I Received a Strange Email Yesterday!

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   Misbah786posted 2 years ago

   Something very strange happened yesterday. Someone sent me an email via HubPages. The person, according to my knowledge, was not a HubPages member.
   
   He wrote to me:
   "I want to post an article on your website: https://turbofuture.com/ Please let me know what the guest post price is at the site. Waiting for a positive reply."
   
   I didn't go too deep into the situation and replied, telling him, "I am not sure what he wants to ask me. But If he is interested in publishing an article on TurboFuture. He can do so by joining and publishing tech-related articles with HubPages. If the editors like it, they will move it to TurboFuture; if not, he can submit it later."
   
   What I found weird is that he didn't reply when I replied to him and asked how he knew how to reach me because if he had seen my article on TurboFuture, clicking a name on network sites doesn't backlink to HubPages. So if he is emailing me, he is already aware that TurboFuture is not my site but an HP's network site. If he was someone seeking help, he must have responded. I found it very strange and have reported it to the HubPages team! Have you ever experienced such a thing?

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   1. STAFF

      Matt Wellsposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      It's a spammer. Just ignore it and don't reply next time. They probably meant to send the email to team@hubpages.com.

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         Misbah786posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you very much, Matt. I'll ignore it if it happens again, but even if it was a spammer, I still found it odd. It has never happened before!
         Best wishes!

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      bravewarriorposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Misbah, you shouldn't have replied. Now he has your email address and has access to your computer. Our email addresses are not revealed when someone clicks on "contact author". He was phishing/scamming you. Keep an eye on your antivirus program. Hopefully they send you alerts when your information is stolen or found on the Dark Web. McAfee is real good about that.

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         Misbah786posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you so much, Shauna. You are right, my friend. I have antivirus software installed on my computer. My first impression was that maybe the person needed some help, but after getting no response, I found it fishy. I will be careful the next time.
         As always, your kindness is greatly appreciated!
         I hope you are doing well. Take care and stay healthy
         Much Love and Blessings!

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      Kenna McHughposted 24 months agoin reply to this

      It's happened to me. I ignore these types of emails.

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      shamelabboushposted 24 months agoin reply to this

      scammers are frequent these days

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      Thelma Albertsposted 24 months agoin reply to this

      Thank you for sharing this with us. We have to be careful. Spammers are everywhere.

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   Jodahposted 2 years ago

   This is strange, Misbah. I have never experienced anything like that.

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      Misbah786posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, John. Yes, it is strange. If he saw my articles on TurboFuture and mistook it for my site, which is highly doubtful, and then found me on HubPages, it shows he was aware that TurboFuture is linked to Hubpages. Network sites do not backlink to HubPages.

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   ChitrangadaSharanposted 2 years ago

   Hello Misbah!
   Never experienced something like that via Hubpages! There are safety steps, even if we are sending emails to existing HP members!
   Good that you reported this to HP!
   Not replying to unknown persons will be the wise thing to do!

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      Misbah786posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you very much, Di; you are absolutely right. As we are all aware of the current global financial crisis and how people are looking for online jobs, I just responded in case someone truly needs help. When the person did not answer, I realized I had made a mistake.
      
      Much Love and Blessings!

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   Glenn Stokposted 2 years ago

   Misbah, He probably is collecting email addresses to sell to spammers. When you reply, you are giving your email address to him. Never reply to these kind of emails, especially when you already determined something is not right about it. Sorry for sounding so harsh, but it’s an important point I need to make clear so people don’t fall for that trick.

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      Misbah786posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Mr. Glenn, thank you so much for your thoughtful and insightful response. You already know how much I admire you and your wisdom, and I truly appreciate you sharing it with me. I'll be more careful the next time.
      Many thanks!
      Blessings always!

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      bravewarriorposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      +1000 Yep!!

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   Brenda Arledgeposted 2 years ago

   Thanks for sharing this with us.
   We can all be on the look out.

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      Misbah786posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Bredz, you're more than welcome. Yes, that's why I informed everyone about it. I also wanted to check if anyone else had ever received such an odd email. I suppose I was his first target. Lol!
      Take care, my friend.
      Lots of Love and Blessings!

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6. 82

   Misbah786posted 24 months ago

   This is just an update for those who responded here earlier and anyone interested in knowing.
   
   Today, after 11 days, that guy sent me three emails again. It is not normal, and HP should take action. Who knows if the person is not any random spammer? I said that because the person also sent me some links. Of course, I will not respond to his emails this time, but why would someone send me these silly emails even when I confirmed that TurboFuture is not my website but HP's network site? If it was about collecting emails, it was already done; the guy already got my email address, so why again?
   
