How to Retrieve Emails Sent to Another Email Account

If you send email to the wrong place, you can get it back--sometimes.

Sending an email to the wrong account can cause embarrassment, frustration, and hurt feelings. It can be extremely detrimental to work situations and personal relationships. Although you can't always retrieve a message once you've sent it, if certain circumstance are met, you can recall messages you have sent a user before they are read so they do not see them. This process only works if you are using Outlook and in a closed system, or if you are using one of the email services, such as AOL, that have a recall option.

Instructions

1. Check to see if you are using Microsoft Outlook on a closed network, or if you are using an email program like AOL. Also check to see if the person owning the other account has the same email program. You can recall a message sent from AOL to another AOL user, or a message sent through Outlook on a closed system to another user on that system. If your message meets both of these criteria, you can proceed. If you do not, your only choice is to call the person and tell them to delete the message. You cannot retrieve it.

2. Retrieve the message sent through the server by going into your Sent folder.

3. Open the message you would like to retrieve or recall.

4. Click on the "Actions" menu and choose "recall this message." This will retrieve the message from the other account so the account's owner will not be able to see it.

5. Click "Delete Unread Copies of This Message" in order to actually recall the message. Then click "OK." The program will attempt to recall the message, but will only be able to do so if the message has not been read.

References

• You Say Too: getting Back Emails
• DaniWeb: Retrieve Emails