How can I prevent spam emails from using my address as the sender?

  • Thread starter Ivan Seeking
  • Start date
In summary, this happens when someone spoofs your email address and sends it to people. The IT group at your work stopped it, but you can try to prevent it from happening by checking your senders fields for accuracy.
  • #1
Ivan Seeking
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Every once in awhile I get a spam email that shows me as the sender. At first I thought this may be a hacker issue and someone is using my computer, but no one I know gets spam from me, so I assume this is some sort of trick. Is it a trick, and if so, how do I block the sender?
 
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  • #2
This happened to me at work.

I have been sending myself some pretty good porn over the years. lol

The IT group stopped it but I don't know how they did it. I work for a huge company and a lot of other employees had the same thing happen to them. No one that any of us knew ever got an email from us, so I wouldn't worry about it unless it takes over your inbox.

I till check my local IT guy for you for a possible fix.

I checked with my IT guy and what has happened is that your email has been spoofed. Below is a link to a forum that might help. If not just search google for spoofing.

http://www.bluehostforum.com/showthread.php?t=132

Thanks
Matt
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #3
Thanks, Matt.
 
  • #4
SMTP does not authenticate senders. You can say you are anybody.
 
  • #5
Sorry, I don't quite understand your meaning here.
 
  • #6
Ivan Seeking said:
Sorry, I don't quite understand your meaning here.
Code:
S: 220 smtp.example.com ESMTP Postfix
C: HELO relay.example.org
S: 250 Hello relay.example.org, I am glad to meet you
C: MAIL FROM:<bob@example.org>
S: 250 Ok
C: RCPT TO:<alice@example.com>
S: 250 Ok
C: RCPT TO:<theboss@example.com>
S: 250 Ok
C: DATA
S: 354 End data with <CR><LF>.<CR><LF>
C: From: "Bob Example" <bob@example.org>
C: To: Alice Example <alice@example.com>
C: Cc: theboss@example.com
C: Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:02:43 -0500
C: Subject: Test message
C:
C: Hello Alice.
C: This is a test message with 5 header fields and 4 lines in the message body.
C: Your friend,
C: Bob
C: .
S: 250 Ok: queued as 12345
C: QUIT
S: 221 Bye
{The server closes the connection}

This is what an SMTP message (Email Request) looks like. I could put obama@whitehouse.gov in the MAIL FROM and send it to you.
 
  • #7
Okay, thanks, that definitely explains things. Given that I keep my antivirus, antispam, antispyware, etc, up to date, I didn't think the problem was on my end.
 
  • #8
As David described, you can put anything you want in the sender field.
Legitmate service providers will not normally let you send out mail which has a sender that doesn't match, but if you run your own mail server you can do anything.

The reason they used your address is that some mail server check that the sender address of an incoming message is valid, and block any spam with a fake address. Also some systems automatically let through any messages that have come from you, so setting the sender to the recipient has a higher chance of getting through.

The problem comes when they send it to someone else, we get complaints from people that we have spammed them, when a spammer has just used one of our addresses as a sender.
 

1. What is the best way to prevent spam emails from reaching my inbox?

The best way to prevent spam emails from reaching your inbox is to use spam filters. These filters work by analyzing the content of incoming emails and identifying potential spam messages. You can also set up rules in your email client to automatically delete or move suspected spam messages to a separate folder.

2. How can I stop receiving spam emails from specific senders?

If you are receiving spam emails from specific senders, you can block them by adding their email addresses to your email client's blocked list. This will prevent any emails from those addresses from reaching your inbox. You can also mark the emails as spam, which will help train your email client's spam filter.

3. Is it possible to completely eliminate spam emails?

No, it is not possible to completely eliminate spam emails. However, using spam filters and setting up rules in your email client can greatly reduce the amount of spam that reaches your inbox. It is also important to be cautious about giving out your email address and to never respond to or click on links in suspicious emails.

4. How do spammers get my email address?

Spammers often obtain email addresses through various methods, such as scraping websites, purchasing email lists, or using malware to harvest email addresses from infected computers. They may also use common email address patterns, such as firstname.lastname@example.com, to guess email addresses. It is important to be cautious about giving out your email address and to never respond to or click on links in suspicious emails.

5. Can I report spam emails to stop them from reaching my inbox?

Yes, most email clients have a feature to report spam emails. This helps to train the spam filter and prevent similar emails from reaching your inbox in the future. You can also report spam emails to organizations such as the Federal Trade Commission, which works to combat spam and other fraudulent activities.

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