Can spammers get my email from bus...?

[Annybelly]

Hello...

When there are spammers on the board, I don't remember their names, because they're usually... random, to say the least. And because we have totally awesome mods and admins, they usually get splatted pretty quickly... [so thank you for that, big time!]
But the past few days, I've had a lot of spam in my email inbox [well, actually, the bus folder of it]. I don't use the email I have with bus on many sites- it's my 'proper one'- I use other addresses for new sites, then switch them to this email when I'm sure I'll use them regularly, and once I'm sure they're not going to spam me, so this email address stays spam free, for the most part.
But as I say, the amount of spam's been increasing, and I can't be certain- it could well be my mind jumping to conclusions- but I think some of the addresses and scams might've been the same as I've seen as spam on the board.

So is it a possibility that somehow spammers are getting my email from where it's stored on the board, and then emailing me? They're direct emails- not the kind of 'Someone has messaged Annybelly on bus' messages I get when emails me through bus... I've flagged them as spam/scams, so they've all disappeared from my email now.

But yes- just wondering if that's what's happening, [and if anything can be done, whether it's bus, or somewhere else...] and whether anyone else has had the same thing happen!?

[kiwi33]

Sorry to read that you have been getting more e-mail spam than usual.

As far as the recent infestation of BUS spammers is concerned, I suspect that it is just a coincidence. BUS is pretty secure in a computing sense. Eg, when I Google "Annybelly" (try it ) nothing relevant to you as a BUS member is retrieved. It is *theoretically* possible that a "black hat" hacker has broken into the server where BUS "lives" and has stolen member e-mail addresses but that would take a high level of computing skill (I wouldn't know how to start and in part of my day job I am a computing geek ).

If you are concerned, maybe set up a new gmail or equivalent e-mail account and use that for your BUS login?

[Annybelly]

Thank you Kiwi!

I'm glad to hear it's pretty much definitely a coincidence! I've googled Annybelly before [some people at school twigged it was a nickname, and I wanted to check it couldn't lead them here if they googled it, as we sometimes do being silly in lessons and such!] so yes, I figured bus was pretty cool at somehow hiding itself!

I reckoned it was possible in some way, but it's good to know it's not likely to be bus at all My knowledge of actually computing is pretty limited beyond what I need to know to operate the computers I use everyday!

I'm not fussed enough to use another account for bus if it's not bus which is causing the spam, because I like my notifications coming to my hotmail- I just wanted to see if someone could let me know if it was likely to be bus!

Thank you!