It started as an email scam. Now they have a new ‘family’ in time for the holidays

What was once an annoying email thread has become a sense of “family” for one Wichita woman.

Tana Goering said she clicked to unsubscribe from what now appears to have been a “bounce back” phishing email scam, but she didn’t notice it was a scam until she started to receive several emails a day from unknown people.

It was then that she realized that by clicking “unsubscribe” that she became part of a “reply-all” email thread. Each time someone replies to the email, she gets notified — as well as everyone else who has fallen for it.

The first email came on Nov. 23, and she is still receiving a few emails each day.

“I was annoyed at first with the people responding angrily,” Goering said.

But the frustration did not last long.

“The replies go to the entire group and started with ‘who is sending this?’ and ‘take me off this list,’ and have now gone to… ‘we’re all a family now, where’s everyone from?’ It’s actually pretty funny,” she said.

Others have also noticed that the group has become a family.

“You know, we all have became a family,” one person wrote. “At least we won’t be lonely during the Christmas holidays while we’re reading all this foolishness.”

Some are finding personal advice from their new family.

“So I don’t know what to get my wife for Christmas,” one person wrote. “Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.”

The advice is pouring in — one person replied that he should get his wife a miter saw as she would love it. And, of course, that advice goes to everyone, and not just the person who asked.

Now, others think the family needs a greater platform to communicate.

“I have an idea,” another person wrote. “If any of you, with decent senses of humor, want to take this offline to another group chat or something, I’m game. The folks who don’t understand that unsubscribing to all of is us useless are not invited.”

Goering eventually decided to join the reply-all family.

“I did respond about where I was from, but without any personal info,” she said. “Though after hitting send, thought that was stupid, but hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?”

Those affected have began reporting the scam to Apple support.

And now — despite her new “family” — Goering has one piece of advice for others:

“NEVER REPLY ALL, people!”

This story was originally published December 10, 2017 at 1:55 PM with the headline "It started as an email scam. Now they have a new ‘family’ in time for the holidays."