Odd and slightly suspicious e-mail

Question

Has anyone else received an odd or suspicious e-mail concerning the family names of Pevehouse or Hundsecker? I received this yesterday and when I first read it I thought "WOW' a really new contact and possible cousin. When I got to the end of the message I started having odd feeling about it He/she didn't give his name.  The sentence about a Northcutt ancestor was odd. I do not live in So. California and haven't for over 50 years. In fact there was no personal info anywhere. Only the email address gave a name: jprice at live.com  He/she didn't say what the connection to Northcutt, Pevehouse or Hundsecker was.

Thought I would throw this out and see what someone else thought about it. I'm I paranoid???

The following was sent via the private messaging system on WikiTree.com. (they were on my profile page)

"Hi Lynne: I saw your family history information on Wiki Tree, which showed an interest in the Pevehouse and Hundsecker families. I share these family lines with you. It looks like your connection is through a Northcutt ancestor, correct? My mom was an avid genealogist who did about 20 years of research on the Pevehouse line, including going to Germany to find documentation back as far as 1680 (or earlier). When my mom passed away, I inherited all her files, which I am working on organizing. I live in So. California, not to far from you. If you are interested in sharing any information, just let me know. I am also in contact with another Northcutt distant cousin in Illinois, who my mom collaborated with. I do not post anything online due to privacy concerns."

Comments

It might be legit.  Still, if someone cold-contacts me without the courtesy of giving a name, I ignore on principle.

---

The southern California part was likely came from looking at your profile where you note an early life event that occurred in Riverside. I can imagine someone looking at that and thinking "she's from So-Cal too" and not stopping to think that you may have moved.

Answer 1

That isn't entirely out of line or odd. First, this person sounds fairly new to genealogy themselves, hence he or she might not be fluent in the typical conventions of genealogical correspondence. Second, different folks have different thresholds for sharing information and your correspondent is likely one who simply stands on the side of caution.  Frankly, I would tend to be similarly cautious to your correspondent. They can't be certain, either, that you are who you say you are. 

I would encourage you to write back and ask him or her how they are related to you and/or these families. At the same time, I would emphasize that you understand his/her concerns about the privacy of living and recently deceased individuals and that you won't reveal his or her private information online. 

It sounds to me like you've just had a lucky strike with some cousin bait. Time to make the most of it. 

Comments

I agree with JN Murphy on this. In addition to this person being new to genealogy, their failure to give you a name may simply mean they aren't super-adept at interacting with websites.

---

I too agree with JN Murphy.  I occasionally get messges like that and usually they are just friendly distant cousins looking for someone with whom to correspond.  It's generally easily to write back a short message to acknowledge the message and that they should send you more info about themselves and how they may be connected.

And they may have identified themselves somewhat, sounds like their name may be J. Price and they have a Microsoft email account.  Maybe they just assume their email info identifies them.

Anyway, you could send a reply asking for more info from them.  Even tell them you were surprised by a message out of the blue and are wondering if its some kind of scam.  If it's legit, they shouldn't have any problem verifying themselves.  Just put the ball back in their court without making any commitments.  You may get a new cousin for your Christmas card list!

---

I'm also on JN's bandwagon on this.  There's nothing to suggest any ulterior motive to the note, and the correspondent doesn't ask for anything other than a reply if you're willing to communicate further.  My inclination would be to go ahead and follow up and see where it takes you.

Answer 2

Yes I have gotten emails like this but from other family lines.

I do not respond to emails from Wikitree from those who are not logged on to WikiTree. If the sender doesn't want to be treated as SPAM then he/she should not behave as a SPAM sender. I have this on my profile:

{{Template:Blue | Responding To Those Not Logged In:

For privacy purposes, unless I personally know you, I do not respond to any messages from anyone not logged in to WikiTree.}}

Answer 3

I've seen this before recently. Can't remember where. Think I ignored it since it was anonymous.

Comments

Could be one of those gedmatch-haunting detective agencies.