Forged From Address in e-mail headers

One of the many e-mail headers is the "From" address. It is a relatively simple matter for spammers to "forge" this address, by populating it with whatever information they wish. You may even see your own e-mail address forged in this manner by someone else!

Forged "From" addresses are a problem because many e-mail services "bounce" some types of e-mails (non-deliverable, "vacation" messages) to the "From" address. When the "From" address contains one or more real e-mail addresses, this propagates spam to innocent third-parties. When the "From" address contains one or more SpamTraps, this may cause the outgoing server to be listed in the SpamCop DNSbl.

A more detailed treatment of this subject is offered in SpamCop Wiki article "FromAddressForgery."

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CategorySpamCopParsing
CategorySpamCopReporting
CategorySpamCopMailService

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