Hotmail virus and spam. Help requiered.

Community Forums/General Help/Hotmail virus and spam. Help requiered.

ziggy(Posted 2010) [#1]
It seems that all the people in my hotmail contacts list is getting some spam messages that look like sent from my account. I've changed the passwords to everything but I don't know how to stop it (if there's any way to stop it).
Any ideas? There have been 2 or 3 massive emails, and my computer is virus free, and also, this is ONLY happening with my hotmail account, so it seems someone, somehow, did stole my password or something. (I usually check my hotmail form other's people's computers, so I could have been logging in to hotmail from an infected computer without me knowing it).


big10p(Posted 2010) [#2]
I know someone else who had this problem. Somehow all her hotmail contacts were sent an email claiming to be from her, say she was stuck abroad with no money (or something) and asking them to send money.

I wouldn't go near hotmail with a bargepole, personally.


BlitzSupport(Posted 2010) [#3]
If some virus or 'bot' had access to your contacts list and kept a copy, it could simply fake the 'From:' address so that the emails just appear to be coming from you, even if they no longer are (or ever were).


ziggy(Posted 2010) [#4]
@BlitzSupport: Yes, that's what I'm worried about... I did create this account about 12 years ago, so go figure...


GfK(Posted 2010) [#5]
I've had a couple of strange emails from you (well, not you, but... you know what I mean) in recent days. Its likely that the email address is being spoofed, so its not actually your account that its coming from.

I'll have a look at the headers next time I get one, see if there's any clues.


_PJ_(Posted 2010) [#6]
Many email addresses are bought and sold all over the place, also, some are simply squired through deception (like those "YOU CAN WIN A ...... " popups that require an email address entry) or nasty ***** using keyloggers.
Places like MySpace, Google (G-Mail), facebook and potentially any commercially oriented site may keep a record of your email address and it's at risk then of being passed, sold, stolen or whatever to/by the unscrupulous.

There's also a possibility your email address was taken from someone who you have had email correspondence with, or at least, they have your email address in their address-book. Not through ntention, though, these others may have been infected by some malware, hich has simpoly grabbed your email address from their contact list. Resulting in the problm, but no trace of anything amiss will appear on your computer or email account.

These addresses may either be targetted specifically, or used as suggested above in spoofing, so that email 'from' field is changed to display the chosen address.

If you use a local-based client, you may be able ot store sent message. This at least, will show if the emails are actually being sent from your account or not. Some malware* (and some legitimate progs too, such as things to report crash logs etc.) can actually send emails from your main "identity" or "preferred account" without even fully opening your client.
Another trick some malware can do, is check through Instant Messenger prog contact lists, the WAB address book and certainly emails displayed in browsed webpages, Tese addresses are then used in lists as mentioned in my first sentence.


I have a trick to at least acknowledging the difference between spammer risks and more privacy-aware email requiring forms. Simply I enter my name with a subtle spelling "mistake".
When I receive spam emails with the spelling mistake "Dear Mr. ZCZZXXZZFCV (for example only ;) )" I know that that particular 'company' to whiom the email address was given, is untrustworthy as far as any 'privay policy' is concerned (whether intentional or not).