Comments on: Multiple copies of the same email being received when sent to SBC Global & Yahoo

By: mnichols

mnichols — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 05:08:26 +0000

We recently had the reverse case where multiple copies of the same email were being received. The emails in question were all initiated during a period when we had a problem with disks on a mail gateway. However the duplicates were being generated in the Exchange MTA process (or possibly the SMTP queue). We restarted the Microsoft Exchange MTA Service and the SMTP Service and the duplicates stopped.

By: hedgehog

hedgehog — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 08:49:21 +0000

Hi Thomas,

I have seen these problems on customers whose ISP’s were using a Multi-Drop (or Multi-POP) mailbox to catch all email directed to same domain into one large mailbox that was then queried by the company’s internal mail server.

In all cases, the ISP/email hosting company was messing up the email headers so that the mail server couldn’t figure out who the recipient was. The solution we suggested was to change from Multidrop to SMTP/ETRN, which resolved the problem immediately.

Do these Yahoo/SBC recipients have same problem when someone else sends them emails (in the BCC field, of course)?

You could also do a test by sending an email to, say, 3 Yahoo/SBC addresses ___in the CC: field___ instead of the BCC field, and see if they receive one or 3 copies.

Bottom line: Go ask SBC/Yahoo as it’s their problem as far as I am concerned…

Best of luck, though! I can almost hear them saying “it’s not our fault; check your own systems”…

Hedgehog.

By: thomascovenant

thomascovenant — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:50:15 +0000

Are you relaying mail through your ISP’s mail servers or sending directly?
Sending mail directly.

Can you please specify if the emails sent had the recipients’ addresses on the BCC field?
Yes, the recipient’s address is in the BCC field.

Also if several people, say 5, were copied on the same email, did each of these recipients receive 5 copies of the same email?
The only people who received the 5 copies were people who an Yahoo/SBC address.

Is it always the same Yahoo/SBC recipients that receive the multiple copies (perhaps their mailboxes are corrupted)?
Yes, It always the smae people.

Obvious question perhaps, but did you check the Support/FAQ sections of Yahoo/SBC?
Not yet!

By: hedgehog

hedgehog — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 06:33:42 +0000

Hi Thomas,

Are you relaying mail through your ISP’s mail servers or sending directly?
Can you please specify if the emails sent had the recipients’ addresses on the BCC field?
Also if several people, say 5, were copied on the same email, did each of these recipients receive 5 copies of the same email?
Is it always the same Yahoo/SBC recipients that receive the multiple copies (perhaps their mailboxes are corrupted)?

Obvious question perhaps, but did you check the Support/FAQ sections of Yahoo/SBC?

Please provide answers in order to better help you.

Cheers