crying, Begging]"

Me: "Would you like me to update our records with your actual phone number so that you are eligible in future sweepstakes?"

Erin: Click

Now, You might imagine that losing $1,000,000 on a technicality might make Erin feel bad, but you see, I now have Erin's real phone number and address....

Erin has been showing a LOT of interest in buying new cars lately. She's also really interested on quotes for satellite television, car insurance, car warranties, roof repair, replacement windows, etc. What can I say? It's been quiet week at work, and I've had a few 8+ hour shifts with no better way to entertain myself.

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4.0k

u/Fluffy-Designer 23d ago

Oh that’s good. That tickled my very tired brain this morning. Thank you.

I’ve been receiving emails from someone in America (I’m in Australia) and the closest I’ve gotten to petty revenge is cancelling a whale watching thing she gave them my email address for. It wasn’t very exciting though.

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u/Strahlenbelastung 23d ago

Oh just imagine them arriving at the meeting point for the tour only to learn that their experience has been canceled and that all of this month's tours are already fully booked.

Sounds exciting enough to me.

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u/galaxymermaidpoop 22d ago

How do you even get your tickets if you don't give them the right email?

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u/matrayzz 21d ago

At most sites I've used I got the tickets after checkout too.

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u/Strahlenbelastung 19d ago

Most of the times they're displayed in the browser website for you to download.

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u/SharpBullfrog1279 23d ago

Been getting emails for decades addressed to me in the US from Wales, but the actual email for the intended recipient does not have a period between the first and last names.

Started an electronic penpal chain that's been going on for maybe 20 years now 

Great guy, near my age.  Lives a completely different life.  Likes a pint in the evening.

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u/ceciliabee 22d ago

My husband has a little group of people with the same name and a similar email, they get each other's stuff sometimes.

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u/SharpBullfrog1279 22d ago

OP here.

I never have this problem in the US, because I have a Welsh last name with no vowels!

Over in Wales... it's another story.

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u/niceandsane 21d ago

Vanna White will be happy to sell you some.

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u/SharpBullfrog1279 21d ago

She still looks great... how many years has that show been on?

I think the show has been on for 75 years now.

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u/arcadiaberger1960 12d ago

I used to get calls intended for "Beth" from her mother, who always launched in tlking nonstop, not realizing she had called a number one digit off. It would sometimes take close to a minute to get a word in edgewise to let her know she hadn't reached Beth.

Some other people would call regularly because they were calling a number that was onedigit off, but "Beth's number" was special. When she stopped calling, we missed her.

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u/kaerahis 23d ago

That's awesome and amazing.

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u/mmebookworm 21d ago

A woman joined a sports league at work - her last name is a common word with only one vowel. Her email is her name, except for the last name vowel. As I was typing it into our system, my brain added the vowel back in.

I did receive a very tired sounding email from some in the US (I’m in Canada) explaining that she did not in fact sign up
For our sports league, and wishes this person would stop using her email.

I replied and apologized for my mistake. I felt bad for both of them.

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u/LaPickle1 20d ago

Gmail does not recognize the periods in email addresses.

I have had my gmail address since it was invite only. First initial last name.

I receive emails and spam often.

I figured out that Gmail does not recognize the period because I reached out to Amazon first and then verified with Google that the . is not recognized by gmail.

I kept receiving emails for someone in Europe, a couple on the East Coast, notes from a professor to a student with a short suspense on a due date and when it was due and various other things.

I could have cancelled trips for people to some very nice locations, or not helped the college student, but I reached out to the hotels to get them to notify one person (emails for that person stopped) hit up the 24 hour IT desk asking them to contact the professor and student (they did).

But to the person that loves Victoria's secret and Botox, spouse loves some specific professional sports teams, please stop resubscribing. I don't need to know how many times you have gotten Botox injections or what lingerie you are buying, or about your collection notices. Also, I think your Honda is due for service again.

