Thread: Hate E-mails

If an e-mail threatens you with harm or other unlawful activity, save it and send it to the feds or whatever agency will help you. Perhaps your state Attorney General, maybe even local law enforcement.

General disagreement or childish name-calling is likely not illegal but, if threats, etc. are made.... well, that's a different matter!!!

Here is a site that can help you trace e-mails of the sender knows how the "hide" the source. You can also use the site to report the e-mail and its sender to the ISP. 100 percent accuracy isn't guarenteed but if you're not an expert at trace routing etc., the site linked-to can be helpful.

You have to register but during years of use I haven't been spammed once by the site. But, as with pert' near everything on the Web, it IS best to sign-up with a freebie account form HotMail or whatever one you use:

http://www.spamcop.net/

Thanks obbop!

Good Tip. Didn't know about that.

Dixie

For those not aware.......

I use Outlook Express. Basic, simple, free, and it's what I am used to.

There are many other e-mail thingys out there and likely require different methods of obtaining all the headers in an e-mail..... y'all need those headers to trace e-mail or to report an e-mail to SpamCop or the authorities or whatever. There are likely other methods to grab headers......this is just the method I use.

With Outlook Express..... open the program.

Right click on the offending e-mail. Do not actually open the message...what yah' do to read the dern' thing. Just right click then select "properties" within the menu box thingy that appears.

When the square thingy appears look for the tabs at the top and click on the "details" tab.

I suppose the info appearing there is enough for many uses but I have noted that, at times, SpamCop wants the entire message to function properly.

So, out of habit, I select that "message source" button after clicking on the details tab.

I expand the box that appears after smacking "message source" to fill the screen. It makes it easy to highlight then copy any of the words shown. The "message source" option shows the headers and the message.

There are other on-line sites to assist you in tracing e-mail, getting info the authorities need, reporting offending e-mail to ISPs, etc. I just use what is easiest for me.

If you receive actual threats to your person and/or property I kinda' doubt the dingaling would actually take the trouble to find your actual physical location, etc and commit the evil deed. But, yah' never know about those invading or supporting the invasion of our country!!!!

And, you betcha' our enemy would prosecute if WE performed illegal deeds that they commit!!!!!! And, since it appears the invaders and their supporters are a "protected species" law enforcement would assuredly pursue you more aggressively than the invaders or their supporters!!!!!!

Tracing/tracking e-mails can be quite complicated and there are many Web sites, some better than others, that cover the subject. This brief mumbling is meant to inform those unfamiliar with the ins-and-outs of what to do if threatened via e-mail. With headers and the e-mail message body in hand you have provided authorities with the basics to trace actual threats that violate the law. Threats sent across state lines could be considered under federal jurisdiction but the feds will likely not be too concerned with a commoner being threatened by one invading our country or those supporting the USA being taken over by a hostile force.

Also, if a real threat is received, especially one indicating the possibility of physical harm, print out the e-mail and the headers... make a hard copy, just in case.

One last thing. Do not reply to those sending hostile e-mails. You merely prove the address actually leads to a living breathing humanoid. By never replying the average e-mailer may never know if the message was received.

Heck, I did say "one last thing."

Sigh.......................

Professionals or informed experienced laypeople can do stuff such as place a one-pixel sized picture in an e-mail that will inform the sender you opened the message.

That's one of the reasons I have set my e-mail reader to open in text only..... HTML is disabled, thus nullifying the "pic trick."

The recent Microsoft Internet Explorer glitch wherein just having a picture appear on your browser or within an e-mail could cause hostile code to load into your computer is another example of why I shun HTML e-mails. I would rather avoid that cutesy stuff seen in some e-mails... the graphics, moving pictures...all that stuff.

Keep your machine open to that sorta' thing if yah' want but be aware that doing so has its hazards. It's your choice.