Mails being forwarded to recipient not in To: field

[thekid123]

Hi

Could someone shed any light on my problem. We have two sites connected by a leased line. On one side they have a totally separate domain name to the other. Spam is coming in to the company addressed to a name that doesn't exist, but the correct domain name. The mail goes through various Notes smtp servers on that side and is then forwarded over to the other side where the domain name isn't relevant and is then delivered to someone who it wasn't addressed to. I'm sorry this is rather vague, but basically what, on the email header, does a notes server use to find the intended recipient? because I have spam being delivered to people not specified in the To: field.

Cheers

 

[pmonett]

The fact that you have nothing in the To: field is old hat by now. There is something in the SMTP protocol that apparently allows a sender to avoid specifying that information while still getting the mail where it is supposed to go. Spammers have latched on to that and it is getting more and more common.

Check the delivered_to field. You will need to use the Properties of the Document to find its value, since it is not displayed on any form. That will tell you why it went where it did.

In short, someone somehow got a list of your mail addresses and is now using it. Do not think that your servers were compromised, it does not have to be that either.
I am getting return errors for mail I have never sent to people I do not and never will know, spam which has the unsubscribe link that does not work, and more spam that has unsubs that do end up on an unsub page, but do not have anything in the To: field either.
Mail is becoming a dreadful mess, and I believe the end solution resides with the ISPs, and nowhere else. One day, a mail sent will have to be identified by the ISP who relays it, thus clearly marking the origin. Only when we remove From: and To: address tampering will we be able to clearly target the scammers and spammers and do something about it.

Pascal.

 

[thekid123]

Pascal

Thanks for your reply. It's been useful.

Cheers