Dummy email trick that backfired on me hard

I thought I was being clever by using a throwaway email for my grocery store loyalty card. Two weeks later, they sent a coupon for baby formula to that address, and I'm a 50 year old guy with no kids. It made me realize these stores are still building profiles on you even with fake info. Has anyone else had a burner email lead to some creepy targeted marketing?

2 comments

2 Comments

mila_perry1325d ago

My buddy Dave did something similar with a disposable email for a pet store. Two weeks later he got spam about dog food for large breeds and his cat was like 8 lbs soaking wet. That data mining stuff is way too real.

piper91225d ago

Actually the pet store thing might not be what you think. A lot of those disposable email sites get recycled, so Dave might've just gotten someone else's old spam. I've seen it happen with temp mail addresses where you end up getting emails meant for whoever used it before you. The data mining stuff is real, but the targeting usually comes from cookies and tracking pixels on the actual website, not just from giving an email. If he didn't actually buy anything or click any links, it's probably just coincidence or recycled address garbage.