I got one of the magazine notices in snail mail, we were taking the magazine and I renewed the first time and we ended up with several years of renewals. I called about it and found out that many different companies handle magazine subscriptions/renewals and it's just a ploy to get you to pay for a subscription.

Well rest assured that the spam had no knowledge of the situation or timing, in fact there is a very good chance it's not originating from his own email account. It could be from any one that has both your address and his address in their address book, it will spoof some random address from the address book and use it as the from field, so you think it is from him but in reality it could be a number of people who has him in their address book. One of them has been infected.
I know it was a shock to see but was just a fluke.
I am sorry for your loss.

For magazines these days always send in a cancel notice in writing to be sure that your credit card is not used to automatically renew, and prevent future billing issues.

My late mother used to subscribe to Good Housekeeping. They used the exact same tactic to try to pressure her to renew. After she passed away and all mail addressed to her was coming to my address, I sent their threatening 'renewal' letter back to them along with a piece of my mind. I never heard from them again.

Not connected to magazines, but I got an email today from a name that made me think ir was from an old school friend, so I opened it.

This is what it said:

Have you ever felt so strongly about someone that it consumes your whole being? I have. And I feel very deeply for you. My heart is in this eCard I sent just for you. http://mposmfxz.tumblr.com
Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Huh?

I did not go to the eCard link, but out of curiosity I googled the name of the sender. I found an obituary;she died just a few days ago, and it was someone I had never heard of, and not anywhere near I had ever lived.

That is the strangest email I have ever gotten.

There are a lot of JERKS out there.

Sue

Unfortunately just opening the email sends a notice back to the real spammers letting them know you have a good active account which they add to their lists. The fake ecard ones have been around for a long time but unfortunately many still fall for it and get infected. I personally will not ever open an ecard, not worth it, and immediately move any suspect email to the junk mail folder that is how your email program learns what you you think is junk.

It is important to have someone you trust clear out and close any accounts, email or otherwise, when you pass away. Not something we think about but it is something that needs doing.
I am responsible for doing this for some one, plus send out a mass email to all the members of the address book informing them of the news, arrangements, and letting them know that the email address will now be closed.

That would make me mad, too. It isn't always true the company selling the magazines send out cancellation notices before using your credit card...they just automatically deduct the amount upon renewal. If you don't pay attention to your billings you may not catch it.

The spam thing is annoying, but I agree with Ravencajun - they didn't know the account holder was dead.

The renewal notice thing, though, would make me furious. I don't often subscribe to magazines, but I only pay by check, to avoid the auto-renewal. And I almost never use checks.

I got a similar email as Sue-VA, just this week. Deleted it, but weird.... it said I love you, love you ..... I also did not open the ecard.

Jenna, maybe this is the week the spammers are hitting Virginia. ;-(

Sue

Southern Living used to send me what looked a bill for a subscription, almost every year. Only in tiny print did it say that they wanted me to buy the magazine. I have never ever gotten their magazine and never would, after their sneaky ploy. I always wondered how many husbands would just pay it, thinking their wife had ordered it, when they never did. No kidding, it looked like an invoice, not an ad to sell it. They acted like it was a done deal, and it used to annoy me to no end. I always sent back the empty envelope with a note that I didn't appreciate their underhanded ways.

I have had the same experience with magazine subscriptions.
Getting duplicate copies, etc. I finally just cancelled them all will borrow them from the library if I want to read something. It should be unlawful to take advantage of people that way.

I got the pay pal one again this week. I don't get many and if they keep sending I mark them as junk and they are suppose to be bounced back to sender.

I don't have any magazine subscriptions any more (I used to have more than 10!). I was getting renewal notices months before the subscription was due to run out. In one case I had renewed for two years, and got a renewal notice 3 months later. I had more than a year left for goodness sakes!

I don't get many magazines any more even at the news-stand, because I find they are expensive and it only takes 10 minutes to read them - they are mostly advertisement. Food magazines have very few real recipes anymore, and all articles for diets or vacation spots and things like that.

I am sorry you are upset, so vent away!

Dances.

Hi patti43,

If you're seeing al of that red around the place ...

... could it be that your blood has boiled over?

I'm sorry that you were distressd by the message purporting to be from your friend and agree that it's improbable that the spammer was aware that the person whose address s/he'd taken over (illegally) had drawn his last breath in recent days.

I also tend to avoid using the systems where they like to carry out those automatic renewal options ... and only use my credit card to renew one magazine ... one which follows ethical principles entirely. It's the personal financial advisory mag that carries no ads and which I've promoted here on various occasions as the best in Canada.

I hope that you have a weekend with much clearer sailing.

ole joyful