Flooded by Spam

[#1]

I have received about a 1000 failed delivery emails in one day.  I know that I am not alone in this and I have read emails from other "sufferers", but I have not seen any advice/action from Plus Net.

So, how does one get though to the Plus Net to get help if there is any?

Many thanks,

Alex

[#2]

@Alex_Hamilton 

Lf your email has been leaked to the bad guys and is being used to send out emails spoofing your address there is nothing that Plusnet can do, these are are invariably coming from elsewhere in the world and will stop after a while when the spammers move on.

Put you email address in here https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and if it comes back as a positive leak then if it were me I would change my email address. Check that 'catch all' is not active in your email settings and move on. It's a pain changing an address but it does get rid of a lot of dross coming in.

[#3]

@Alex_Hamilton Obviously some spam-artist has somehow found your email address, and is using it in the 'from' field of the rubbish they are sending out.

There is little or nothing Plusnet (or you) can do about this, and they (the spammers) will not use it for long. I would suggest you enter your address into this site: https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and check that one or more of your contacts has not suffered a data breach.

Also, change the password for the affected address.

@Baldrick1 types faster than me. 😀

[#4]

Thank you for instant response and for confirming that Plus net cannot do anything.  I followed your advice and checked that I have not been spawned and that proved negative. My email application is Mozilla Thunderbird, which has the facility for message filters.  I made a filter on Inbox so that messaged that have "Mail delivery failed" in the subject are automatically deleted. As soon as I activated that filter, 278 messages appeared in the Deleted box.

Thunderbird is free to download and if other members would like to try it is more convenient than changing email address and having to email all contacts about the change.

Thanks again,

Alex

[#5]

@Alex_Hamilton I imagine most mail clients have a similar facility - don't know for sure as I have been using TB exclusively for 20+ years.

[#6]

Changing your email address is a bit extreme, for peace of mind just change the password.

 A filter that will move messages that have "Mail delivery failed" somewhere else is a good idea.

[#7]

@Champnet 

I agree that changing email addresses is a pain, but the extreme bit depends on how vigilant you are with regard to responding to emailed links. I would never do that and neither would anyone who uses my computer I hear people cry, but is it true? 
I understand that there are some very convincing phishing emails out in the wild these days.

[#8]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

@Champnet 

I would never do that and neither would anyone who uses my computer I hear people cry, but is it true? 
I understand that there are some very convincing phishing emails out in the wild these days.

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In my personal case, @Baldrick1 , definitely yes - I've spent long enough on the web to spot a fake when I see one - got 9/10 and 10/10 on the last two 'can you tell fake from real?' tests I did, and in any case all incoming mail is filtered through MailWasher, so any dodgy/sender unknown one stand out like a sore thumb.

[#9]

I am writing to report another nasty development. I am now sending spam messages to other people and several people have email me asking me to stop. All messages purporting to be from me are about some entitlement to a refund from Inland Revenue.  Obviously, I am not sending these, but is there a way to stop them from my end.

Many thanks,

Alex

[#10]

@Alex_Hamilton No, unfortunately you can't stop them 'from your end' - they are being sent from individuals/email servers over which no-one, other than the owners have any control, probably from administrations that have very lax 'rules'.

[#11]

@Alex_Hamilton  You've had notifications from those emails that weren't delivered now you're receiving replies from those that were delivered. Don't know why people bother but just ignore them and eventually they'll stop.

[#12]

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@Champnet wrote:

….just ignore them and eventually they'll stop.

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Or as I wrote earlier, change your address, make sure that catch all isn’t active and at least those who reply will get an undeliverable message response.

[#13]

Professionally that is something I’d never advise. The OP’s email address is exposed just the once on the Internet, which is probably well below average, and his website has no reference to his current email.  My advice is just to ride the storm,.

[#14]

@Champnet 

I’m not arguing with you or suggesting that your advise is incorrect,. I’m just pointing out that there are two options for dealing with the current situation.

I am sure that for many people all these angry responses etc. would be like water off a ducks back. However I suspect that many others, who are less confident about using the Internet, would feel vulnerable and frightened and want to stop them without delay.

[#15 · Accepted solution]

@Baldrick1  No argument because I agree with your comments, the OP has a choice. 

If the problem regularly repeats then I'd suggest your option.