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SATURDAY MARCH 4 2006 8:49 PM

The Man With No Name

Submitted by baudot

Edited by Shal

More accurately, the man who's name is "null".

For the past five years, if you've sent a Verizon text message and forgot to address it, your message had a home: Stan Bubrouski's phone. Stan chose the address Null@vtext.com for the service and has been receiving unaddressed messages ever since.

Initially, the content of the messages was innocuous, he said. "It was things like 'don't forget to drop the car off at baker's' and to 'call mom at 781-XXX-XXXX', stuff like that," Bubrouski wrote.

The problem worsened in mid-2002, when Bubrouski's phone began channeling what he claims were dozens of messages from an e-mail address used by General Motors' then-new "OnStar" system.

Amusement aside, the address also netted Stan information that might have been dangerous in the hands of someone with a talent for identity theft.

I was getting people's grades, order information from unknown retailers, personal messages with people's credit card numbers and social security numbers...

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Comments

JohnClement

Silver Spring, MD

January 2004

MAR 04, 2006 08:55 PM

I wonder if anyone has the email mail@mail.com .That's the e-mail I (and everyone else, I imagine) use when I need to put one in on a blog site and don't want to.

Oracle

Courtenay, BC

September 2003

MAR 04, 2006 09:03 PM

I wish I was as creative as some of these people...how great would it be to get unaddressed text messages.

FreakPirate

Canada

November 2002

MAR 04, 2006 09:04 PM

BillHaverchuck said:
I wonder if anyone has the email mail@mail.com .That's the e-mail I (and everyone else, I imagine) use when I need to put one in on a blog site and don't want to.

I usually go with thisisafakeemailaddress@fakeemail.com

lostnomad

Brooklyn, NY

February 2005

MAR 04, 2006 09:07 PM

and reading all those messages at 2 cents a message.

[Edited on Mar 05, 2006 12:08AM]

dempsey

Seattle, WA

June 2003

MAR 04, 2006 09:19 PM

FreakPirate said:

BillHaverchuck said:
I wonder if anyone has the email mail@mail.com .That's the e-mail I (and everyone else, I imagine) use when I need to put one in on a blog site and don't want to.

I usually go with thisisafakeemailaddress@fakeemail.com

funny... i'd assumed people always used no@spam.com...

Io

USA

November 2005

MAR 04, 2006 09:26 PM

One of my friends in high school always used the name "Lee Hong" if using a fake name to register for something. Since then, I've only been able to use things like leehong@leehong.leehong or leehong@lee.hong or something...

Hooraydiation

Boston, MA

October 2005

MAR 04, 2006 11:26 PM

ZAPP BRANNIGAN.

SimTim

Colorado Springs, CO

December 2005

MAR 05, 2006 08:03 AM

billyblanks@taebo.com

Lotus

SUICIDEGIRL

Ontario, Canada

MAR 05, 2006 08:04 AM

whenever I'm signing up for anything like porn I use bob@hotmail.com
poor bastard.

mat8drb

United Kingdom

October 2004

MAR 05, 2006 08:14 AM

Lotus said:
whenever I'm signing up for anything like porn I use bob@hotmail.com

I use Bob@bob.com

On the story, damn, you'd have thought someone would have spotted that one.