SPAM going to my old Apple ID

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Level 1

6 points

SPAM going to my old Apple ID

I just recently changed my apple id because the amount of SPAM I get is colossal. "mute" and "block" don't do anything. I'm told by Apple that the only way to get "block" to work is to add the email address to my contacts. Fine, except I get about 75 spam emails a day with unique email addresses, and I just don't have the time for that. I've also been advised to just put them in the "junk" folder, so future emails will also go to junk. Also not helping, since most of the SPAM emails go to junk automatically, the trouble is that I sometimes will get an important email that lands in my junk folder and I miss it because I have so much SPAM to filter through to find the actual important email I needed to see and take it out of "junk". What I really want is to stop being inundated by unsolicited SPAM and phishing emails, but there appears to be no solution to this. Here's my question:

I have a xx@mac.com that used to be my apple ID that I have replaced this week, but never gave out or used as an email address. Apple also doled out a matching xx@me.com and an xx.icloud.com email address to me over the years. I never used them for anything or gave those out, either. I am now getting SPAM/phishing emails to each of those 3 emails. I just want to turn them off now so I don't get emails at all to those three email addresses. How can I do this?

Thank you!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.2

Posted on Feb 2, 2023 02:30 PM

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Answer 1

Owl-53

Level 10

100,249 points

Feb 9, 2023 08:37 AM in response to DingoPaint

I too have a xx@mac.com plus xx@me.com and a xx@icloud.com acquired over the years, about 2003 of 2004.

Regardless, the Spammers can send to any of the 3 Domains and all of the Spam will arrive .

One of the ways to avoid this have been covered in your Other Question

Interesting site in below link related to " Have you been pwned "

The problem is, once a e-mail address(s) has been exposed or Sold, a Spammer gets a hold of it, they are like sharks in a feeding frenzy and will be relentless in spamming

https://haveibeenpwned.com/

A Third Party Application ( not needed myself and not used ) to augment the Spam Filtering is in below link is worth a look

https://c-command.com/spamsieve/

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Answer 2

DingoPaint Author

Level 1

6 points

Feb 17, 2023 05:52 PM in response to Owl-53

Hi P Phillips,

Thank you for your answer. I am just stunned that there is no solution for those of us that want to keep our email addresses and that the spammers win. I will forever be on the run, having to create a new Apple ID account every few years - in fact, I believe it's happening when I download apps on my iphone that those email addresses of mine have been harvested. I don't use those for anything else, but I have my beloved email address on that same account (that doesn't get spammed) so I am hard pressed to have to change it - I would prefer that Apple helps protect the privacy of their customers by allowing them to disable certain email addresses on their account whenever they want - that seems like a simple enough solution to me.

Thanks for the suggested links. I'll look into pwnd. I already downloaded the free trial of spamsieve and have been training it for about a week, but it doesn't seem to be effective in that I still have to sort through junk emails and find the good ones interspersed between the "squirting" and "rose-toy" calamities.

I do thank you for your focused help on this. I'm disappointed that there aren't any solution for the good citizens on the planet and that we have to run and hide from our own email addresses, but I know you don't own Apple, you just explain it where you can. Thanks again.

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Answer 3

Owl-53

Level 10

100,249 points

Feb 18, 2023 01:24 AM in response to DingoPaint

If I may to draw a parallel between e-mail and the old Post Card one puts in the Mail System.

An e-mail is open to any entity or person to intercept along the journey to final destination.

Just like a physical Post Card in the mail system

They can Harvest both the content and address of the sender

What they do, human nature kick in.

Spammer and other Bad Actors are a business with the sole intent to make money

Some Companies are always looking to increase their bottom line and show the Share Holders a profit

Need it be said what they are willing to do.

From what I am aware of and have read, the is some Well Known company that is known to Harvest all sorts of personal data and repackage it for re-sale to the Highest Bidders

Bottom-line - we the honest citizens will always be behind the curve in the war against Spammer and Bad Actors

We can only mitigate our exposure and slog on

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Answer 4

DingoPaint Author

Level 1

6 points

Feb 22, 2023 07:56 AM in response to Owl-53

Thank you for your insight, P. Phillip.

Though...a soft digital email address and a hard copy postcard seem unrelated to me. I want to slog on with my email address that is part of the same account with Apple that houses my old email addresses that Apple isn't letting me delete. Deleting an email address that I still have access to is much more attainable than finding a post card that I've already dropped in the mail.

I am going to file a complaint against Apple because this has really compromised my privacy and my ability to manage my own account by deleting email addresses on it is being jailed by Apple. You have been extremely helpful - please note that my complaint is about the policy and not the help you've given me on this issue.

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Answer 5

Feb 8, 2023 09:44 AM in response to DingoPaint

The same thing has been happening with my Apple ID and email.

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Answer 6

Owl-53

Level 10

100,249 points

Feb 22, 2023 08:01 AM in response to DingoPaint

Understood and appreciate the Heads Up on this.

Good luck

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SPAM going to my old Apple ID

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