   Side Note: I received these emails after 11 days when I posted a comment on this forum today:
   https://hubpages.com/community/forum/35 … ge-from-fb
   
   I felt strange because I posted a comment about it today and received the emails again. Maybe the person is actively tracking our HubPages activities on the forums. Who knows?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   My purpose behind sharing these screenshots here is merely to alert other community members and nothing else.

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   1. STAFF

      Matt Wellsposted 24 months agoin reply to this

      Just ignore the emails and don't reply. You can change your HubPages email settings so people cannot contact you if you like: https://hubpages.com/my/profile/account
      
      You'll know the email is spam when they are asking for a "guest post" or "post price".

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         Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

         Thank you very much, Matt. I had already changed the settings, and am not responding to his emails.
         My contact option was always turned off until HP removed the comment section. Some of the fellow writers prefer to comment via email rather than on forums.
         Best wishes!

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   FatFreddysCatposted 24 months ago

   I've gotten similar emails in the past. I chose to ignore, delete, destroy.

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      Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

      Keith, I appreciate your kind response. When I first responded to his email, I believed he needed some help. It's funny how people stab us when we act like helpful people. You know, the world isn't fair to good people, Lol! (Just kidding!)
      
      I found it strange that the guy sent me these emails again today after I commented about it in the forum mentioned above. Sadly, there are way too many spammers on the site.
      Thank you for sharing your experience with me. I appreciate it very much.
      
      Stay Blessed!

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   Stephen Tomkinsonposted 24 months ago

   I might be a little slow but I don't see why anyone would send such emails, nor how he got Misbah's address in the first place - unless, as suggested - he`s already on the site.

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      Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

      That's the point, Steve. If someone is unaware of what HP is, how can he ever reach me by reading my articles on TurboFuture? Network sites do not backlink to HubPages.

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         eugbugposted 24 months agoin reply to this

         Isn't there a "contact author" button on profiles accessed via newtwork sites? Do you have that turned on? Did he contact you via Hubpages or directly via your email?
         
         Edit: I see in your earlier post that you received the email from Hubpages.

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            Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

            He emailed me via HubPages. I appreciate you bringing this up, Eugene. I just discovered that profiles on Network sites have a 'contact author' button. Heck! I've been wondering how the person found me on HubPages for the entire time because network sites do not backlink to HubPages. What a fatal flaw! I noticed that the dialogue window that appears when you click contact author includes a mention of HubPages. Woooooow! I was all the time believing that Network sites stand alone! HP's Loopholes!
            Any idea why the spammer thought I was the website owner when I just have two articles there? I mean, he could have considered someone great, like you.
            
            
            
            Strangely, not even any team member guided me on this for the last 11 days. I appreciate you for sharing this
            
            Stay blessed!

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               jansharesposted 24 months agoin reply to this

               Misbah, I've always had my "contact author" turned off since joining HP to avoid having my personal email address out in cyberspace for any random person to contact me. I think it's on published articles, too, if you have it turned on. That's another reason why I really miss the comment section on our articles. I could talk with my readers and answer questions while maintaining distance and privacy. My profession requires me to be very cautious.
               
               Incidentally, I did receive a random email on my business website email asking if the person could use my poems to write music. I googled the person to see if he was legit. Seemed to be. But after a lot of back and forth, I didn't feel comfortable and felt he was trying to "use" or steal my work. He actually referenced LetterPile. I'm pretty sure he found me online as my business email is public. It was strange. I never heard from him again when I set some parameters regarding copyrights, royalties and need for a written contract.
               
               Just to add, I don't mind using the "contact author" to email fellow hubbers and then they have my personal email address. I've reached out to several over the years for various HP-related reasons and will continue to do so as needed.
               
               With all the spamming, identity theft, copyright violations, and theft of intellectual property, we have to be careful of who we engage online. Be safe, be blessed.

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                  Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

                  Janis, I used to put that contact option off, but since HP removed the comment section, some fellow writers prefer to leave comments via email. I think it's best if I disable the option. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and for your thoughtful comment. It is greatly appreciated, my friend!
                  Much Love and Blessings!

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                  eugbugposted 24 months agoin reply to this

                  I don't think our emails are exposed unless we actually reply to an email sent to us via Hubpages.

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                     Justine Guiaoposted 24 months agoin reply to this

                     I also think that this is the case. So, as long we won't reply, they will not be able to get our email, is that right?

