SPAM to unique Email Address only used with iWeb Technologies

WARNING! Either someone from iWeb Technologies has sold my Email address, or their systems have been hacked.

Background: I used to have an account with iWeb Technologies back in 2007, and when I set up the account I used a very specific Email address (the joys and benefits of administering one's own Email domain).

Not too long ago I started noticing I was receiving SPAM in my Junk Mail folder being sent to this very specific Email address that I only used with one Company.

The odds of a spammer randomly picking this very unique Email address are quite slim.

So tonight I attempted to contact iWeb Technologies and confront them about this, and here is the resulting Chat Transcript.

I was informed to contact iWeb's Abuse department which makes absolutely no sense as the abuse has already been perpetrated. My Email address is now in the hands of spammers, and while it's easy enough for me to disable that address (which I'm getting ready to do), the bottom line is that my address was bought and sold (or their database was hacked or they had a data breach incident).

Either way, and any way you slice this puppy up, none of those scenarios are particularly pleasant.

So which is it iWeb? Was my Email address sold, or was your database hacked?

The following is a transcript of your chat session.

General Info
Chat start time	Nov 14, 2009 9:28:49 PM EST
Chat end time	Nov 14, 2009 9:51:14 PM EST
Duration (actual chatting time)	00:22:25
Operator	Simon B.

Chat Transcript

info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.
info: You are now chatting with 'Simon B.'
Simon B.: Welcome to iWeb's live chat service ! How may I assist you today ?
George Ellenburg: Hi Simon. Can you please explain to me why I am all of a sudden starting to get a boat load of spam from an Email address I used to have associated with an account that I used to have at iWeb from back in 2007?
George Ellenburg: george.iweb@ellenburg.org is not an email address that a spammer is likely to come up with on their own which leads me to conclude that iWeb has sold its customer database to spammers. Is this true?
Simon B.: just a moment to let me verify something
Simon B.: what was the associated e mail address?
George Ellenburg: george.iweb@ellenburg.org
Simon B.: so you are receiving spam from these adress?
George Ellenburg: I am receiving a LOT of spam, being sent to the address above. The only place that address has been used has been with your Company.
Simon B.: but from wich address that spam are
George Ellenburg: You don't understand. The emails are originating from all over the Internet. 78 Emails in the last 30 days, and ALL are addressed to an Email address I ONLY used with YOUR Company, which tells me someone at your Company has sold my Email address.
Simon B.: The only thing that I can suggest you about it is
Simon B.: to send an email about that
Simon B.: this the following address
George Ellenburg: http://skitch.com/gellenburg/n81nt/spam-ellenburg-mail-found-78-matches-for-search
Simon B.: abuse@iweb.com
Simon B.: ok just a moment to look at your link
George Ellenburg: I think I'm going to submit a story to Digg and Reddit and The Consumerist and warn everybody that iWeb is selling its customer database. Either that or your customer database has been hacked. How else can you explain the receipt of 78 spam emails in the past thirty days all being sent to an email address that was only used in one place and one place only, and that's as an account email address with your Company.
Simon B.: First of all, What I can suggest you
Simon B.: is to talk about it to the rigth departement
Simon B.: this departement are abuse departement
Simon B.: The one of the email address that I have show you before
Simon B.: I understand that situation can be not really funny
Simon B.: But I dont have acces to any information to help you with that
Simon B.: thats why I have suggest you to contact the abuse departement
Simon B.: Im really sorry for that
George Ellenburg: And I shall. Perhaps you might want to forward this transcript to them as well. I appreciate your apology, and apology accepted.
info: Your chat transcript will be sent to george.iweb@ellenburg.org at the end of your chat.
Simon B.: Yes if you want, you can keep the following script to use it too
Simon B.: just give me a moment please
Simon B.: I think I can give you somewhere to go
Simon B.: to make your request
Simon B.: Can you give me 1 minute to find it?
George Ellenburg: ok
Simon B.: http://iweb.com/contacts/?logOnHubCheck=false
Simon B.: you can do it there
Simon B.: but my partner still sayng to me
Simon B.: that the best way are to send email to abuse depoartement
Simon B.: abuse@iweb.com
George Ellenburg: Thank you for that information Simon, and I will carbon-copy your abuse department, but I fail to see how they are going to be able to help in this situation. The damage has already been done. Someone from your Company sold my Email address, or your system has been hacked. Either way is not very pleasant. But I appreciate your time. I'm going to close this chat now. Thank you for your time.