# returned mail: user unknown **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/returned-mail-user-unknown/227476 "2004-02-04T14:06:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cedric45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@cedric45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cedric45)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/returned-mail-user-unknown/227476/1 "2004-02-04T14:06:43Z")
In Outlook Express, we keep getting emails with this header or one like it. It only occurs in one of our email identities but we get dozens of them every day. The body says something like this… Hi. I’m sorry to have to inform you that the message returned below could not be delivered to the following addresses: Undeliverable to (insert suspicious looking link here) The link address is always different. There is an exe. file attached to the email. :eek: We DO NOT open mail that gets returned if we didn’t send it in the first place! (How stupid would you have to be to do that anyway?) We delete the email and then delete the deleted file immediately. My question(s)… What the heck is this crap? Has anyone else experienced this kind of unwanted attention? What can be done to stop it? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/returned-mail-user-unknown/227476/2 "2004-02-04T14:28:45Z")
Most likely residue from the latest virus. If your email address is spoofed in the return address on emails sent from another infected machine you may be getting bounced back emails that you never sent. Assuming you’ve checked that your machine is not infected just delete the bounce back messages. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/returned-mail-user-unknown/227476/3 "2004-02-04T14:53:22Z")
This is almost certainly mail generated by the [MyDoom](http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=helpCenter&hcName=mydoom) worm. [quote] **Body:** Varied: (examples) [ul][li]The message cannot be represented in 7-bit ASCII encoding and has been sent as a binary attachment. [/li][li]The message contains Unicode characters and has been sent as a binary attachment. [/li][li]Mail transaction failed. Partial message is available.[/ul][/li][/quote] There isn’t much to do but delete it. The volume should diminish in coming weeks as people clean their machines and ISPs filter the ones who don’t. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_adrift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@alice\_adrift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_adrift)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/returned-mail-user-unknown/227476/4 "2004-02-04T18:44:16Z")
> [@Number](#): > > This is almost certainly mail generated by the [MyDoom](http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=helpCenter&hcName=mydoom) worm. > > There isn’t much to do but delete it. The volume should diminish in coming weeks as people clean their machines and ISPs filter the ones who don’t. the description says that the virus only affects computers running windows… i have a mac, however, and i’m definitely getting dozens of these emails a day. does that just mean that i’m getting the emails, but my computer won’t have a virus if i open the files? ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/returned-mail-user-unknown/227476/5 "2004-02-04T20:21:19Z")
That’s right. You’re receiving mail from other computers which are infected. You could probably open the attachments safely, but don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Faldage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Faldage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faldage)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/returned-mail-user-unknown/227476/6 "2004-02-04T20:27:15Z")
> [@alice\_adrift](#): > > the description says that the virus only affects computers running windows… i have a mac, however, and i’m definitely getting dozens of these emails a day. does that just mean that i’m getting the emails, but my computer won’t have a virus if i open the files? You definitely don’t want to get into the trap of assuming you’re immune because you have a Mac. It’s only a matter of time before Mac viruses start coming around or someone writes a virus that works on more than one platform.