Receiving SPAM from myself!

[Mowser]

I get the usual nonsense in my spam folder. Recently however, the spam I'm receiving is coming from my own email address! In the "from" column it's the usual Pfizer, Pfitzer, Nigerian princes etc but one shows up as coming from me.

Any ideas?

[gerryh]

Don't worry about it.
The spammers use genuine email addresses to fake their emails to make them look genuine.
Cheers
Gerry

[Mowser]

Thanks Gerry. I'm not too worried about it as I know it's spam. I have a slight concern though that messages are being sent to people with my email address and they're unaware it's spam.

[gerryh]

I have a slight concern though that messages are being sent to people with my email address and they're unaware it's spam.

That is why the spammers use genuine addresses.
Short of changing your email address often there isn't anything you can do about it.
Cheers
Gerry

[julian]

the time to start worrying is when you begin to answer the mails that came from yourself !!!

[Beachcomber]

One of the major sources of legitimate email addresses for the spammers is from these people who insist on sending mass mailings of jokes, hoax virus emails and 'Round Robins' etc. to everyone in their address books showing the email addresses of every person to whom they have sent it.

This really písses me off (pardon the language) and when they do it to me I let them know in no uncertain terms.

If these sad people really feel the need to do this they could at least put all the addresses in the BCC column.

[gerryh]

If these sad people really feel the need to do this they could at least put all the addresses in the BCC column.

Unfortunately the people who pass on the junk don't realise it's junk or are computer savvy enough to use the BCC facility.
Cheers
Gerry

[Beachcomber]

Perhaps people should have to pass an examination before being let loose on a computer.

[janda_grant2]

I can get up to 20 emails from myself, Pfizer, fake watches, Seen you on Twitter etc, and I have NEVER sent a group email from this account and very rarely pass on mails - I just wonder how much Viagra I should be buying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have more filters set up than I have emails in my inbox! Just can't be bothered to change the account!

[Beachcomber]

It's not the group emails you have sent but the ones you receive from legitimate contacts showing not only your address but that of everyone else to whom it was sent so that your email address appears on all of the emails that were sent to other people.

I use Mailwasher and dump all of the junk before downloading the rest into Thunderbird.

[Devils Advocate]

Oi Victor, go and check your PH levels

[julian]

my favourite was thunderbird number 2

[Mowser]

So I suppose I'm just lucky that it's only started then?

[lulubel]

As I understand it, the reason they do this is so they can continue to send you spam that looks like it comes from your email address because you "can't" (or won't) block it.

I don't have any spam filters on my business email because I can't risk genuine emails from customers being sent to junk. So, when I do get spam, I use the feature in my email client to block emails from that email address. Except that I can't do it when it's my own email address because it stops all the automated emails from my server getting through.

It's a pain, but there isn't any way round it that I can see.

[alexander1]

This could and can help stop spam.

(1) When you forward an e-mail, DELETE all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). It only takes a second. You MUST click the 'forward' button first and then you will have full editing capabilities against the body and headers of the message. If you don't click on 'forward' first, you won't be able to edit the message at all.

(2) Whenever you send an e-mail to more than one person, do NOT use the 'To': or 'Cc:' fields for adding e-mail addresses. Always use the BCC: (blind carbon copy) field for listing the e-mail addresses. This way the people you send to will only see their own e-mail address. If you don't see your BCC: option click on where it says To: and your address list will appear. Highlight the address and choose BCC: at the bottom of the list and that's it. When you send to BCC: your message will automatically say 'Undisclosed Recipients' in the 'TO:' field of the people who receive it. If that phrase does not appear, type your own email address in the 'TO' field, but put everyone else's in the 'BCC' field.

(3) Remove any 'FW:' in the subject line. You can re-name the subject if you wish or even fix spelling.

(4) ALWAYS hit your Forward button from the actual e-mail you are reading. Ever get those e-mails that you have to open 10 pages to read the one page with the information on it? By Forwarding from the actual page you wish someone to view, you stop them from having to open many e-mails just to see what you sent. (AMEN!) If you can't forward from that page, 'Copy' the info and then open a new e-mail blank page and 'Paste'.

(5) Have you ever had an e-mail that is a petition? It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to 10 or 15 people or your entire address book. The e-mail can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and e-mail addresses.

A FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email addresses contained therein. If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient. Your position may carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and e-mail address on a petition. (Actually, if you think about it, who is supposed to send the petition in to whatever cause it supports? Don't believe the ones that say that the e-mail is being traced, it just isn't so!)

One of the main most hated are the ones that say that something like, - If you Send this to X people, you'll see something great run across yourscreen. Or sometimes they just tease you by saying something really cute will happen. It's NOT GOTO HAPPEN!!!!! Don't let the bad luck ones scare you either, they get binned. Before you forward an warning or A/V Alert (or some of the other ones floating around nowadays) check them out before you forward them. Most of them are junk mail that are circling the net! Just about everything you receive in an e-mail that is in question can be checked out at Snopes. Just go to http://www.snopes.com/ It is really easy to findout if it is real or not. If it is not, please don't pass it on.

[janda_grant2]

Troufor me the words horse stable door and bolted come to mind!

[Miro]

Alexander, thanks for that post, it sums it up well. I'm forever pleading with my contacts to follow these simple rules.
What I'm unsure about, though, is how exactly does the spammer get hold of all the accumulated addresses unless at some point someone sends the message back to him? If people start these petitions and circulars off for the very purpose of obtaining addresses, how does that work?
Also, how is it possible for someone to send an e-mail that appears to come from one of your contacts when it actually is sent from a different source? (I know it happens, I just don't understand the workings of it)

[alexander1]

Alexander, thanks for that post, it sums it up well. I'm forever pleading with my contacts to follow these simple rules.
What I'm unsure about, though, is how exactly does the spammer get hold of all the accumulated addresses unless at some point someone sends the message back to him? If people start these petitions and circulars off for the very purpose of obtaining addresses, how does that work?
Also, how is it possible for someone to send an e-mail that appears to come from one of your contacts when it actually is sent from a different source? (I know it happens, I just don't understand the workings of it)

I wish I knew that Miro. I too have received in my spam folder mail from myself and guess what? I am selling viagra!!!!!! Really ticks me off I can tell you. Perhaps someone else will pick this up and tell us!

[mhic]

Alexander 1, is it you that has been trying to sell me Viagra, if it is any chance of some discount?

Mhic.

[alexander1]

- Depends how much you are paying at the moment mhic!