Spam folder filling up with bounced emails

[wavly]

Hello, I'm looking for some advice I can trust. I don't know if I have a problem or malware or if what I'm experiencing is just nuisance value but whatever it is this site is the only place I trust to turn to for help.

I'm running Windows 10 on my laptop and am up to date with updates. I'm using Google as my browser and email. One of the features of Gmail is it provides a spam folder and automatically sends what it considers spam to this folder. I've recently become aware that this folder is filling up with bounced emails headed up MAIL DELIVERY SYSTEM - DELIVERY STATUS NOTIFICATION (FAILURE). There are some other variations to this type of heading but they're all of a similar type where they suggest I have sent an email or they are named from someone in my contacts list but not from their correct email address. As I write this I have 500 such emails in the spam folder. Emails in this folder older than 30 days are automatically deleted.

I'm running Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium V2016.03.14.06 which is not picking up anything. Windows Defender is also running.

My computer is running alright and I don't have performance issues so I don't know if what I'm experiencing is something I have to live with or if there is anything I can do/should do to prevent this happening. It really bugs me when I receive emails purporting to come from myself and it worries me that someone has been able to do that.

I've eventually become annoyed enough to try and do something about it and would appreciate whatever advice you have.

Thanks, wavly

 

[Corrine]

Hi, wavly.

First, thank you for the kind words about the help provided here at Sysnative!

As to what you are experiencing, more than likely, it is indeed spam. If you check the message header, you'll see that the email did not originate from your account. See how to check the message header here: Message headers - Gmail Help. I'm sure you know but as a reminder, do not open any attachments from unknown sources. More and more frequently, that email attachment from unknown sources installs ransomware.

 

[wavly]

Hi, thanks for responding. I followed your link and had a look at a number of message headers in some of the spam emails. I wasn't able to understand much of the information given but one common feature that I could identify on the headers I opened was an IP address. This address and some other information in the headers suggests to me that much of the spam I'm now getting is coming through Talk Talk/Opal Telecom sources.

I assume these spam emails are in themselves not malware and ignoring them and letting Gmail deal with them is okay. The devil in me wants to send them back to their source and cause as much annoyance to the originator as they cause to me. I'd value your opinion as to how to deal with the spam. I've always had spam emails but this is a recent spate that have started coming in and its the volume and nature that is getting my goat. Can they be bounced back to their originator, can the provider of the internet connection of the originator be identified and made aware/liable or should I just take a deep breath and ignore? I know my rant sounds silly but sometimes we all need a bit direction and this site is my choice for that! :smile9:

Thanks, wavly

 

[Corrine]

Personally, wavly, I would let Gmail deal with them, although Gmail does have filters: Filter your email - Gmail Help. The only difference I can see is that you could pick something common from those spam messages and have them moved to your deleted folder, which really isn't any advantage.

Sending them back to their source could get you tagged as a spammer. However, if you are certain they are from TalkTalk, you can forward some with headers to abuse.ttb@talktalkplc.com, especially if they have the same IP address.