I got an email that showed me as the sender but I did not send it

N

number 1

The email message was promoting certain products in which I have no interest.
What concerns me is that my address was shown as the sender. So when I hit
"reply" naturally my email address was shown for that purpose, however when I
then scrolled down the page there was a message which claimed to be from Ebay
but that message showed personal info that was foreign to me.
My concern is how can I somehow receive an email which proports to have been
sent by me when it wasn't???
 
M

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Forged email is nothing new. I am surprised that this is your first piece.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, number 1 asked:

| The email message was promoting certain products in which I have no
| interest. What concerns me is that my address was shown as the
| sender. So when I hit "reply" naturally my email address was shown
| for that purpose, however when I then scrolled down the page there
| was a message which claimed to be from Ebay but that message showed
| personal info that was foreign to me.
| My concern is how can I somehow receive an email which proports to
| have been sent by me when it wasn't???
 
N

number 1

Thanks Milly

My apologies but I must be a little "slow", my question was more about:
(1) How does such forgery take place? and
(2) What should we do once it is detected? and
(3) Because I received such a message does this mean that all others in my
address book could perhaps receive the same message (and assume that it is a
"genuine" message from me?)

I really appreciate the benefit of your knowledge and experience

Number 1
 
M

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

1. Spammers are very smart, and smarmy
2. Hit the delete button - there is nothing you can do.
3. Probably not - it doesn't mean your address book (contact folder) has been hijacked, just that your name and email address have been spoofed, or perhaps harvested from someone else's virus infected computer. I get emails all the time from myself advertising "enhancements" which I obviously don't need. I simply hit shift+delete and move on.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, number 1 asked:

| Thanks Milly
|
| My apologies but I must be a little "slow", my question was more
| about: (1) How does such forgery take place? and
| (2) What should we do once it is detected? and
| (3) Because I received such a message does this mean that all others
| in my address book could perhaps receive the same message (and assume
| that it is a "genuine" message from me?)
|
| I really appreciate the benefit of your knowledge and experience
|
| Number 1
|
| "Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:
|
|| Forged email is nothing new. I am surprised that this is your first
|| piece.
||
|| --Â
|| Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]
||
|| Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
|| unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
|| reading.
||
|| After furious head scratching, number 1 asked:
||
||| The email message was promoting certain products in which I have no
||| interest. What concerns me is that my address was shown as the
||| sender. So when I hit "reply" naturally my email address was shown
||| for that purpose, however when I then scrolled down the page there
||| was a message which claimed to be from Ebay but that message showed
||| personal info that was foreign to me.
||| My concern is how can I somehow receive an email which proports to
||| have been sent by me when it wasn't???
 
N

number 1

My apologies but I must be a little "slow", my question was more about:
(1) How does such forgery take place?
Click to expand...

Even MS Outlook allows the user to configure *any* "sender" data that they
wish; allowing for easy forgery of that data.
and (2) What should we do once it is detected?
Click to expand...

What *can* you do? You have no control over how other people configure their
clients.
and (3) Because I received such a message does this mean that all others
in my address book could perhaps receive the same message...
Click to expand...

What the others in your address book may, or may not receive is completely
unrelated to what you receive. While they certainly may receive the same
email you received, that would be completely independent of you having their
email addresses in your address book; entirely dependent upon the same
spammer having their email addresses. The spammer is the controlling agent
of the spam sent to any email address.
(and assume that it is a "genuine" message from me?)
Click to expand...

I doubt that they would assume that you are sending them pill and porn spam.
In any case, there is tracking information in the message headers which
would reveal to the actual injection point of the spam.
I really appreciate the benefit of your knowledge and experience
Click to expand...

The reason that spammers forge others' email addresses is to present an air
of "legitimacy" to spam filters; which filters might recognize a phony
address as such. The reason that spammers use the recipient's own email
addrss in spam is because most people don't filter their own email addresses
(and Hotmail won't allow you to block your own email adderss, anyway0.

Short of redesigning the SMTP process to build in security, and force source
authentication, there is nothing which will be able to stop spam. And any
effort at redesign will only be another escalation which spammers will
attempt to foil.
 
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