[ale] OT(ish) Sold or stolen?

[Alex Carver]

On 2014-09-02 20:59, Robert Reese wrote:
> Hello Alex,
> 
> Tuesday, September 2, 2014, 8:37:46 PM, you wrote:
> 
>> I never gave anyone else that particular alias, I don't use it as a
>> username for my online account access, it's not stored in my phone or on
>> any address books, and I don't send email from it (receive only alias).
> 
> I do something similar, and there are three possibilities that I see:
> 1: AT&T indeed either sold your email address or had some email address data stolen from them.
> 2: Your own server has been infiltrated.
> 3: Somewhere between AT&T's email servers and your email servers has been compromised where data is being intercepted. "Pharming" at one time was the phrase, but that's since been absconded.  
> 
> I suspect #3 is the most likely culprit.  This is one of the reasons people shouldn't send confidential or sensitive information via unencrypted email, even in an attachment.

I know my server is ok, I check it every day and keep it patched.
Number 3 would be very interesting since the email never leaves AT&T's
networks (I have UVerse).  I still suspect it's a case of stolen or sold
but I have very little control over the contents of the emails that AT&T
sends to me (part of the reason I use my own server).  I don't have
statements come by email but I don't have a way to opt out of any other
communications.