Contact taken over by another contact

[DCCAdmin]

I am using free CRM with Shopify integration.

I created a contact last year (name Martin Ward - let's call him A)  in HubSpot and all was fine. He also had an account in Shopify and the integration was working well.  Purchases were creating Deals etc.

In Jan this year a different Martin Ward (B) (with a different email address) submitted a HubSpot form (he didn't have a Hubspot Contact record and form setting 'Always create contact for new email address' was on) and for some reason instead of creating a new Contact he appears to have taken over A's contact record.

I need to understand how this has happened and how I seperate them?

[Bryantworks · Accepted solution]

@DCCAdmin Unfortunately, we can't check if that setting was off/on via a lot to my knowledge.  The only way I've seen an email being overridden was by a form was via a cookie.  I'm not sure of any other way for a form to do so.  

[DCCAdmin]

@sharonlicari Thanks ofr following this through Chris.

Gremlins then.

[DCCAdmin]

Thanks @Bryantworks @sharonlicari 

There is zero possibility that these two people have shared a device to create a cookie.

Focussing on the 18th Feb when the form was completed and the contacts switched - if "create new contact from email address" wasn't set (although I believe it was - can this be checked in a log?), are we to assume that it's the surname that has been used / associated withe the original record?

[Bryantworks]

Hey @DCCAdmin,

From that log, a HubSpot form (user must've been cookied) changed the email address.  Maybe the "Create new contact from email address" wasn't set then?  But also, looks like a user manually merged these contacts as well.  Unfortunately, there isn't a way to undo the merge.

[Bryantworks]

Hey @DCCAdmin, I don't see how this user could manage someone else's Shopify account as that being Hubspots fault.  Can you confirm they have access to their account?  Wouldn't they need a password as well?

As for the email, can you hover over the email property and click details?  Then post a screenshot of that?  Should look like this:

https://share.getcloudapp.com/wbu9qqAe

[DCCAdmin]

Thanks.  Martin A didn't have an account in Shopify (just  a guest) which Martin B then inherited as a result of what went on in Hubspot. Email history attached.

[Bryantworks]

Thanks for the tag @sharonlicari!  @DCCAdmin can you share the view of the email field?  It should showcase if the form changed it.  I know you said you have the "Always create contact for new email address" was on, but is it possible that a different form without this setting updated them via a cookie from a prior submission?

[DCCAdmin]

@sharonlicari @Bryantworks thanks both for picking this up.  Much appreciated.  Ive attached some screenshots of the property history.  I've identified the change happened between the 21/12/20 and 18/01/21.  Just to further clarify these are two different people, not sharing devices or connected in any way.  As far as I can see Martin A became Martin B when he filled in a form.  He was not a contact prior to that.  The most worrying part of this is the fact that he has been able to manage someones Shopify account as a result of something at fault in Hubspot.

[DCCAdmin]

The only thing they have in common is they both have microsoft email accounts (martywardy@ is Martin A)

[sharonlicari]

Hey @DCCAdmin 

Thank you for the information provided. 

I'll bring to this conversation a few experts that can share their thoughts. 

Hey @darynsmith @Bryantworks @vickisonne what would you think could be happening here?

Thanks

Sharon