1. Chat

How do you use alias details?

Help

How and when do you use alias details?

If you submit your details often for freebies and competitions, what alias details do you use and how have you organised your email inbox?

I'd like to collect your best advice on the use of alias details for freebie hunting and comping (or other cases), so that I may link to it to help new comers.

Tom
Tom
Founder
over a year ago
What do you think of this?+20 points
Advertisement
Tom
Founder

For example, I often use alias details when shopping for price glitches, or if I'm unsure about a brand. I have a special email address that is connected to my usual inbox that I use, and have rules set up so that all emails from that brand go there instead of my main inbox.

Also, whenever a brand asks for my telephone number I purposefully give the wrong one. This is to avoid marketing calls.

I've found that using an alias email is particularly useful, as I now have 200 - 500 emails a day going in there from all the freebies, competitions and newsletters that I've subscribed to. Having it in a separate folder means I never have to look at them unless I want to, and with gmail it becomes almost like a private search engine for deals... If I need a voucher code for M&S, for example, I will just search that folder and often there is a promotional email with that voucher code.

Like
Reply3
scoobie1

Hif you give a fake telephone number, how do they ring you if you have won a prize?

Like
Reply1
Tom
Founder

scoobie1 this is just my personal view - and you can read contrary opinions below - I'd rather not receive nuisance calls every day. I'm also not a big competition person so for me this is more for freebies.

Some people below give the advice of using an old phone

Like
Reply1
garygemmell

scoobie1 Just get a freebie mobile sim (Lebara/Virgin/Asda) and put no money on it - they can still ring you although you cant ring out.

Best is if you have a mobile phone that can take two simcards - I can highly recommend the new Doogee X30 Β£69.99.

Good camera for photographing those pesky receipts and takes all the apps - Topcashback, Shopmium etc

The most useful thing is that it takes two simcards so you can have your real one active for making calls, sending texts etc and the secondary dummy sim for just receiving calls and if you set it on answering machine you never have to bother with spam calls if you choose not to!

Like
Reply4
Tom
Founder

garygemmell great advice

Like
Reply2
Deleted67475

garygemmell Great! My phone has dual sim. Never though to do this. I hate hate giving out my number so I will use a spare gifgaf sim I have!

Like
Reply2
Ceebers

Good advice. Especially about the phone number. That's one piece of information I am always reluctant to provide. I have stuck to one inbox thus far and tend to filter and sort it daily.

I do have a webpage that collates all of my sources for freebies and comps. I track these daily and keep a spreadsheet to track progress. You know I love a pivot table!

Like
Reply2
Tom
Founder

How do you make such a webpage? Sounds like wizardry!

Like
Reply1
Ceebers

Tom Protopage: http://www.protopage.com/ It's not fancy. Just a page to collate my links for freebies, surveys, comps and websites that I contribute to such as LFS, Latest Deals and Beauty on Trial. Oh and Tripadvisor of course for my leisure reviews...

Like
Reply2
Tom
Founder

clareemckenzie Brilliant very nifty thank you

Like
Reply1
didbygraham

clareemckenzie Protopage looks like an interesting option. I have symbaloo (symbaloo.com) set up as my home pages with a full sheet with just the daily draws and other compo sites, along with another page for all my shopping / deals / survey sites etc (also have a few pages set up for my transport related activities and web sites (plymothiantransit.com). Takes a bit of setting up but it looks good and is very flexible. The numbers I add as labels then relate to my spreadsheets! Image

Like
Reply4
Ceebers

didbygraham Looks fab. I stick with Protopage as it's simple and easy to update. Will check out your links shortly. Thanks for posting πŸ˜€ πŸ‘

Like
Reply1
garygemmell

Excel Pivot table - wow i am impressed you must be an accountant thats advanced Excel lol

Like
Reply
MrsCraig

I am always reluctant to apply for the ones that ask for a phone number, but giving a fake one is definitely a good idea. I have two different emails. One which I use for personal emails and one which I use for freebies, competitions and subscriptions, it just makes things so much easier.

Like
Reply1
JackL

Good ideas, thanks. I use the Chrome extension Blur, that lets you generate a fresh throwaway email address for any form. It will forward these to your account and has a dashboard where you can simply switch each email off if you need to. (It also has a similar service for phones and credit cards but I've never used it.)

Like
Reply
Tom
Founder

Very interesting thank you. Will have to check it out

Like
Reply
KarenMassey

i've set up the prototype page but still do not see an email for me to use as an alias . help?

Like
Reply
PhilipMarc

You can use this website to generate fake address & etc - http://www.fakeaddressgenerator.com/UK_Real_Random_Address

Doesn't seem to provide fake emails but you can just type aol@aol.com and that'll be fine.

Like
Reply
PhilipMarc

- Different email

- Different name

- Made up phone number

These are the two things one should do when signing up for competitions.

Like
Reply2
Ceebers

Crikey. And I do none of the above. By eck...

Like
Reply
AgnesFaludi

I usually use one email, just block the unwanted messages....something happened with my gmail anyways and all emails go to trash straight away....I use my name....there are other living people have the same name so they can not anything with it.

