I just did a signup on a brand new email address and was not able to recreate. No random spam emails reported. Just a normal verification email.
It's likely that the email the author received is pure coincidence. Especially if they are using a client that downloads emails in batches.
FWIW it looks like their validation email is sent by Customer.IO via Mailgun. Both have squeaky clean service agreements so it's unlikely they are shooting off the data to spammers.
Edit: No way! I did end up getting a random empty email. From a "Adventure-Meter Department" at bugbusterbrigade.com. The topic of the email was "Scents and Memory".
This is a really weird email. It's not a spam email, it's some sort of attempt at inbox testing. Perhaps it's an attempt to sniff out AI agents signing up for their service?
legitster
I would make even stronger advice.
If you want to verify an email, send me a one-time code with several hours expiry that I have to resubmit through my logged in web identity at your site.
It drives me batty that a financial provider (retirement vendor from previous employer) won't seem to let my "paperless" setting remain active. Only because I don't ping their abusive email tracking pixels etc.
To me, paperless means I can log in and download my quarterly PDF statements and related documents, and they won't be left in a mailbox on the street. It doesn't mean I have to subject myself to reading your silly emails with a promiscuous client.
saltcured
The idea that they really send spam to validate an email address sounds to insane to be believable.
Is it possible that they are somehow leaking the address to actual spammers?
For example, they (or the hypothetical email validation SaaS) use an infected email validation library that ex-fills every email supplied to it, or something like this.
vova_hn2
the actual base64 email itself is an HTML document, with a bunch of filler text about metal magnets!
> Hi there, A magnetic domain is a region within a magnetic material in which the magnetization is in a uniform direction. This means that the individual magnetic moments of the atoms are aligned with one another and they point in the same direction [...]
they sign off the email with a zero-width space set to "font-size: 0" for some reason
bstsb
I have a Gmail address in the format of x.surname@gmail.com, which is obviously potentially applicable to tens of thousands of people.
The amount of misdirected mail I get is astounding. I literally just got a delivery updaye for hair removal cream, with the option to sign the unknowing recipient up to a paid for tracking subscription service.
The problem isn't just making sure the address is valid.
You need to ensure you're sending communications to the correct person.
lwhi
Can it be that Pangram doesn't send any spam itself but instead (intentionally or not) leaks your email address to some spammer who then does the sending?
kirmerzlikin
Strange to see this in an apparent real product. And also I don't see how this does much to 'validate' it... It could be a valid email that belongs to a random stranger, like, tcook@apple.com for instance.
Part of me wonders if someone has added something nefarious into their backend which just collects and exfiltrates new emails as people sign up.
xp84
There is a procedure common in mail sending where you ALMOST do this. You connect to their mail server, tell it you have a message for them, and wait to see if it rejects you or accepts the message. Then you disconnect without actually sending the message. I wonder if this is some kind of confusion among the devs behind this, or some benefit to really sending the message that I can't think of. Does it contain a tracking pixel or anything?
rubinlinux
My first thought would be that they've been hacked (or something else, like a CRM attached to their systems, has).
hopeless
Can we talk about the reddit spam too? Like how they allow bots to sign up accounts, with random email addresses. Which then sends spam/verify emails, with no recourse? I want to block new accounts to my email, but I have no options.
comments (10)
It's likely that the email the author received is pure coincidence. Especially if they are using a client that downloads emails in batches.
FWIW it looks like their validation email is sent by Customer.IO via Mailgun. Both have squeaky clean service agreements so it's unlikely they are shooting off the data to spammers.
Edit: No way! I did end up getting a random empty email. From a "Adventure-Meter Department" at bugbusterbrigade.com. The topic of the email was "Scents and Memory".
This is a really weird email. It's not a spam email, it's some sort of attempt at inbox testing. Perhaps it's an attempt to sniff out AI agents signing up for their service?
legitster
If you want to verify an email, send me a one-time code with several hours expiry that I have to resubmit through my logged in web identity at your site.
It drives me batty that a financial provider (retirement vendor from previous employer) won't seem to let my "paperless" setting remain active. Only because I don't ping their abusive email tracking pixels etc.
To me, paperless means I can log in and download my quarterly PDF statements and related documents, and they won't be left in a mailbox on the street. It doesn't mean I have to subject myself to reading your silly emails with a promiscuous client.
saltcured
Is it possible that they are somehow leaking the address to actual spammers?
For example, they (or the hypothetical email validation SaaS) use an infected email validation library that ex-fills every email supplied to it, or something like this.
vova_hn2
> Hi there, A magnetic domain is a region within a magnetic material in which the magnetization is in a uniform direction. This means that the individual magnetic moments of the atoms are aligned with one another and they point in the same direction [...]
they sign off the email with a zero-width space set to "font-size: 0" for some reason
bstsb
The amount of misdirected mail I get is astounding. I literally just got a delivery updaye for hair removal cream, with the option to sign the unknowing recipient up to a paid for tracking subscription service.
The problem isn't just making sure the address is valid.
You need to ensure you're sending communications to the correct person.
lwhi
kirmerzlikin
Part of me wonders if someone has added something nefarious into their backend which just collects and exfiltrates new emails as people sign up.
xp84
rubinlinux
hopeless
Topgamer7