# I am suddenly getting responses to somebody's spam email even though I am not To or cc **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198 "2025-07-22T19:41:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/1 "2025-07-22T19:41:14Z")
How can I be receiving emails that are not addressed to me? I have received about eight emails in rapid succession that all appear to be responses (they are autoresponses, except one, which is an angry screed against scammers). I did not receive the original email that they are responding to. This is even happening with replies to the replies, creating this sort of echo chamber. The original subject is Home Depot Special Promotion: Limited Time Discounts for Selected Products! The recipients of the replies are To: [sales@wingate.com](mailto:sales@wingate.com) support@jo.nextleveladventurezone.store cc: info@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd My email address is not there. How am I receiving emails that were not addressed to me? If the original email had me on bcc then the recipients would not be able to reply to me. I am wondering if the original sender’s email, which they are responding to, is somehow doing a redirect to me. But I have never heard of a redirect at that level. And I can’t imagine why a scammer would set up mail forwarding to me, and I’m not sure that the emails and header would even look like this if they were being forwarded. The Internet header has my email address in the following fields Return-Path: [pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd](mailto:pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd) Delivered-To: _ **MYEMAILADDRESS** _ Received: from [p3plzcpnl505663.prod.phx3.secureserver.net](http://p3plzcpnl505663.prod.phx3.secureserver.net) by [p3plzcpnl505663.prod.phx3.secureserver.net](http://p3plzcpnl505663.prod.phx3.secureserver.net) with LMTP id EKkvOrfdf2i8fBQATSq3nA (envelope-from [pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd](mailto:pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd)) for \<_ **MYEMAILADDRESS** _\>; Tue, 22 Jul 2025 11:51:35 -0700 Return-path: [pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd](mailto:pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd) Envelope-to: _ **MYEMAILADDRESS** _ Delivery-date: Tue, 22 Jul 2025 11:51:35 -0700 Received: from [mail-wr1-f70.google.com](http://mail-wr1-f70.google.com) ([209.85.221.70]:44266) by [p3plzcpnl505663.prod.phx3.secureserver.net](http://p3plzcpnl505663.prod.phx3.secureserver.net) with esmtps (TLS1.3) tls TLS\_AES\_128\_GCM\_SHA256 (Exim 4.98.2) (envelope-from [pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd](mailto:pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd)) id 1ueI5L-00000005eXI-2WeD for _ **MYEMAILADDRESS** _; Tue, 22 Jul 2025 11:51:35 -0700 Received: by [mail-wr1-f70.google.com](http://mail-wr1-f70.google.com) with SMTP id ffacd0b85a97d-3a4fabcafecsf2687284f8f.0 for \<_ **MYEMAILADDRESS** _\>; Tue, 22 Jul 2025 11:51:11 -0700 (PDT) ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/2 "2025-07-22T19:44:21Z")
I get those. As near as I can tell, one of the accounts in the TO or CC has your email on autoforward. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/3 "2025-07-22T19:46:05Z")
That would explain what is happening technically, but it makes no sense for them to be forwarded to me, unless someone were trying to harass me. I have gotten emails that responded to spam that spoofed my email address, but this is different. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/4 "2025-07-22T19:47:16Z")
Could you be BCCed for whatever reason? Not sure how the headers would look. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/5 "2025-07-22T20:16:09Z")
Does the OP have an old forgotten email address that may have been left on auto-forward to their current email, the one receiving the mystery spam responses? From a former job or school perhaps? Or from the early days of AOL, yahoo, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/6 "2025-07-22T20:16:51Z")
I don’t have a clue what I ever did to davidgreen67@gmail but I have been getting his forwards for years. I have messaged him a few times but he hasn’t replied so I just keep unsubscribing us. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/7 "2025-07-22T20:51:29Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Could you be BCCed for whatever reason? In my experience, a BCC just obscures other recipients, not you as the recipient in the header. It just looks like it was sent to you alone when there were other recipients. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/8 "2025-07-22T21:06:26Z")
I just sent myself a message (to a different email address) and bcc’d myself. I don’t see that address in the email at all. So, to the OP, you were probably BCC’d on some giant spam email list. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/9 "2025-07-22T21:23:53Z")
I deal with a lot of these. Its to get through your spam filter. If they JUST sent you the spam message, your filter would delete the e-mail. Since the spam is on top of a bunch of replies, it brings the spam down to the level that your spam filter thinks its real. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/10 "2025-07-22T21:29:09Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I just sent myself a message (to a different email address) and bcc’d myself. I don’t see that address in the email at all. You know, you’re right. I just tested it between a few of my personal email addresses. If I send an email from address A to addresses B and C via BCC, the email shows up looking like address A sent an email to itself and I got it somehow. If I send an email from address A to address B, and BCC address C, then it arrives to both recipients showing only address B as the recipient. So that would certainly explain how they are doing it. BCC would definitely accomplish this. As to why you would use this method, it might help obfuscate the email enough to frustrate spam filters. Both hiding the true recipient and hiding the true _number_ of recipients might get past certain rules a system might have. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/11 "2025-07-22T21:50:18Z")
That could be but if someone replied to the spam, even if they Reply All, it would not come to me. If I’m on bcc that recipient would never see my email address. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/12 "2025-07-22T21:59:34Z")
Secureserver is a GoDaddy email host. Somebody probably added you to some spam self-hosted mailing list that BCCs everyone and when they reply to `pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd` they send it to that mailing list and the server then sends all the replies to everyone on it, via BCC. Just mark it as spam and move on… there are a billion ways they can do this, none of which are really worth your time to worry about too much. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/13 "2025-07-22T21:59:53Z")
If it were not for the other recipients, my guess would be that a _spammer spoofed your e-mail address as the From: address_ i.e. the replies to the spam mail arrive at your address because the spam mail purports to be sent from your address. > **[Backscatter (email)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backscatter_(email))** > > Backscatter (also known as outscatter, misdirected bounces, blowback or collateral spam) is incorrectly automated bounce messages sent by mail servers, typically as a side effect of incoming spam. > Recipients of such messages see them as a form of unsolicited bulk email or spam, because they were not solicited by the recipients. They are substantially similar to each other, and are delivered in bulk quantities. Systems that generate email backscatter may be listed on various email blacklists and ... ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/14 "2025-07-23T02:23:08Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > my guess would be that a _spammer spoofed your e-mail address as the From: address_ I have had that happen before (and I have been blacklisted as a result). When the angry recipient does reply to me (most people by now have figured that it’s pointless to reply to spam) the email sent to me has my address in the To: field. That is not the case here. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-suddenly-getting-responses-to-somebodys-spam-email-even-though-i-am-not-to-or-cc/1021198/15 "2025-07-23T02:33:59Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Somebody probably added you to some spam self-hosted mailing list that BCCs everyone and when they reply to `pr+bncBDYJDKPYXMMRBBN377BQMGQEVAMKBEI@jo.saleelitezfondhost.cfd` they send it to that mailing list and the server then sends all the replies to everyone on it, via BCC. That’s a new one on me, but it does fit what I’m seeing. The GoDaddy server is actually my own mail server (I have my own domain name, DNS, and mail hosted by GoDaddy) and the header shows that the server sent the mail to my desktop Outlook client. I didn’t try to analyze the header much but now that you’ve pointed it out the address you showed above is, which I suppose is the Reply-To address, is different than the From address. It would make sense that it’s a unique ID for a mailing list and sends any incoming emails right back out to the list on BCC.