I hate to give away my phone number, but sometimes I do, really depends on company....when I see something looks like a scam...etc I write fake numbers.

Like
Reply
cocolgooh

One tip I heard is to always add in "your middle name" or a second first name if no middle name option is given, but instead of putting in your real middle name, use the name of the site. This way, if they sell your details on, you know who sold them as the company name will be in the name they address you by.

Sometimes I use my full name, other times I'll use a nickname, it just depends on what I'm signing up for. I've used my (real lol) middle name as my surname before too.

I have several email addresses I use though. I use one for sites like this that I contribute to, and then others for things like freebies or competitions. That way I can keep everything separate.

I also use my old phone number whenever they ask for a phone number. This keeps my actual phone numbers (business and personal) free of unwanted calls. At least for the most part, anyway.

Like
Reply6
Tom
Founder

Haha that's a brilliant trick! Ha! Will put that in today's newsletter πŸ‘

Like
Reply
cocolgooh

Tom I hope it helps some people! 😁 Always useful to know who's selling your info!

Like
Reply
Katiekins79

Great advice. Thanks.

Like
Reply1
cocolgooh

You're welcome. I'm glad it can help you. πŸ˜„

Like
Reply
jinxyjink

For competitions it is probably not wise to use a made up phone number as if you win they may try to contact you by phone, of course they might try and email you when they can't get hold of you but that is a risk . What I did was buy a cheap phone from CEX for a tenner and I use that number when entering comps,if it rings and it is spam you can just cut the call off. I also wouldn't advise using a different name either as I have won twice where they required ID both were alcohol comps so not sure if they are required by law to do this before sending the Alcohol, don't think it would be very good if you won a holiday either as they will obviously need all details to fulfill the prize. I also have a separate email for comping, it is rammed full of spam every day but i just keep it open and never spend more than 5 minutes at a time emptying it apart from when I am out or asleep.

Like
Reply3
CHoward

Watch out for OfferX.co.uk - claimed that I'd been accepted to test a couple of products after I signed up to them, but you can't "accept" the product until you agree to several companies having your phone number. Same with their competitions.

Like
Reply1
Ceebers

I avoid them like the plague. I got so many marketing messages, through various channels, that I gave up in the end. It was a long time ago and I am a bit more competition-savvy now.

Like
Reply
HeatherJenk

When doing a competition, I use a gmail account for this, the spam e-mails can be horrendous, for putting a phone number, I've kept and old phone, which I top up with a fiver every 6 months or so, just in case I get any winning phone calls, I've had a few, so if I get sales or marketing calls, they go to this phone, if it's a comp win, they always leave a message asking you to call back. I have had to provide ID, when I won a Deal or No Deal competition, I had to provide evidence of my driving licence, so play by ear about lying for date of birth, I've never had any problems, look for a secure web padlock on comp pages, this usually tells you its'a genuine comp, and follow your instinct, if it fees dodgy, it probably will be!

Like
Reply2
Tom
Founder

Good point about looking for the green web padlock to see if it's a secure (https://) connection

Like
Reply2
TanieshaJohnson

going to take a while for me to work this magic.

Iv got a comp/freebie e mail address seperate to private.

soon as i replace laptop will be able to do the folders ect thank you didn't see this earlier. x

Like
Reply
didbygraham

I dont use a fake or old telephone number a such but I very rarely give my mobile number, preferring to stick to my home phone. Our main phone is on an answer machine anyway which we never answer - unless someone leaves a message we can then decide to call them back or not. I also never answer the mobile unless I know who is calling - they can always leave a message too. As for emails - I have an outloook email address I just use for comps and web site logs ins - I dont mind spam etc in that one - its easy to delete the rubbish anyway.

Like
Reply
ged778Bettyboo

Thanks for details

Like
Reply1
PaulaHurley

I love it

Like
Reply
Jaycee5

I haven't had too many harassing phone calls - but hellofresh are a pain so I avoid them now. I had to block their number and now they send junk mail instead.

I had a call from a woman 2 or 3 years ago selling adjustable beds that I had entered a competition for and I felt sorry for her because she had obviously been given what she thought was a list of potential customers. She wasn't pushy and she had no idea that they were just competition entrants who weren't going to pay nearly Β£2,000 for a bed.

I have never been notified of a competition win by telephone so I don't think it matters if it isn't your own number. I don't do those that some radio sites have when they only ask for a phone number.

Like
Reply
jessrex

I use a different email for freebies n competitions and my old phone number and shorten my name then I know who or what are contacting me

Like
Reply
mikepaterson

I recommend the excellent https://www.spamgourmet.com - it lets you create unlimited temporary email addresses. I have been using it for years.

The instructions are very simple - steps 1 and 2 create your account and set it up. Step 3 lets you create random email addrtesses that are 'alive' fro x number of emails - allowing you to verify then email address and receive any prize email that arrives but will then self-destruct.

Protect yourself from spam in three easy steps:

1. If you haven't done it yet, create a spamgourmet account. Enter your user name and the email address you want to be protected. You will be asked to identify the word in a picture and pick a password.

