Have you ever received a message from a friend that they didn't send? How about a message from yourself that you didn't send?
The messages you are receiving may indicate that you have been spoofed or may be receiving spoofed emails. The term "spoofing" refers to email that appears to have originated from one person when it was actually sent from another. Those who send spoof email typically want the message to appear to be from an email address that doesn't exist, or one other than their own. This way the email cannot be traced back to them.
Spoofing is often used in "Phishing" scams and spam/junk mail such as advertisement emails. It can also be used to distribute viruses, such as the Klez or Sobig virus. These spoofing viruses take a random address from an infected person's hard disk and mail themselves out as if they were from that randomly chosen address. Recipients of these viruses believe they are receiving a message from someone they know, but they are actually receiving an infected message from a spoofer. As a result, users of uninfected computers may wrongly be informed that they have distributed a virus.
If you receive an alert that you're sending infected emails, first run a StopSign scan. If you are NOT infected, you may want to reply to the infection alert with the following: "Your virus may appear to have been sent by me, but I have virus-scanned my computer and I am not infected. A number of email- distributed viruses fake, or spoof, the 'From' address using a random address. The infected email you received did not originate from me." �Virus alert messages are often auto-generated and sent via an anti-virus server and so replying to the original email may not elicit a response.
Alternatively, if you receive an email-distributed virus, look at the Internet Headers information to see where the email actually originated from, before firing off a complaint or virus alert to the person you assume sent it.
HOW TO DISPLAY INTERNET HEADERS
An email collects information from each of the computers it passes through on the way to the recipient. This is stored in the message's Internet Headers.
OUTLOOK
1) With Outlook Inbox open, right-click on the message and click the OPTIONS command to display the MESSAGE OPTIONS dialog box. Internet Headers are best read from the bottom up, as they are added to as the email passes through the system.
2) Scroll to the bottom of the information in the Internet Headers box. Scroll slowly upward to read the information about the email's origin. The most important information follows the "Return path" and the "Reply to"� fields. If these are different, the email is not from whom it says it is. Click here for a full explanation of the mail header.
OUTLOOK EXPRESS
1) With Outlook Express Inbox open, right-click on the message, and click PROPERTIES > DETAILS tab.2) Scroll through the details information and verify that the "From" and "Return Path" information are the same.
Not sure if it's a spoof email?
If it is an email from someone you know, contact that person to see if it is a safe email to open. I have done this with a few suspicious looking emails that I have received. I've also received a few from my own email address, though I hadn't sent anything nor used my email in a month. Spoofing happens often, just take caution when something doesn't look right. Verify authenticity before opening messages, and never open an attachment that you aren't sure is from a safe source.
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