Valparaiso Broadband Communication Systems

Have you ever received an e-mail message that appears to be addressed to someone else?

Chances are very good that it wasn’t by mistake. Spammers often use the Bcc: (blind carbon copy) function of e-mail when sending spam.

Here is an example of an email using the BCC: field.

The To: field contains an address that is not yours: an_email_address_that_is_not_yours@valp.net
The Bcc: field contains two other e-mail addresses:
test_account@valp.net
john_doe@valp.net

All three of those e-mail addresses will receive the e-mail, but it will appear as though the message was sent to just the person whose e-mail address is: an_email_address_that_is_not_yours@valp.net.

Except when it is mis-used by spammers, the Bcc: field actually helps to avoid spam. When sending a message to many people, it is considered good e-mail etiquette to use Bcc:. This way when e-mail is sent to many people, no one person will know other recipients’ e-mail addresses. If the e-mail falls into the hands of a spammer, the spammer will not be able to “harvest” all of the addresses