Phantom email address

[RonBin79]

I seem to have a phantom email address within my system, an address I cannot find in my address book [email protected]. I keep being informed that the post master is unable to deliver this email as the address does not exist.

Problem is, I don't know anyone by the name of Sansom. I have searched my emails with no results. Can anyone tell me please how can I root out this phantom and delete it from my Outlook 2010?

Happy Easter and bet wishes,

RonBin79

 

[Orbital Shark]

Hi,

Check your Outbox for any messages that may be attempting to send but fail. You may also need to access your email provider website and change your user password in case your account has been hacked (worst case).

 

[wilywombat]

Hi Ron, This could be caused by a hacker intercepting either your email address book or somebody who has your email address in their email account. The logic goes something like this.. Hacker obtains a friends email contacts list via some trojan activity. They then send spam from contact 1 in the list to contact 2, then from contact 2 to contact 3, contact 3 to contact 4 etc. As you can see if this happens and you are say contact 2 in your friends list then contact 3 will receive an email supposedly from you when in fact you had nothing to do with it. The best thing you can do is to try and find out which of your contacts knows anyone called f_sansom at Tiscali.co.uk. and advise them that thier email may have been compromised.

 

[Imperfect1]

Something similar has happened to me on occasion and I've never really thought much about it. But since my email (and PayPal account) have been hacked a number of times, I'll bet you're right, wilywombat, it probably does have something to do with an attempted hacking --- either of the OP's email client or someone else's.

I don't know any way to get that email address out of one's system, either.

 

[RonBin79]

Phantom Email Address.

Thank you for the advice, I have just blind copied the whole of my address book asking about this address, will have to wait and see what happens.

Thanks again,

Regards,

RonBin79

 

[RonBin79]

What's this and how do I get rid of it??

Suddenly an oblong screen which has a yellow background has appeared with the following: -

+ ------- |

Correcting Deleting Splitting Joining

BKSP Del ->
TAB Enter
Space <- ->
Num Sym Web

Has anyone any idea what this is please and how the devil do I get rid of it?? I have tried to do a screen shot ctrl and PrtScr but for some unknown reason it won't take it on board.

Regards,

RonBin79

 

[Layback Bear]

I would most certainly advise you to scan you computer with your anti virus. I would also use Malwarebytes Anti Malware, Super Anti Antispyware. After updating all of them. Of course one scan at a time.

 

[Shootist]

I seem to have a phantom email address within my system, an address I cannot find in my address book [email protected]. I keep being informed that the post master is unable to deliver this email as the address does not exist.

Problem is, I don't know anyone by the name of Sansom. I have searched my emails with no results. Can anyone tell me please how can I root out this phantom and delete it from my Outlook 2010?

Happy Easter and bet wishes,

RonBin79

I get emails like this from time to time. They are spam not sent from or by me to anyone. They are some spammer trying to get hits on valid email addrress by sending a email that looks like it was sent by you to a undeliverable address, Webmaster or something like that.
In the future just delete them.
Now that you have, what seems, opened, read and maybe replied to it I don't know what is going to happen.

As to that other problem it could if been caused by opening that email.
Never open/read any email that you don't know who it is from. The delete key is your friend.

 

[RonBin79]

Phantom email

I haven't answered or try to open an email with this address. It seems it is being generated by me and the post master is coming back telling me he can't deliver it.

RonBin79

 

[Shootist]

I haven't answered or try to open an email with this address. It seems it is being generated by me and the post master is coming back telling me he can't deliver it.

RonBin79

Yes like I said in my other post. I have gotten those without ever sending the email in question.
Could also be someone who is using a phony return email address and it just happens to be yours.

That is what I think the ones I get are from. They are never from my ISPs post master. So they have been sent to some undeliverable address from some other ISPs server, mail service. They use the return address listed in the header to send out the undeliverable notice.

 

[Layback Bear]

Have you run any scans to check your own system? If not please do. You could be part of a botnet and not even know it. Your computer could be spreading a lot of bad things to your friends and others.

 

[wilywombat]

If part of a botnet they would probably be seeing more symptoms like slowing down due to losing CPU usage etc. Its possably a trojan, but more likely, is mail hijacking of someone else's contact list by a trojan.

 

[Shootist]

Have you run any scans to check your own system? If not please do. You could be part of a botnet and not even know it. Your computer could be spreading a lot of bad things to your friends and others.

Is this post directed at me?

If so I am not infected with anything and there is no need for me to run any scans.
I haven't had one of those emails in quit a while and when I did get them they came one right after the other. Within hours, days and weeks of one another. It was someone using a phony email return address that just happened to be mine or someone looking for me to reply to those fake Post Master returned emails.

Actually all 3 PCs that I ran at the time this happened are still running with the same OS install. I wasn't infected then and I'm not now.

But thanks for your concern.

 

[wilywombat]

I don't think it was directed at you Shootist, more towards the OP...personally, I have already made my thoughts known and even your past extperiences could fit in...but hey, we are trying to solve the OP's problem between us!!

 

[Layback Bear]

My post #11 is for the OP. Virus, trojen, worm, botnet or uncle sams underware I recommend making sure your own computer is clean. This is intended for the OP.
Yes one can have these problems and not get a infected computer but you will never know unless you check.