[SpamCop-List] Re: GMail Account Compromised

[Gerald Vogt]

El Guapo wrote:
> I have a GMail account that is about 3 months old. I have never used it. No 
> one even knows I have it except the person that extended an invitation to me 
> and someone that I extended an invitation to.
> 
> I just logon once a month or so to keep the e-mail account open. I've been 
> debating making it my primary account since my yahoo one is flooded with 
> Spam. In January, I started getting spam.

It may just depend on the username you have chosen. I have some spam on 
addresses that I have never actually used. But I guess spammers just put 
together known usernames and try to deliver this to common popular 
webmailer. So if you are using the same username on yahoo and on gmail I 
would expect spam mails in your mailbox.

I have vogt at spamcop.net. I would expect spam mails on addresses like 
vogt at yahoo.* or vogt at gmail.* even if this address never appears 
anywhere public and you have never used it.

There is something similiar for domain owners: spammers occasionally 
send spam to addresses like info at yourdomain.* although that address 
does not even exists...

> Is GMail security compromised or is it more likely one of the two people who 
> know the address have a virus? It's an unusual account that spammers 
> wouldn't just guess. 

Not guessing. Just brute force calculations. Bandwidth is there to test 
many combinations quickly...

Gerald