Reminder to use a hobbiest email

[Megan'sTouch 23875]

I've posted this before and I will post it again. Please use a hobbiest email! This has nothing to do with being a secret agent and concealing your identity from your service provider.

 

Every month or so I receive a spam email where one of my client's computers gets a virus. The virus is then emailed into everyone on his contact list. This enables me to see everyone on his contact list.

 

It makes me so sad to see all his family members (by the same last name) and professional contacts mixed in with escorts and massage provider email addresses. His entire family and professional network are outed to me, and all the service providers he's emailed are now known to his family and professional contacts.

 

Please be open and honest with me about who you are by giving me your name and phone number, but consider using a hobbiest email for initial contact. If you are going to use your regular email, at least make sure your anti-virus is up to date!

 

Be careful gents,

 

Megan

[castle 38816]

Agreed! I have a specific e-mail address I use for hobbying only. Just seems a lot more diligent that way.

[Jake_1957 1301]

Good advice Meg, I created a new Hotmail email address soon after joining CERB.

[KaceyKatzegeist 152]

Heck, I created a new email address after posting here because I forgot my personal one had my actual name attached to it. :P No offence, gentlemen, but I just wanted to be careful of how much of my information was given out until I got sure of the type of people I'd meet.

[roamingguy 300291]

I have a email devoted to this lifestyle, and separate from my regular day to day email. And as an added extra measure of security, neither email is related to one another (ie, I use hotmail for regular email, took another email provider, not hotmail, for this lifestyle) Just in case if you used the same email provider for both emails, they could link one email with the other

RG

[Phaedrus 209521]

Yep, absolutely. Separate email, separate phone. Information wants to be free, and once it's out you can never get it back...

[Royalfun 55448]

For sure, discretion is key, and with this hobby, we have to take measures to protect that discretion: cell phone, email addreses, and alias.

 

For one, someone indiscret shared my cerb handle and put me in a very difficult position.

 

Unfortunatly, we must keep private this hobby to protect ourselves and to protect the ladies that we meet. This is the rules of society now. Hopefully, it will evolve and considered, in the future,( but when ?) that this hobby is a normal and honorable activity that could be considered as socially acceptable.

[stevecurious 42059]

I am in agreement with the majority (so far) in regards to a hobby email account. I have always used one and I will continue to do so. Although I don't go as far as using different carriers for personal/hobbying I do find the use of a hobby account to be essential. Considering it costs nothing to open a second account all new hobbyists should make this one of their first priorities, especially if they are married or attached.

[Andee 220524]

Especially don't use your work email. For example, I will not respond to any emails sent to me from Federal Government Departments etc.

 

Good reminder, Megan.

[philips268 130]

Another vote for separate email & phone - this is the only place I save SP contacts, notes, bookmarks etc. Most web-based emails have a "I am on a shared public computer" option when logging in. Always check that so nothing's left locally on the computer when you log out.

 

Ideally if I could store all the information all in my head I would - but I'm not MENSA so I need technology's help :)