How to Find the Origin of an Email

View the full headers of an email message to determine its origin.

When you receive an unsolicited email, replying to the message is generally the worst thing you can do to reduce the likelihood of receiving more unwanted messages. At best, this process is often ineffective because the sender's address on the message is often fake. However, by viewing the full headers of a message, it is possible to determine the true origin of an email. After doing this, you can contact the company running the email server to notify them that their server is open to hackers or that they have a customer who is spamming.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird

Instructions

Microsoft Outlook

1. Double-click the email to open it in a new window.

2. Click the small box in the lower-right corner of the "Options" section above the message if you are running Outlook 2007. In previous version of Outlook, click the "View" menu at the top of the screen, then click "Options."

3. Examine the information shown under "Headers" or "Internet Headers" at the bottom of the window. The originating server will be shown next to the "Received:" heading.

Microsoft Outlook Express, Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail

1. Right-click the message that you want to determine the origin of and click "Properties."

2. Click the "Details" tab in the window that appears.

3. Examine the information shown in the "Received:" heading to determine the origin of the message.

Mozilla Thunderbird

1. Double-click the message to open it in a new window.

2. Click the "View" menu at the top of the window. Hover the mouse pointer over "Headers" and click "All."

3. Examine the information shown in the "Received:" heading to determine the origin of the message.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not use a client program such as Microsoft Outlook to check your email, check the help files given by your webmail provider to determine how to view the full headers of messages. Many webmail providers have this tool.

References

• Indiana University Knowledge Base: Displaying Full Headers in Outlook Express, Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail
• Indiana University Knowledge Base: Displaying Full Headers in Outlook
• University of Oregon Help Desk: Displaying Full Headers in Thunderbird