2. Spamgourmet will forward to this address all the emails sent to your spamgourmet addresses -- that way you don't have to tell anyone else what it is -- this is why it's called the protected address. Of course, this protected address must exist. That's why you have to confirm it. You'll receive an email asking you to confirm.

3. After you have confirmed your protected address, you can give out self-destructing email addresses whenever you want. The spamgourmet addresses are like:

someword.x.user@spamgourmet.com

where someword is a word you have never used before, x (optional) is the number of email messages you want to receive at this address (up to 20, and the number 3 will be used if you leave it out), and user is your username.

For example, if your user name is "spamcowboy", and BigCorp wants you to give them your email address (on the web, on the phone, at a store - it doesn't matter), instead of giving them your protected address, give them this one:

frombigcorp.3.spamcowboy@spamgourmet.com (and frombigcorp.spamcowboy@spamgourmet.com will work the same way)

This spamgourmet email address will be created here the first time BigCorp uses it (you don't have to do anything to create it), and you'll receive at most 3 messages, forwarded to your protected address. The rest will be indelicately consumed.

Like
Reply
latestdeals365

If you own a website and your hosting comes with an email mailbox, you can usually set up a β€œcatch-all” email account.

This is an email address that is set to receive all messages that are addressed to an incorrect email address for a domain.

For example, you could have a main account set up as yourname@yourwebsite.com, and set this up as a catch-all email account.

Then, any email messages sent to any invalid email address for that domain e.g. dominos@yourwebsite.com or asda@yourwebsite.com are sent to the catch-all account (yourname@yourwebsite.com).

Like
Reply
garygemmell

Just get a freebie mobile sim (Lebara/Virgin/Asda) and put no money on it - they can still ring you although you cant ring out.

Best is if you have a mobile phone that can take two simcards - I can highly recommend the new Doogee X30 Β£69.99.

Good camera for photographing those pesky receipts and takes all the apps - Topcashback, Shopmium etc

The most useful thing is that it takes two simcards so you can have your real one active for making calls, sending texts etc and the secondary dummy sim for just receiving calls and if you set it on answering machine you never have to bother with spam calls if you choose not to!

Like
Reply
carlp666

Hi garygemmell I ordered an 02 SIM if I place it into another phone will that work if I don't top it up?

Will it constantly have to be switched on?

Can we not use fake number rather than an active SIM?

Like
Reply
garygemmell

carlp666 02 are wise to the old Priority Gig - Ie you order an o2 sim and get free use of priority - they now stop you from finding out your sim number so you cannot use priority until you top the card up!

You wont know the number so its no use i know ive tried it twice now.

So many people posted this hack on Hotukdeals and this site that 02 must have cottoned on.

Get a Virgin sim - easier!

Use a fake number and if you win you will never get that phone call telling you you;ve won the million lol

I just use call blocking on my Android, Blackberry and Windows Phones!

Like
Reply
carlp666

garygemmell what does call blocking do and how to set it up on my android I know that maybe be a simple answer but I'm not the brightest with tech πŸ˜‚

Like
Reply1
DarrenTurner

I think it's being over-dramatised here with the phone number. I've been entering comps on mse for 15 years(just got back into it after taking a break for a couple of years) and was a board guide on the comps forum and I can honestly say I can count the number of spam calls on one hand in that time. If you did just block the number. Now you had an accident calls,that's another matter 😀

Like
Reply
Tom
Founder

That's great to hear, thank you for your feedback. It's also great to have an experienced comp'er such as yourself on Latest Deals. Thank you again for joining and I hope you're still enjoying it!

Like
Reply1
One of the UK's largest deal hunting communities

Join for free to get genuine deals, money saving advice and help from our friendly community

Tom Church
Co-Founder &
Chief Bargain Hunter
Tom Church, Co-Founder
Want deals & discounts automatically?
+100 bonus points!
Latest Deals Browser Extension
Latest Deals Mobile App
  • Download our app
  • 1,000+ new deals every day
  • Earn free Amazon vouchers
  • Daily deal alerts - never miss the best offers!
  • Download the Latest Deals iOS AppDownload the Latest Deals Android App
Latest Deals
Disclaimer

The content on Latest Deals is a combination of information submitted by members of the public and the Latest Deals team. Whilst we make every effort to try and ensure genuine, accurate content we cannot guarantee it. Please always carry out your own due diligence and double check the details of an offer on the retailer's own website.

How this site works
  • To cover the site's running costs, Latest Deals uses affiliate links.
  • If you click on a link to an external website and make a purchase, Latest Deals may earn a commission.
  • We allow deals to be shared on Latest Deals irrelevant of whether or not they generate us money. Our #1 concern is helping you save money.
  • If you have any questions about how the site works, drop us a message. We're always happy to help.
Copyright Β© 2024 Latest Deals Limited
Registered in England and Wales. Company number 10286141. WeWork 6th Floor, International House, 1 St Katherine's Way, E1W 1UN
We value your privacy

We use cookies to help give you the best experience on our website with improved customisation, analytics & advertising (inc. personalisation). You can read our full cookie policy. Please either , or .