Anyone else seeing these types of emails?? New type of Spam??

[Ash57]

We have been receiving these types of emails to our helpdesk account that are completely blank. No "Sender" email address, no "To" address and no "Subject" line. The body is blank as well. Is this a new version of spam?

We are currently running an SMTP firewall/gateway server to filter out spam before it gets to our exchange server. Just wonder what settings you could put in there to stop these types of emails?

Thanks.

 

[sawedoff]

We block all emails with no subject line. Don't know if that would be an option for you, but it works for us.

Sawedoff

 

[Ash57]

Sawedoff - thanks for your reply.. Unfortunately we cannot do that here.

 

[rvnblk]

I am recieving literally hundreds of emails like you have described (no sender, no subject, no content in the message body). We recieve our email from an outsourced POP3 host. They seem to be as baffeled about this as I am.

Any further input would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[fredericofonseca]

Are you sure the body is blank?

Just because it seems blank does not mean it does not have an hidden code (with a specific identifier) that is going to contrat the sender. e.g. load a specific white image from a remote server.

Depending on your email software you may be able to REALLY look at the body of the email. Outlook is not one of them.

Regards

Frederico Fonseca
SysSoft Integrated Ltd

http://www.syssoft-int.com

 

[AnotherHiggins]

Is anyone in your organization using script to auto-generate emails?

I ask because I use Excel and Access VBA to create and send emails...as the code is running, it creates the "shell" of an email - first there is an email in my inbox with no subject, no from, no to, no body. Then the pieces are added one at a time to the email (first the from text, then subject and so on, depending on how the code is written).

If, for whatever reason, the code were stopped before an email is sent, I would wind up seeing something like what you're seeing.

I use GroupWise for my email, so it may be different for OutLook or other Email programs - but what you describe reminds me of this.

If you check the header info, is there really no "from" info? If so, I'd check to see if these are internally created (as described above).


John

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Oh pointy pointy,
Anoint my head,
Anointy nointy.
Steve Martin in The Man With 2 Brains and L.A. Story
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[SimonDavis]

Is it possible your mailserver is stripping attachments?

There is a fairly recend trend with spammers to have just a gif, rather than text in the spam, so word filters don't work on it. There is barely anything else - no subject etc, so that mailsweepers can't pick them up.

I set my sweeper to delay anything with a gif attached. We get maybe 2 bona fide mails per day with such an attachment, and about 50 spams. Far as I'm concerned, its a fair trade off.