Originally Posted by VaNella
. . . . The only place I have let my email be known is in personal messages here. So it is not out of the question in my opinion.
Actually - that is not a given - there are many ways in which your email account can be hijacked. Also, these online groups might not have sold your info - but been hacked as well.
My guess is that the PM's here are safer than using some online email accounts such as Gmail and Yahoo. I have several email accounts - one of which I use for online forums, another for FB, another for junk sign ups and one for bills and friends.