Christopher Clements <bcnjr5@gmail.com> writes: > On Sun, Mar 05, 2017 at 09:55:14AM +0100, Philip Hands wrote: >>Christopher Clements <bcnjr5@gmail.com> writes: >>> On closer examination, I think you are correct in saying that the >>> replies are written by the spammer as well. >> >>On closer examination of what? > > The "To:" field. Ah, yes, a very common misconception. All the headers that email programs normally show you are part of the (trivial to forge) contents of the message. You need to look at the (normally hidden) Received: headers (as well as others like Return-Path: and Original-To: if your mail server adds them) to get any information you can really trust. I think it's instructive to contemplate the way this worked before email. If one received a ransom note (such as seen in a black & white movie, staring Humphrey Bogart say, where the letters were cut from magazines), one would not pay much heed to the salutation and signature in the note (particularly if also cut from magazines). Instead, you'd want to look at the postmark on the envelope, and the smudges made by the typewriter that was used for the address. It is a real shame that it has been made so hard for normal users to see these evidence-bearing headers on emails. It's as though everyone has a butler who insists on shredding the envelopes before handing you the morning mail -- it makes the vast bulk of people very vulnerable to being duped. Cheers, Phil. -- |)| Philip Hands [+44 (0)20 8530 9560] HANDS.COM Ltd. |-| http://www.hands.com/ http://ftp.uk.debian.org/ |(| Hugo-Klemm-Strasse 34, 21075 Hamburg, GERMANY
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