50 subscription requests have been received in the last 1h from [log in to unmask] A copy of the mail headers from the most recent of these requests is enclosed below. The subscription requests in question are now being cancelled. Due to the protocols used on the Internet for mail delivery, it is extremely easy for a malicious user to forge an electronic mail message from another user. This vulnerability has led to a practice known as "spoofing" in list owner jargon, through which an innocent user is subscribed to thousands of mailing lists with the intent of filling up his mailbox and rendering his Internet account essentially useless. This is usually done in retribution for having posted something on a public forum which made the perpetrator lose face. There is unfortunately no defense against this attack. LISTSERV automatically monitors spoofing attempts and blocks subscription requests after a certain threshold. In addition, it will automatically undo the subscriptions which were accepted before the spoofing attempt was detected. Unfortunately, most other mailing list managers offer no such protection, and the victim must cancel the subscriptions individually. An examination of the mail headers from the original request may reveal some information about the perpetrator. However, in most cases this person will be a technically skilled individual who will know what steps need to be taken in order to hide one's track. It is usually much easier to identify the perpetrator using traditional investigative methods, such as looking for technically skilled individuals that the victim has recently angered. It is exceedingly rare, however, to find evidence that will stand in court. -------------------------- Incoming mail header ---------------------------- Return-Path: <[log in to unmask]> Received: from SEARN (NJE origin SMTPF@SEARN) by SEARN.SUNET.SE (LMail V1.2b/1.8b) with BSMTP id 1131; Wed, 17 Apr 1996 14:26:44 +0200 Received: from prof.esigetel.fr by SEARN.SUNET.SE (IBM VM SMTP V2R3) with TCP; Wed, 17 Apr 96 14:26:41 +0200 Received: from risc7.esigetel.fr by prof.esigetel.fr; (5.65/1.1.8.2/04Mar96-0542PM) id AA18438; Wed, 17 Apr 1996 14:25:00 +0200 Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 14:25:00 +0200 From: DORIGNY THORET <[log in to unmask]> Message-Id: <[log in to unmask]> Apparently-To: [log in to unmask]