Email virus that sends to self?

Question

Has anybody ever heard of an email virus that does something like this:

From: [Actual Friend's Name] (mailto: [Different, Unknown Email)
To: [My Name]
Subject: [My Name]

Hello [My Name]
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A relative of mine told me he got emails from me, but upon inspecting, the above is what I saw. I have never seen this before? It seems that maybe another account of his might be compromised and that is how it knows the names, but not the addresses?

Answer 1

Yes it's called email spoofing

The technique is now used ubiquitously by bulk email software as a means of concealing the origin of the propagation. On infection, worms such as ILOVEYOU, Klez and Sober will often try to perform searches for email addresses within the address book of a mail client, and use those addresses in the From field of emails that they send, so that these emails appear to have been sent by the third party. For example:

Alice is sent an infected email and then the email is opened, triggering propagation. The worm finds the addresses of Bob and Charlie within Alice's address book. From Alice's computer, the worm sends an infected email to Bob, but the email appears to have been sent by Charlie.