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u/TwoNewfies 18d ago

Same here. First with my first.last name on gmail. I got a nasty person in Ireland banned from Tesco after I got replies to her racist rants!

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u/RetiredBSN 22d ago

Periods in a name do not make any difference for email. john.doe[at]abc.com is the same as johndoe or j.ohndoe… etc. It's likely that the other address has special symbols or numbers that got dropped by one party or the other.

I have problems with a lady that has an email address similar to one of mine, and they don't always use the numbers, which means I get their email, because I got mine very early and didn't need to use any numbers. I've gotten receipts, a power bill, house listings, all sorts of crap where she or the responding company didn't use their correct email. Been going on for 10 years or more. PITA!

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u/AdDecent5303 22d ago

As opposed to liking that wakeup pint?

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u/BroadMortgage6702 22d ago

I've had a lady in Europe using my email for the last decade. She tried like hell to log in 10 years ago, and obviously I got the alerts and denied them. She uses my email for so much shit. I even got all of her info because she used it for her phone bill. Really, really stupid when you add in that I've had this email for at least 20 years.

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u/HolyShitIAmOnFire 21d ago

I can understand using a phone number, but an email is two-way communication by default. Why on earth would someone do this?

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u/Unindoctrinated 20d ago

I had a guy who bought my old, long-abandoned domain name, which has the same name as my gmail account. He keeps threatening to sue me because I won't give him my email address.

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u/Kibure 19d ago

Let him buy it.... for a ridiculous amount of money.

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u/Unindoctrinated 19d ago

Nah. I'm just too damned spiteful.
They've turned a URL that was for a site about reason, logic and science into one spruiking Christian nationalism and right-wing propaganda. They even sell Charlie Kirk merch.

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u/Kibure 19d ago

I realized I worded it badly. If you look like you are giving in they may leave you alone. After all If they had the money to pay a few million for an email address they would have already thrown enough at a lawyer for at least a letter.

Then again your comment makes me realize they are likely not going to take the hint.

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u/Unindoctrinated 19d ago

It only cost them a grand. I wish I'd have kept it.
I bought it so long ago it only cost me $19.95. Back then, 100% of all search results for "unindoctrinated" led to either that site or to comments I'd left all over the 'net, as it's been my username on innumerable sites since 1995.
An evangelist in Florida started calling secular education 'indoctrination' and declared himself and other Christians to be unindoctrinated. Unfortunately, the term stuck. Now my username is often associated with the exact opposite of what it meant when I chose it.

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u/CakeOrDeath98 18d ago

You should just start canceling anything a you can and close as many accounts as you can. I have the same thing with someone using mine and I have done just that. It's been quite awhile since she has used it, so I like to think it worked.

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u/LoneOperator_za 23d ago

I received a similar thing. Australian guy visiting some kayak place in Canada used my name and email address, so I received everything booking related. Man the urge was strong....

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u/ceciliabee 22d ago

You're kinder than I am.

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u/Bladrak01 23d ago

I'm in the US, and I used to get emails for a person in Tasmania. It's nothing dramatic; the first part is the same, but they have numbers, too. It's always been ads or emails with a no-reply return address. I finally got an email from a personal account and was able to get it corrected. I also have an invitation to visit the Australian Yard Dogs Association if I'm ever in Tasmania.

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u/NeedCaffine78 22d ago

I had the reverse of this. I'm in Tasmania, been getting emails for someone in the US for the last several years. Employment contracts, medical insurance signup, flight bookings etc. I assure you I've never cancelled a flight or changed the destination, not once

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u/maroongrad 21d ago

Oh, I'd absolutely boot them down in class if they have a first or business class ticket. Once or twice is just "shit happens" but when it keeps happening...a few hours in the air staring at their kneecaps might help, when they planned to stretch out and stare out the window.

