In a trend that is becoming far too common lately, I have been the victim of another security breach due to an online service provider.

Sometime yesterday, an e-mail account that I had retired about five years ago became reactivated by someone telling the company that they were me and had forgotten the password as well as the answers to the security questions. In such cases, e-mail providers are supposed to refuse to re-activate the account.

Unfortunately in this case, someone at the email provider's offices took pity on this poor, helpless con artist and they allowed him/her/it to take control of my former account. As a result, a few hundred spam messages were sent out from an account I no longer have any control of (and haven't had control of in many years) to complete strangers. Worse still, a google search reveals that this same person has used this hijacked account to set up a Facebook account in my name as well. I will be working on getting that dealt with tomorrow.

For now all I can do is state categorically that this is not me, and do not open the e-mail messages.