Getting “[email protected]” Undeliverable emails Even After Disabling any Rules!

Troubleshooting Persistent “[email protected]” Undeliverable Email Notifications After Account Recovery

In today’s digital landscape, email security is paramount. Even after taking steps to secure your account following a breach, some users continue to experience unwanted automated messages, such as persistent “[email protected]” undeliverable notifications. If you’ve recently recovered your email account from a hacking incident and are still receiving such emails—despite removing suspicious rules or filters—you may be facing deeper security issues or residual configurations that need addressing.

Understanding the Issue

Many users encounter repeated bounce-back messages or undeliverable notifications addressed to “[email protected]” or similar addresses. These often indicate that your account may still be compromised or that malicious activity has persisted even after initial remediation efforts. In some cases, automated forwarding rules or compromised IMAP/POP settings might still be operational, incorrectly configured or resistant to changes via email client interfaces.

Common Causes

• Residual Forwarding Rules: Malicious actors may have added forwarding rules directly into the email account settings or server-side configurations. Simply deleting rules from the Outlook interface may not be enough if they were added at the server level or via backend access.

• Persisting Server-Side Settings: Some email providers store rules and settings externally from the client application; thus, changes made locally do not propagate or effectively delete the underlying configurations.

• Remaining Compromised Access: Hackers might have established additional access points or left backdoors that continue to influence your account settings.

• IMAP/POP Settings: Malicious modifications to IMAP or POP configurations can enable ongoing unauthorized email forwarding or data access, which can sometimes be tricky to disable through standard user interfaces.

Recommended Steps for Resolution

1. Re-Verify Account Security
2. Change your password again, using a strong, unique passphrase.
3. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security.
4. Review recent login activity for suspicious access.

5. Remove any unknown recovery email addresses or linked accounts.

6. Check and Remove Email Forwarding Rules

7. Access your email account through the webmail interface (not just Outlook client).
8. Navigate to the settings or options menu related to mail rules, filters, or forwarding.

9. Explicitly delete all forwarding rules, filters, or automatic responses that seem suspicious or were added without your knowledge.

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