Undeliverable or Returned E-mails

When an e-mail is returned as undeliverable, that does not necessarily indicate that your e-mail it "broken" or even that the message has anything to do with you.

There will always be a numerical error code message as well as a brief description as to why the e-mail was unable to be delivered in the top part above the returned message. That code will give you a clue as to what may be happening. Here is a link to a site that covers e-mail error codes.

Understanding SMTP error codes

Most of the confusion comes in when you receive a returned or "undeliverable" e-mail that you did not initiate or send. This is generally due to tricky spammers or one of your contacts that has a virus on their computer which just sent the virus off to everyone on their address book -- with your e-mail address in the From: field.

In both of these cases there isn't much you can do but hit delete. You probably cannot find out who you know that has a virus, nor can you track down the spammer throwing other's e-mail addresses in the From: field to try and shield their identity.

Most times your returns will be due to benign reasons such as mailbox filled to capacity or due to a typo; no such e-mail address/account. What you can do, however, is become a bit more informed and familiar with the typical return messages you'll see so that you understand what is going on. And with technology that's always a good thing!