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                        eugbugposted 24 months agoin reply to this

                        As far as I know. The idea of the "contact author" facility is to mask our real email address. Most of us have our email addresses and possibly passwords in the public domain anyway due to hacking of databases or our details being sold. There's several websites where you can check this, e.g. on the Avast site. they also show the sites where it was leaked from. This is why it's always important to have two-factor authentication for any important accounts (Bank accounts, credit card accounts) so that a one time password/link is sent to a phone or a code generating device is required for login.

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                           DrMark1961posted 24 months agoin reply to this

                           Unless you are in California, email addresses can also be sold by the holders of the contact author addresses.

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                              eugbugposted 24 months agoin reply to this

                              Did we establish whether outside California, TAG sell our details (without the need to ask us)?

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                                 DrMark1961posted 24 months agoin reply to this

                                 That is what I undertood from the conversation. I hope I am wrong. I do not think so though.

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                                    Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

                                    Oh no! I did respond to his initial email to help him as can be seen in the above posted screenshot!
                                    
                                    Here’s what happened: https://hubpages.com/forum/post/4267678
                                    
                                    When I first responded to his email, I believed he needed some help.

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                                       eugbugposted 24 months agoin reply to this

                                       Just ignore him Misbah, but don't give up being helpful.

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                                          Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

                                          Thanks, Eugene!

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               eugbugposted 24 months agoin reply to this

               People sometimes think I own the site/sites too. I guess it just doesn't cross their minds that sites hosts our articles and there are lots of other writers. Hubpages and network sites aren't exactly advertised. There hasn't been any effort really to market the brands or create an awareness. If someone Googles "Hubpages" or the names of the network sites, there aren't many references. There aren't any Wikipedia entries for the network sites, maybe it would help if there was.

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         bravewarriorposted 24 months agoin reply to this

         Misbah, if you click on the author's name in any of the niche sites, your taken to their HP profile, which has the Contact Author button.

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            Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

            Yes, Shauna. You are right. Eugene informed me about this in the comments of this forum. It's all about HP's Loopholes. I kept asking this question, but no Team member told me about that. Strange. Isn't it?

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            1. STAFF

               Matt Wellsposted 24 months agoin reply to this

               I'm not sure exactly what you are asking. Please email team@hubpages.com with more detail.

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                  Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

                  Nothing, Matt. It's all been resolved. I've asked several times how I can receive an email from HubPages if someone read my article on TurboFuture because the person had no idea what HubPages is, and we all know that Network sites don't backlink to HP. It was strange for many of us until Eugene and Shauna mentioned that people can contact us through HubPages by using the "Contact Author" button on network sites. I've already made the necessary changes in the account settings. Thanks for following up. I sincerely appreciate your help.
                  Much Gratitude!
                  Best wishes as always!

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   bhattucposted 24 months ago

   It is strange. Someone trying to enter the site wrong way.

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    Brenda Arledgeposted 24 months ago

    I received a strange message request on Messenger.
    
    
    
    I didn't reply

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       Justine Guiaoposted 24 months agoin reply to this

       This people are getting rediculous. It's a good thing that you didn't reply. Thank you for sharing this, at least now we know the thingss that we should look out for.

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          Brenda Arledgeposted 24 months agoin reply to this

          Absolutely.   Be careful.

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       Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

       I would say the world is advancing now; these spammers can directly reach our inboxes rather than disturbing us on forums.

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       Misbah786posted 24 months agoin reply to this

       The person's name is Ali Raza ( It's written in Urdu)
       The person who approached me was also Ali. I guess his name was Ali Hassan.
       I have a strange feeling that the person who sent this message to you is the same one who sent the email to me. The message he sent to you says about HP's rules violation; that message appears when you try to contact someone via HP or its network sites.

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    Misbah786posted 24 months ago

    I have a strange feeling that the person who sent this message to Bredz is the same one who sent the email to me. The message he sent to her says about an HP's rules violation; that message appears when you try to contact someone via HP or its network sites.

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       Brenda Arledgeposted 24 months agoin reply to this

       Luckily it was on message request...so i did not approve it.
       Nor answer it.
       
       But why...or how they reach out to us isn't as important as they are out there.
       Be careful...don't trust any of them.
       
       Always question first.

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    2. STAFF

       Matt Wellsposted 24 months agoin reply to this

       The best way to handle this situation is to not engage with the spammers. Change your message settings and just ignore it. HubPages will never send you messages about rule violations through Facebook.

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    Brenda Arledgeposted 24 months ago

    To answer a question I received on my email...
    
    No...I am not on LinkedIn
    
    So, that's not how spammers received my information

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