I got a GDPR email from MailChimp--maybe

[LilyBLily]

This might be weird. Feels weird, anyway.

I got an email today supposedly from Mailchimp (its email address was the sender, supposedly), saying that someone had requested their info be deleted from Mailchimp's servers. Apparently, this was not just an Unsubscribe request--although I can't be sure. Anyway, Mailchimp listed the person's email address and said that email address is on one or more of my lists in Mailchimp and I should delete it and GDPR and blah, blah, blah.

I don't have a paid Mailchimp account, so when I went to Mailchimp the safe way via opening a new window, I couldn't find any way to contact Mailchimp directly to ask, "Did you send me an email?" The email wasn't in my Notifications on the Mailchimp site.

There's no subscriber search button that I can see to find the subscriber in my list on Mailchimp of 1,595 names. After thinking about this a lot, I believe I could find the email address by exporting the list, making it part of a searchable numerical list in Word, using Find to find the email, then going back to Mailchimp and looking at that same entry on its list and then deleting the email address. Possibly I could do all this in Excel, but I don't know Excel very well.

1. Has anybody received this same email from Mailchimp?
2. Does my laborious work around make sense, or is there an easier way?

I've already looked at every email address on the list and not found it, but I don't want to trust my eyes alone. 

[TimothyEllis]

Can you post the email? Including the headers?

If we can see it, someone can comment on it being a genuine email or not.

[LilyBLily]

From: accountservices@mailchimp.com
Subject: Action Required: Request for Contact Removal

Hello {redacted},

We have received a request from an individual to permanently delete personal data from our systems. The individual's email address is {redacted}, and our records indicate that the individual is listed as a contact on one or more lists within your Mailchimp account, {redacted}.

To the extent Mailchimp is the controller of any personal data about this person, we will promptly delete it from our systems.

With respect to data within your Mailchimp account, you are generally the controller and Mailchimp is the processor. As the controller of the personal data within your Mailchimp account related to this person, please delete their personal data. In accordance with data privacy laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Mailchimp's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, we kindly ask that you comply with this request as soon as possible within 30 days.

Please keep in mind that if you've connected an integration that imports data into your Mailchimp account, such as an e-commerce store, you may also need to delete this persons personal data from that integration to ensure it is not added back into your Mailchimp account.

© 2001-2019 Mailchimp®, All Rights Reserved.
675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE • Suite 5000 • Atlanta, GA 30308 USA


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There are several links in the email that I can't reproduce here, and that needless to say I did not click.

I'm wondering if the paid version of Mailchimp has a search box to easily find an email. Online sources talk of one, but I don't see it on my version of Mailchimp.



 

[writeforlove]

On your dashboard, there should be a search icon next to "help." When you click on it, you can search for the email in question.

[LilyBLily]

On your dashboard, there should be a search icon next to "help." When you click on it, you can search for the email in question.

Thanks! Tried that, and can't find the email address Mailchimp sent me. I did multiple tests with other email addresses I know are in Mailchimp and valid. The search function found them with no problem. So whaaa??

I have a problem with figuring out sites like Mailchimp. It may be my problem alone, but I can't help thinking that I am not the obtuse one.

So the email address of the name to be deleted is a mystery. It might be a spoof after all. 

[TimothyEllis]

Can you mouse over a link, and take a screen print, so we can see the url under the link?

[LilyBLily]

My name comes up when I mouse over the email address to be deleted, along with what looks to my uneducated eye like an effort to search my computer, concluding thusly: AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird/profiles/r285gzix.default/...

If it's a virus, it'll have to get in line. This computer already has a virus.

[TimothyEllis]

My name comes up when I mouse over the email address to be deleted, along with what looks to my uneducated eye like an effort to search my computer, concluding thusly: AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird/profiles/r285gzix.default/...

If it's a virus, it'll have to get in line. This computer already has a virus.

If you have paint on your computer or any other photo program, you just hit the print screen button, copy it to paint, then crop it down so only the email body and the link are shown. So cut off anything which identifies you.

Either that, or write down the link, and post it.

Links in emails are the best way of determining a fake or not.

[baldricko]

Yes, if you don't mind blocking any details you don't want read, it would definitely be helpful if you posted the screenshot.

This doesn't sound right to me. It sounds like a scam or an attempt to mess with you/your computer.

[Bill Hiatt]

My name comes up when I mouse over the email address to be deleted, along with what looks to my uneducated eye like an effort to search my computer, concluding thusly: AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird/profiles/r285gzix.default/...

If it's a virus, it'll have to get in line. This computer already has a virus.

How to contact support options for Mailchimp: https://us8.admin.mailchimp.com/ Basically, you find the technical support section, and then click for chat or email.

It looks to me as you might be hovering in a spot that's giving you the address where your email is stored. I get that sometimes with Thunderbird, too. I think that might depend on what version you have.

Legit emails from Mailchimp normally point to a link that includes that us8.admin.mailchimp.com piece, as above.

Once you get ahold of MC, I'm sure you can get a clarification on whether the email is legitimate or not. It could be an effort to get you to click on a suspect link. Otherwise, the content sounds reasonable. 

[Bill Hiatt]

if you go to the list you can alpha sort by email address, which might make locating the address faster. Just click the column title.

[bardsandsages]

It sounds to me like all they are saying is that, if you downloaded your subscriber list or keep a backup of it, make sure that you remove that data from your list. If you don't keep a copy of the subscriber list then there is nothing for you to do.

If you do not store any user data, then there is nothing for you to do. If you DO store user data, keep a backup of it, or have Mailchimp integrated with another service that uses that data, then you need to make sure that you remove the information requested.

