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#1 2008-01-31 8:12 pm
- MOcomo
- Member
- Registered: 2008-01-31
- Posts: 3
strange undeliverable email
I seem to be getting a number of undeliverable email notices from addresses I didn't email. Most of these seem to be from Russian addresses and some European. I wonder if someone has taken over my email. What can I do, any suggestions?
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#2 2008-01-31 11:50 pm
- FutureDreamz
- 1.1.2.3.5.8.13.21.34.55
- From: カナダ
- Registered: 2007-01-07
- Posts: 4502
Re: strange undeliverable email
Changing your eMail password comes to mind.
If this is a Windows PC, then bringing it in for virus removal or follow the directions from the experts on this forum.
Thanks for clicking.
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#3 2008-02-01 1:54 am
Re: strange undeliverable email
Someone has used your email address as the "from" address in a spam bout. Nothing to worry about; it just happens. Nothing to do with you, either.
This is why you shouldn't bounce spam.
,xtG
.tsooJ
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#4 2008-02-01 1:56 am
- D'Eyncourt
- OMGDICTATOR
- Registered: 2001-12-27
- Posts: 8233
- Website
Re: strange undeliverable email
Welcome to the MacLife Forums!
Taken over your email? Not likely, or else your ISP would have complained to you by now (if only by shutting down your account). More likely is that your e-mail address has been "selected" by some spam program to be the spoofed return address attached to the mail it is sending out. It may not even be on a machine belonging to someone that you know; some programs will send the entire Outlook address book on a given machine to some server which will use them to try to make their spam look legitimate by spoofing real email addresses, and yours happened to be the flavor of the day so to speak.
Unfortunately there isn't much you can do. More likely than not the current flurry of undeliverable notices from exotic mail servers will die down in time.
BOYCOTT SONY
"I think the question now is not whether you went to Vietnam or whether you didn't, whether you fought in the war or fought against the war. I think the only question is whether we can find a president smart enough never to make a mistake like that again"--Molly Ivins, way back in 1992
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#5 2008-02-01 5:54 am
- pottymouth
- Uncreative
- Moderator
- From: JP, MA
- Registered: 2002-02-06
- Posts: 17057
- Website
Re: strange undeliverable email
Someone was spoofing mine last week. I'm not used to seeing spam in my Google hosted mailboxes! I was clicking the "Report Spam" button so I dunno if it was that or if they just moved on to the next on the list, but it all stopped in about 48 hours. I only saw maybe 50 emails the whole time.
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#6 2008-02-01 7:56 pm
- MOcomo
- Member
- Registered: 2008-01-31
- Posts: 3
Re: strange undeliverable email
Thanks to all who made suggestions to problem. Makes me feel better. 
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#7 2008-02-01 8:52 pm
- maleko
- Member
- From: Eugene, OR
- Registered: 2006-11-25
- Posts: 1220
Re: strange undeliverable email
pottymouth wrote:
Someone was spoofing mine last week. I'm not used to seeing spam in my Google hosted mailboxes! I was clicking the "Report Spam" button so I dunno if it was that or if they just moved on to the next on the list, but it all stopped in about 48 hours. I only saw maybe 50 emails the whole time.
I saw the same thing in one of my Gmail accounts last week. I though it was odd, but Google is typically better then most when it comes to spam.
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#8 2008-02-02 4:45 pm
- Light Speed
- Doubter of Einstein
- Registered: 2002-08-17
- Posts: 3693
Re: strange undeliverable email
Yes this was spoofed email.
There are ways to prevent of reduce spoofing.
One is SPF.
If the email account in question was your ISP email ask your ISP if they use an SPF record and if they don't ask them to implement one.
If the email is for a hosted domain ask your host to add an SPF record for that domain to the domain's zone file.
If you manage your own domain you can add the record to your own DNS zone file using WHM or Webmin or through a bash shell.
SPF is a method where you add the authorized sending mail servers to a record in your domains DNS zone file.
Then when mail is sent, receiving mail servers will check the SPF record of the email's domain and if it came from an authorized mail server then the mail is accepted. If it came from an unauthorized mail server then the mail is considered spoofed and is rejected.
More info on SPF can be found here.
The only thing you need to be sure of when creating your SPF record is that you add all mail servers to the record from which you send mail for that account so if you use your ISP mail server and your web host mail server to send for your domain then make sure both those mail servers are in the record.
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