Yep, if you’re not on the recipient lists, then this right here is the correct answer.
OP you can confirm this by checking the source or original message and check for the “delivered to” info in the mail headers to see which email of yours that it was delivered to. From there you can decide if it is something you can stop (I.e another privacy relay email), or, the more likely case, just not worth the hassle (I.e the real regular email).
So although the mail client says it was received by @icloud.com. When inspecting all the headers, I do notice my email popping up in there under Received: fields (I'm not posting the details for privacy reasons).
I'm not sure why my email client shows me a weird receiver email. But at least now I know what address is getting spammed!
You are probably right, but what's confusing me is I don't own the address that is receiving the mails.
Say my address is a_name@icloud.com, but the receiving address is juenr5idsnw@icloud.com.
Is there any reason I am receiving emails to this address?
P.S. the receiving address is always different, always @icloud.com
Due to how the BCC field obscures email addresses written i it, any recipients will only see the email address in the To field - their own is hidden. So it looks like you're receiving an email addressed to someone else
If you are responding to spam mails in an attempt to stop them, you are informing the sender that someone is looking at the mails. The best option is to block the sender if the mails are repeated and stick the mail in your spam folder. There is no point in blocking mails that will only arrive one time. Adding mails to the spam folder informs your ISP that it is spam. Some ISPs are proactive with spam accounts and block them at the server.
An email message can include a tracking pixel that informs the sender the message was read. Just opening a message is usually enough to trigger it, unless your mail client blocks loading external content bu default.
So I'm using the default (apple) mail client. But normally, routed through private relay. I think it opens all emails and loads all content from an apple server, then forwards the content. That should trigger tracking pixels, even when I don't open emails.
Are there multiple addresses in the TO field? I don't see how you would be getting email sent to someone else's account.
My best guess is that they are sending the emails to hundreds of addresses, and yours happens to be one of them, but you are seeing the addresses of other people who also got it.
There is always only one address in the TO field. It's addresses like @icloud.com. The thing is, I don't own that @icloud.com email, so I'm not sure why I'm receiving it :/