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can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

callipygous
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎11-02-2014

can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Hello all,
My problem: I find myself unable to send email as plusnet's spam filter immediately kicks in with "the mail server responded .... message rejected due to spam or virus".
No doubt the reason: I have my own domail which I use as the email address, and this domain has recently been slammed by spammers spoofing the Sent From adresss (their rejected spam emails have been bounced back to me). I guess there's nothing I can do about this (or is there?), and although this has happened frequently over the last ten years' I've had the domain, it's only this week I've been blocked from sending email.
Sorry if I'm painfully dense, but is there anything I can do to fix this? I've been reading about SPF, but I quickly drown in the technical details. Can anyone point me in the direction of an easier introduction, if there is one?
Cheers,
J
13 REPLIES 13
drj
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,118
Thanks: 45
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎30-03-2011

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

I've not had this problem previously with sending emails using my domain names only getting bouncebacks when other people's ISPs have rejected them.
I've not found anything one can do in that context - but each time the situation has only been temporary and it's reverted to normal within about 48 hours.
PlusNet don't seem to be responding on this one for some reason - since the sending of emails should be something under their control (one would hope) I suggest you raise a ticket for it rather than rely on a forum response.
A get-round for the problematic period (assuming it's only a temporary blockage) albeit a bit tedious would be to send emails from another source - I use Yahoo, Gmail and Outlook variously with my domain names. You could bcc them to yourself in order to get a record in your Plusnet account if necessary.
callipygous
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎11-02-2014

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Thanks drj.
I'm still unable to send email through plusnet's servers. I'd raised a ticket, but the support person has concluded: "I've not been able to find anything regarding the particular error message you are reporting, however if you continue to have any further issues, we will always see how we can assist further." And that seems to be that.
This is a typical response when I try to send email:
An error occurred while sending mail. The mail server responded:  Xwgt1n00520CFx401wguq8 message rejected due to spam or virus. If you believe this is in error please login to your portal or contact your ISP support team.. Please check the message and try again.
Seemingly, support can discern nothing from that, or they're unwilling to share. Looks like I'll be moving to my domain's outgoing SMTP, which in many ways is annoying: it costs me more, and is blocked at work whereas plusnet webmain is not.
I've had theis setup in place with plusnet for ten years (weathering many a spoofed email spam).. It's only now it seems to be a problem, and apparently there's nothing anyone in plusnet can/will do. Frustrating.
Thanks, though, drj.
spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Is your ticket still open? This needs to be looked at by someone who *does* know what that weird string is. It's a Cloudmark (spam prevention) fingerprint that the message matches against.
Do you get the same fingerprint string for every email you try to send?
Whilst a CS agent should handle this correctly waiting for the Digital Care Team to pick this up on Monday might provide a more reliable response.
David
callipygous
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎11-02-2014

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Thanks spraxyt,
It isn't the same string every time. Here's another from an email I just tried to send:
Yksd1n00320CFx401kse8g
Does it matter that they're different fingerprints?
I think my ticket is still open, but not sure how to proceed there. I shall wait 'til tomorrow as you suggest, and see if anyone from Plusnet can help.
Cheers.
avatastic
Grafter
Posts: 1,136
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Just looks like a mailer ID as generated by sendmail, this is typical from mail generated by my systems
Quote
Received: (from root@localhost) by skynet.avatastic.co.uk (8.14.7/8.14.7/Submit) id s223peQs020162 for root; Sun, 2 Mar 2014 03:51:40 GMT (envelope-from root)

It can be used to track the message through the system but is nothing more than a unique identify for each mail item.
One thing you can do to stop the spammers from hijacking (joe-jobbing) your domain is to set up SPF records / domainkeys which will allow remote mail servers to know these spoofed messages are not authorized to be sent from where they have been sent from.
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spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

In this context the strings are Cloudmark fingerprints and getting different fingerprints is probably significant. However since the problem occurs with every message it is probably account related.
Hopefully it will be fixed on Monday.
David
mightyoakbob
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎28-07-2011

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Quote from: callipygous
I'm still unable to send email through plusnet's servers.
This is a typical response when I try to send email:
An error occurred while sending mail. The mail server responded: message rejected due to spam or virus. If you believe this is in error please login to your portal or contact your ISP support team.. Please check the message and try again.
I've had theis setup in place with plusnet for ten years (weathering many a spoofed email spam).. It's only now it seems to be a problem, and apparently there's nothing anyone in plusnet can/will do. Frustrating.

You're not alone. I have exactly the same problem and get the same message. If I send email from a plusnet account it works, if not plusnet it refuses to send it.
I have raised a ticket but this looks deliberate to me.
Bob.
callipygous
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎11-02-2014

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Thanks, avatastic and spraxyt. Alas, the problem continues. After ten years' use, I'm giving up on Plusnet for my email. Frustrating.
Hi mightyoakbob! Good luck with your problem. I hope the support team are able to cast more light on the problem/cause than they seemed able/willing to do so for me.
Cheers all,
J
Pettitto
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 6,346
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎26-11-2011

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Hi callipygous,
I'm really sorry we've not got back to you on this. I can see Ticket: 81855529 that has been sent back to you. Would you be able to reply back to the ticket with full headers from the e-mail. Once we have this, I'll get the ticket passed to the correct team to deal with the issue for you.
You can find how to obtain headers here http://www.plus.net/support/email/email_troubleshooting/obtaining_headers.shtml
Please let us know if we can be of any further help.
bobpullen
Community Gaffer
Community Gaffer
Posts: 16,869
Thanks: 4,950
Fixes: 315
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Quote from: callipygous
Thanks, avatastic and spraxyt. Alas, the problem continues.

Should be sorted now if you want to give things another go?

Bob Pullen
Plusnet Product Team
If I've been helpful then please give thanks ⤵

callipygous
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎11-02-2014

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Chris, Bob,
yup, all's working once more for me. Many thanks! (and to everyone else who tried to help - it's much appreciated.)
After ten years, I've yet to find a reason to leave Plusnet; glad to say this isn't that occasion. I shall look into SPF and protecting my domain from spoofing in future (though the details of it make my head hurt).
Cheers!
J
bobpullen
Community Gaffer
Community Gaffer
Posts: 16,869
Thanks: 4,950
Fixes: 315
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

If you only ever send from the domain using our servers then this should do the trick as an SPF record:
v=spf1 mx include:madasafish.com

Bob Pullen
Plusnet Product Team
If I've been helpful then please give thanks ⤵

callipygous
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎11-02-2014

Re: can't send email; domain been spoofed by spammers

Thanks Bob,
I've changed my domain's SPF record to your recommendation. Fingers crossed...
Cheers,
J