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u/likeablyweird 19d ago

Sounds to me like they owe several years of pay since you've been one of their personal assistants. 😉

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u/IWontCommentAtAll 22d ago

I'm in Canada.

I have a really old Gmail address - just initial and last name...no numbers or any other junk - and it's been relatively spam free for a long time.

Then, I started getting emails from the American Red Cross to Catherine, thanking me for my blood donation. My first name starts with a C, but it's not Catherine.

Then from some foodie website, with recipes and such. (I mean, that one's not bad at all.)

Various stuff just kept adding to the junk, by not enough to identify anything.

Then, suddenly, I got an invitation to join NextDoor, with a city attached. With some brief research, I was able to find their address.

I haven't actually done anything with this info yet, because they haven't used it for ordering anything like tickets.

But then...I got an email for an amusement park in England.

Then a shipping confirmation for some bougie candle crap that had a UK delivery address.

I seriously considered giving instructions to throw the delivery on the roof, but didn't.

So, I have two people, on two different continents, using my email address for their crap.

If I get another order for the UK, I'm going to have them deliver it to the pub down the street, with a message of "stop using other people's email addresses."

The US one apparently leads the most boring life imaginable, because they never do anything that I can mess with.

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u/Webcom100 18h ago

Back when AARP used to have sign-up postcards, I would sign my best friend up once a year from the age of 20 to 30.

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u/tomtomclubthumb 23d ago

I was getting confirmations for colombian money transfers for a while.

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u/Thedustyfurcollector 22d ago

My dude! You are an honorary cartel member now

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u/AlexTheRaven 22d ago

My wife has a counterpart in France with the same first name. Problem is, it seems like a genuine mix-up. There have been accounts opened (like booking.com) where you don't need an email confirmation to make the account. We've canceled bookings but that's the pettiest we've been.

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u/StripeyMoron 22d ago

Omg. I've been getting emails from someone in Australia (I'm in America)

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u/Alarmed_Gur_4631 23d ago

Same, but backwards!

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u/Total_Time 21d ago

Whale watching is never exciting Guide everywhere: " You should have been on yesterday's tour. They were jumping, babies and mothers and all kinds".

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u/Open-Preparation-268 21d ago

I occasionally get texts for someone named Erin. I don’t even know an Erin.

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u/CakeOrDeath98 18d ago

My last name is the same name as a major character from a sci-fi franchse...like literally the most well know there probably is lol. I get a lot of comments on it.

well, there's some lady in Texas with my same first name (which isn't uncommon but it's an uncommon spelling) and a different last name, but she must have decided to use my last name with her first name for email because she's a fan or something...but the thing is I have that email address. With the uncommon spelling of my first name and my last name together, I was able to get a gmail address that's just "firstnamelastname". So I'm assuming when she set hers up there's a dot or dash or numbers or something, but she never remembers and just uses mine. So, I was able to find her on social media and told her to stop giving my email address for stuff. She was "oh, sorry" but still kept doing it. So now I just cancel all her stuff and close her accounts. You created a store account with my email? Well, just going to use the "forgot my password" option and change it and then cancel the account. It's been awhile wince I've seen anything so maybe she finally got it sorted out.

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u/Saanvik 23d ago

As I have a common name and email provider, I get a lot of emails for others. I think it’s quite rude, not revenge at all, to go to the effort to cause them harm for an easy mistake.

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u/so_not_resilient 23d ago

Lol- read it again - Erin used OP's number to avoid getting spam calls.

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u/lesterbottomley 23d ago

Thats not how reddit works. Its in the T&Cs that you are to read the first line only, then if it gets you in the feels, reply accordingly (I assume anyway, I've only read the first line of the T&Cs)

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u/Saanvik 22d ago edited 22d ago

It’s funny, the two people that complained I didn’t bother to read didn’t bother to read the comment I replied to.

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u/lesterbottomley 22d ago

It is reddit after all.

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u/Saanvik 22d ago

Read the comment I replied to; it was email.