[LilyBLily]

Thanks, all. It looks as if the purpose of the email from Mailchimp was not clear to me.

Attached I hope is the redacted email.

[Bill Hiatt]

Thanks, all. It looks as if the purpose of the email from Mailchimp was not clear to me.

Attached I hope is the redacted email.

Links aside, I can't see anything sinister or spammy about this email. We know that people can request to have their data deleted under GDPR. I don't why Mailchimp can't simply delete the person from your lists themselves; there may be a legal reason. But Mailchimp couldn't delete the person from any data you might have exported.

What I would do is alpha-sort your list by email address, as I suggested earlier. Find the email. Click on it to get to person's listing. Delete the listing. Be sure you delete the person from any backups or other records you might have. Then email Mailchimp to indicate that you have complied. (Paper trails are important.)

This process should only take a few minutes, and then you can stop worrying about it. GDPR is relatively new, but I suspect that, as times goes on, we'll probably all get a few of these.

[baldricko]

Thanks, all. It looks as if the purpose of the email from Mailchimp was not clear to me.

Attached I hope is the redacted email.

Links aside, I can't see anything sinister or spammy about this email. We know that people can request to have their data deleted under GDPR. I don't why Mailchimp can't simply delete the person from your lists themselves; there may be a legal reason. But Mailchimp couldn't delete the person from any data you might have exported.

What I would do is alpha-sort your list by email address, as I suggested earlier. Find the email. Click on it to get to person's listing. Delete the listing. Be sure you delete the person from any backups or other records you might have. Then email Mailchimp to indicate that you have complied. (Paper trails are important.)

This process should only take a few minutes, and then you can stop worrying about it. GDPR is relatively new, but I suspect that, as times goes on, we'll probably all get a few of these.

Follow this good advice.

[LilyBLily]

I sent a reply to the Mailchimp email address from which the letter was sent. As I do not have a paid account at Mailchimp, I don't rate any chat or technical support and can't contact anyone directly. All I get are articles that might help. In this situation, that's a bit frustrating: Mailchimp can write me, but I can't write Mailchimp.

I found no evidence that the email address requesting removal had ever been on my subscriber lists anywhere on Mailchimp, so that part remains baffling.

[Bill Hiatt]

I sent a reply to the Mailchimp email address from which the letter was sent. As I do not have a paid account at Mailchimp, I don't rate any chat or technical support and can't contact anyone directly. All I get are articles that might help. In this situation, that's a bit frustrating: Mailchimp can write me, but I can't write Mailchimp.

I found no evidence that the email address requesting removal had ever been on my subscriber lists anywhere on Mailchimp, so that part remains baffling.

That is odd. Assuming the email is from Mailchimp, you'd think they'd know who was or was not on your list. The only thing I can think of would be if you had double opt-in, and the person never clicked on the confirmation email. That person wouldn't show up as subscribed, but they do exist somewhere in Mailchimp's system. Of course, in such a case Mailchimp is the only one that could delete the data, since you don't have access to it.

[bardsandsages]

I found no evidence that the email address requesting removal had ever been on my subscriber lists anywhere on Mailchimp, so that part remains baffling.

They removed it already. That is what they were telling you. If you went to your subscriber list on MailChimp expecting to see it, there is no reason it would be there because they already removed it on their side. They were telling you to make sure you removed it on YOUR side. i.e. if you downloaded the subscriber list or if you had a list on your hard drive that you had manually added to MailChimp.

[LilyBLily]

At first I did go on my Mailchimp subscriber lists expecting to see it. Proof that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing because I really did not understand the letter. That's my error. I'm a very basic user of mailing lists and services, and despite my protestations above, I'm the obtuse one here.   

Then I checked all the lists I obtained from giveaways and cross-promos; these did not originate with Mailchimp. Then I checked all my exported lists from Mailchimp and my main list on Mailerlite. Of course I would be obligated to purge from them in accordance with GDPR. The email address wasn't there. I have no evidence it was ever on any of those lists.

I have only one list that originates on Mailchimp. It's the organic list from my back-of-book and website signup forms. That's the only possibility. It's not double opt-in AFAIK. I export that list from time to time and add the new names to Mailerlite. The person must have signed up and opted out before I ever exported the organic list, because that email address is nowhere in my possession or on Mailerlite.

I think I have done my due diligence. I still don't know--since no one has yet reported getting a similar letter from Mailchimp--whether the letter was spam or real.     
 

[Bill Hiatt]

I have only one list that originates on Mailchimp. It's the organic list from my back-of-book and website signup forms. That's the only possibility. It's not double opt-in AFAIK. I export that list from time to time and add the new names to Mailerlite. The person must have signed up and opted out before I ever exported the organic list, because that email address is nowhere in my possession or on Mailerlite.

I think I have done my due diligence. I still don't know--since no one has yet reported getting a similar letter from Mailchimp--whether the letter was spam or real.     

People do sometimes unsubscribe really fast. If the only time you did anything with Mailchimp was to export to Mailerlite, then you may indeed have simply missed the person. Because Mailchimp tracks unsubscribes and keeps the data, they would still have seen it, but if you only export subscribers (and there's no real reason to export unsubscribes), then you would never have had the data in your possession.

Yes, you have done your due diligence. Just to have a paper trail, email Mailchimp and explain the process you've followed to verify that you have no data from this individual. If you don't want to use the address in the email you got (probably) from MC, the address from which my daily status updates comes from is confirm@mailchimp.com. I know that address is authentic, and it doesn't say it won't accept replies, so it's worth a try.