Harassment, what now?

farleyflask · 31 Jul 2013 at 17:01

Hello. Was wondering if any of you guys could help.

Since the end of April, I've been being harassed, via email. I've was in receipt of many emails from about 10 different email accounts. These emails were never threatening, but they were sending me fake emails from my family and friends, trying to disrupt my life, often mentioning times I'd been out with them - which they could have gotten from social media profiles. I checked the headers, and the IP's all pointed to Yahoo, GMail, GMX, Microsoft servers etc. I handed in the email accounts to the police.

A week ago or so, a friend contacted me saying he had received emails. These emails were from friends accounts, and MY account. The emails were similar to the other ones - i.e. non threatening - and were asking things about me, but being very vague, and also mentioning places were me and friends had been. My friend forwarded me the emails and I showed them to the police. I don't know if I was hacked or spoofed because my friend deleted the emails. Everything seems to have stopped.

I'm wondering what will happen now? Will anything happen, or isn't it likely?

Adam · 31 Jul 2013 at 17:03

I'm sure the police can advise you far better than anyone on this forum could.

jsmoke · 31 Jul 2013 at 17:03

Are you sure they weren't spam emails, or were they to specific in detail?

farleyflask · 31 Jul 2013 at 17:06

Yes, they were specific in detail, but vague. Things that could be taken from social networking sites etc.

Pawnless Endgame · 31 Jul 2013 at 17:17

The address has been spoofed. A few years back, I had viagra emails off my sister and she was unaware. Turned out someone harvested her email address and they used that in the From: field. They don't have to know her password for it to work - she probably entered her email address on a dodgy site and that got harvested.

HAz · 31 Jul 2013 at 17:18

You joined ocuk forums just to ask this?????????????

Tom_ed1987 · 31 Jul 2013 at 17:19

Can't you view the IP of the sender in the headers to see if it's all sent from the same place?

Probably a spambot in China fishing for stuff.

farleyflask · 31 Jul 2013 at 17:22

HAz said:
You joined ocuk forums just to ask this?????????????

Haha. No. I joined to ask about my Mac, thought I'd ask this whilst am here. Been lurking on the forum for a while, seems to be a good one.

Tom_ed1987 said:
Can't you view the IP of the sender in the headers to see if it's all sent from the same place?

Probably a spambot in China fishing for stuff.

I have done and they all show the mail server, such as Microsoft's, Yahoo's etc. Just wondering what they police will do, or if they will do anything.

fez · 31 Jul 2013 at 18:13

The police will do diddly squat. What is the perceived point of these emails. Any way you could imagine money being made out of their contents?

Richie · 31 Jul 2013 at 18:22

Receive emails--> involve police--> friend starts getting them but deletes them after forwarding them to you--> Problem stops.

Call me cynical but amazing that he forwards emails he states he received after you involved the police but doesnt keep the originals then everything stops.

Heliospherez · 31 Jul 2013 at 18:27

Just what I was thinking.

I suggest you look at your "friends" first. It seems a bit strange that one of them is only now saying he has got strange emails from you now that you have informed the police.

If they are in any way threatening - harassing etc then you have every right to try to find the source and get them to either grow up or face the consequences.

Dis86 · 31 Jul 2013 at 18:36

May I suggest you also virus/malware scan the hell out of your computer. Just to be on the safe side.

KIA · 31 Jul 2013 at 19:01

Four posts. Not suspicious in the slightest.

farleyflask · 31 Jul 2013 at 20:46

fez said:
The police will do diddly squat. What is the perceived point of these emails. Any way you could imagine money being made out of their contents?

They won't? Perceived point? Er, someone trying to stir crap. Money being made? Nope, no way.

Richie said:
Receive emails--> involve police--> friend starts getting them but deletes them after forwarding them to you--> Problem stops.

Call me cynical but amazing that he forwards emails he states he received after you involved the police but doesnt keep the originals then everything stops.

Yeah that's true. I don't know though, don't really want to be thinking like that, to be honest.

Heliospherez said:
Just what I was thinking.

I suggest you look at your "friends" first. It seems a bit strange that one of them is only now saying he has got strange emails from you now that you have informed the police.

If they are in any way threatening - harassing etc then you have every right to try to find the source and get them to either grow up or face the consequences.

Nothing was ever threatening, ever. It was just the sheer volume of them, forged emails etc., trying to cause trouble.

Dis86 said:
May I suggest you also virus/malware scan the hell out of your computer. Just to be on the safe side.

Yeah done that already, clean as a whistle!

KIA said:
Four posts. Not suspicious in the slightest.

Haha, give me a chance I've only been on a few hours! Appreciate the help from everyone, though.

[FnG]magnolia · 31 Jul 2013 at 21:11

Monserrat said:
A few years back, I had viagra emails off my sister and she was harvested in the field. They probably entered her

The power of of the delete key.

UncleRuckus · 31 Jul 2013 at 21:23

farleyflask said:
Yeah that's true. I don't know though, don't really want to be thinking like that, to be honest.

Why is that, at the back of your mind are you thinking they are the sort of person who would do this?

brendy · 31 Jul 2013 at 21:25

Or simply remove yourself from the likes of facebook etc. Its not tge end of the world to quit them. See how long the emails keep coming then.

anything I don't mind · 31 Jul 2013 at 21:26

I would reinstall my operating system and create new email accounts all round. Change the password on every account that you use online. You have been completely compromised, probably what they are now calling a RAT.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd632947.aspx

estebanrey · 31 Jul 2013 at 21:29

brendy said:
Or simply remove yourself from the likes of facebook etc. Its not tge end of the world to quit them. See how long the emails keep coming then.

Or just set your privacy settings correctly.

brendy · 31 Jul 2013 at 21:32

estebanrey said:
Or just set your privacy settings correctly.

Or that but if it is someone on the friends list, that wont prove much out.