Do a full scan with your anti virus and another with your anti malware program. Malwarebytes, Superantispyware, AdAware or your favourite and you should be good to go. Be sure to look for updates first. Check too that your firewall has not been turned off.

No need to lose the email address, just be sure your computer is clean

If this an on-board mail client there have historically been viruses and such which have contaminated a user's addressbook doing as you describe. It would be time to do a complete system scan with your AV and another competent malware detection application such as Malwarebytes. If you do locate a bug it would be polite to notifiy all listings in your addressbook.

If this an Internet based account don't worry about it as it happens regularly with you users name or variations of the same. Just don't open it or answer it.

DA

Sorry Owbist as I kind of stepped on you. I was distracted by my granddaughter for a minute or two.

DA

I use a very old AOL email address and infrequently received mail from my own user id. I changed my email settings to block that. Settings:Spam Settings:Sender Filter:Block mail from addresses:then enter the user or addresses (of yourself). If you do not have AOL email you probably can find similar filtering in yours.

DA, no worries. Done the procrastinating thing myself before posting then find I am behind. Always better to have multiple answers as it helps give the original poster confidence perhaps.

Fruitjarfla, I am not at all sure you are gaining anything by that action - assuming you rarely view the Spam box. Homebound was placed on alert as soon as the self addressed email arrived. Your method eliminates that advantage I would think.

also it could be someone you know that has your email address in their address book that is the one with the infection, often times these infections spoof an address which it selects at random from the persons address book to use as the sender, so seeing your name is not a dead assurance that you are the one infected.

Thanks all.

I'll run some scans, although I do have avast running all the time, and also a firewall (that's turned on) at home. This is a yahoo account, and all the emails (getting a handful/day for the last couple days for some sort of b.s. online pharmacy/ies.

Also, I don't see anything in my out box, nor have my friends reported anything yet.

I'll run some stuff tomorrow and let you know how it turns out.

I've been getting those also for the past few months. Only AOL. They use your username to get into your mailbox and bypass the spam folder. I just delete them. They are mostly viagra/drug addresses. This not your address, just your username which is probably easy for them to get.

Jane

One possibility is an infection of some sort, so you should check for that.

However, it's pretty easy to send an email and falsify the "from" address and many spammers do that to get past filters.

If you really want to trace it down, you need to examine the email headers, but it's easier to just delete the emails (and make sure you're not infected).

If its a web based Yahoo account don't be concerned unless it goes crazy. This conduct has been going on forever and will continue by the less sophisticated spammers. You would have no data on your system that would promote a replicating virus.

DA

owlbist, my spam gets deleted about 3 or 4 times per day and those spam-mails are almost never opened. But I am interested in the "Homebound was placed on alert" phrase you wrote. Can you tell me what that is, please.

Fruitjarfla, the alert I was referring to was the fact that this email came into Homebound's "inbox" and was therefore visible. In your case it goes to the Spam filter and you may not know it has arrived so cannot take any precautionary action.

As you noted:-
my spam gets deleted about 3 or 4 times per day and those spam-mails are almost never opened.
so you would not know about it at all.