# webmaster@straightdope.com ???? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/webmaster-straightdope-com/332584 "2005-11-24T14:44:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/webmaster-straightdope-com/332584/1 "2005-11-24T14:44:03Z")
I am receiving emails from webmaster@straightdope@com. I know this board is not emailing me, but I am receiving emails with that return address, and even worse these emails have attachments. This is the most recent email received: "hey its me, my old address dont work at time. i dont know why?! in the last days ive got some mails. i’ think thaz your mails but im not sure! plz read and check … cyaaaaaaa" This is probably the wrong forum to post this, but I wanted to spread the word about this. Who has the straightdope mailing list, and why are they sending out messages like this with attachments ? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/webmaster-straightdope-com/332584/2 "2005-11-24T14:54:22Z")
They are not from the SDMB staff. I’m pretty sure the staff can spell and use English grammar much better than that, for one. 🙂 Just remember, the FROM address on an email is probably not where it really came from, especially if someone is trying to fool you (fake banks, fake credit cards, etc.). If anyone asks for your password or SSN, you KNOW it is fake. Be suspicious. The Internet is a wild and wooly place. It’s good that you asked – it shows you’re thinking! ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/webmaster-straightdope-com/332584/3 "2005-11-24T14:57:59Z")
What is more troubling to me it that someone has my email address, plus knows that I am a member of this forum. Plus, the emails have attachments that I am assuming are viruses and not safe to open. Has the starightdope member list been compromised and someone with bad intentions now has member information ? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/webmaster-straightdope-com/332584/4 "2005-11-24T15:07:34Z")
To answer more of your questions, probably no one (no bad person, that is) has the SDMB mailing list, unless they have constructed it from multiple probes or unofficial sources. Here’s how many worms and other baddies work: In an infected computer, the program searches the entire computer including deleted files and old cached web pages for email addresses and compiles a list. Then it randomly picks one addr and puts that in the FROM field, and another random one in the TO field, and mails it out. Sometimes these prgs generate addrs, concatenating choices from a list of names like “Bob,” “Alice,” “Mary,” “admin,” “webmaster” with domains from another list. It’s a pretty good bet that the attachments are viruses or worse. Don’t open them. > [@simple homer](#): > > What is more troubling to me it that someone has my email address, plus knows that I am a member of this forum. Not necessarily; see above. I get dozens of emails from “[admin@doorbell.net](mailto:admin@doorbell.net)” daily. Since I am the only person of admin persuasion at [doorbell.net](http://doorbell.net), I know these are fake, since I didn’t send them. And I don’t use that email address myself, so it was generated, not culled. ---
**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/webmaster-straightdope-com/332584/5 "2005-11-24T15:11:55Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I get dozens of emails from “[admin@doorbell.net](mailto:admin@doorbell.net)” daily. Since I am the only person of admin persuasion at [doorbell.net](http://doorbell.net), I know these are fake, since I didn’t send them. And I don’t use that email address myself, so it was generated, not culled. I get the same thing from several domains I own. I keep getting e-mails from “billing@” or “info@” or some other address, all of which don’t even exist as e-mail accounts on those domains. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/webmaster-straightdope-com/332584/6 "2005-11-24T15:29:16Z")
> [@cstamets](#): > > I get the same thing from several domains I own. I keep getting e-mails from “billing@” or “info@” or some other address, all of which don’t even exist as e-mail accounts on those domains. As an interesting sidelight to the obviously computer-generated fake names, I have found incoming names that were probably generated with some human involvement. Example: with a domain like [doorbell.net](http://doorbell.net), I think it unlikely (but not impossible) that a computer program is smart enough to generate user names like “ringy\_dingy” or “dingdong,” but I have received messages with such return addrs. Of course, once a human generates it – and perhaps if it doesn’t get bounced – then that addr is entered into the spammer’s master lists, and passed around to everyone else. Still, I suspect some human was at the root of it. ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/webmaster-straightdope-com/332584/7 "2005-11-24T17:48:05Z")
Thanks for all the responses, especially Musicat . ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/webmaster-straightdope-com/332584/8 "2005-11-24T17:55:05Z")
> [@simple homer](#): > > I am receiving emails from webmaster@straightdope@com. I know this board is not emailing me, but I am receiving emails with that return address, and even worse these emails have attachments. This is the most recent email received: > > "hey its me, my old address dont work at time. i > dont know why?! > in the last days ive got some mails. i’ think > thaz your mails but im not sure! > > plz read and check … > cyaaaaaaa" > > This is probably the wrong forum to post this, but I wanted to spread the word about this. Who has the straightdope mailing list, and why are they sending out messages like this with attachments ? I got that email the other day.I thought someone had stolen the mailing list from classmatesdotcom