Method and system to stop spam and validate incoming email

• US 20070226297A1
• Filed: 03/21/2006
• Published: 09/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dayan, Richard, Jennings, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US11/385,546
• Publication Number:
  US 20070226297A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

A match and destroy (MaDe) technique for filtering spam mail assigns at least two email addresses per user when the user first registers for an email account or when the MaDe software is installed on the server. The first email address is designated as the “True address,” and the user is made aware of only this address. The second email address is designated as the “Trap address,” and the user is not made aware of this address. Spammers send spam mail to all available email addresses as a spammer is unable to differentiate a True address from a Trap address. A MaDe filter is provided that detects when the same email is received in both the True and the Trap(s) inboxes. When this duplicate receipt occurs, the filter informs the resident spam filters that the email is a spam candidate.

Claims

1. In an email environment, a method comprising:

assigning at least two email addresses to a user, the addresses comprising at least a True address and a second address;

publishing at least one of the email addresses, the published email address being an address that is utilized to determine when an email addressed to the user is a valid email from a legitimate sender; and

when an email is received by the user addressed to the True address, automatically checking the second address for receipt of a matching email to determine whether the email received at the True address is a valid email;

when the email is determined to not be a valid email based on the result of the automatically checking step, dynamically tagging the email as spam mail and passing the email to a spam filter for handling as spam mail.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the assigning further comprises assigning the second address as a Trap address, wherein the Trap address is not made known to the user; and

the automatically checking comprises checking the Trap address for receipt of a matching email at the Trap address; and

the dynamically tagging comprises tagging the email as spam mail only when a matching email is received at the Trap address, wherein when no matching email is received, the received email at the True address is not tagged as spam mail.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining when an email is received at only the Trap address; and

when the email is received at only the Trap address, initiating the dynamically tagging step for the email received at the Trap address and discarding the email received at the Trap address.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning multiple ones of the second address to the user; and

performing the automatically checking with each of the multiple ones of the second address, wherein the dynamically tagging is triggered whenever any one of the multiple ones of the second address includes the matching email.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein

the assigning further comprises assigning the second address as a Confirm address, wherein the Confirm address is not made known to the user;

and

the automatically checking comprises checking the Confirm address for receipt of a matching email at the Confirm address; and

the dynamically tagging comprises tagging the email as spam mail only when a matching email is not received at the Confirm address, wherein when a matching email is received, the received email at the True address is not tagged as spam mail.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining when an email is received at only the Confirm address; and

when the email is received at only the Confirm address, passing the email to a spam filter at the user email engine for further filtering.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning multiple ones of the second address to the user; and

performing the automatically checking with each of the multiple ones of the second address, wherein the dynamically tagging is triggered whenever one of the multiple ones of the second address includes the matching email.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps are performed at an email server within the email environment, wherein the server maintains a record of the True address and the second address, which is linked to the True address for analyzing potential spam mail.

9. A computer program product comprising:

a computer readable medium; and

program code for execution on a device within an email environment, said code comprising code that when executed on a processor performs the steps of;

assigning at least two email addresses to a user, said addresses comprising at least a True address and a second address;

publishing at least one of said email addresses, said published email address being an address that is utilized to determine when an email addressed to the user is a valid email from a legitimate sender;

when an email is received by said user addressed to the True address, automatically checking the second address for receipt of a matching email to determine whether the email received at the True address is a valid email; and

when the email is determined to not be a valid email based on the result of the automatically checking step, dynamically tagging said email as spam mail and passing said email to a spam filter for handling as spam mail.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein:

said code for assigning further comprises code for assigning said second address as a Trap address, wherein said Trap address is not made known to the user; and

said automatically checking code comprises code for checking said Trap address for receipt of a matching email at said Trap address; and

said dynamically tagging code comprises code for tagging said email as spam mail only when a matching email is received at the Trap address, wherein when no matching email is received, the received email at the True address is not tagged as spam mail.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising code for:

determining when an email is received at only the Trap address; and

when the email is received at only the Trap address, initiating said dynamically tagging step for the email received at the Trap address and discarding the email received at the Trap address.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising code for:

assigning multiple ones of said second address to said user; and

performing said automatically checking with each of said multiple ones of said second address, wherein said dynamically tagging is triggered whenever any one of the multiple ones of the second address includes the matching email.

13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein

said assigning code further comprises code for assigning said second address as a Confirm address, wherein said Confirm address is not made known to the user;

and

said automatically checking code comprises code for checking said Confirm address for receipt of a matching email at said Confirm address; and

said dynamically tagging code comprises code for tagging said email as spam mail only when a matching email is not received at the Confirm address, wherein when a matching email is received, the received email at the True address is not tagged as spam mail.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising code for:

determining when an email is received at only the Confirm address; and

when the email is received at only the Confirm address, passing the email to a spam filter at the user email engine for further filtering.

15. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising code for:

assigning multiple ones of said second address to said user; and

performing said automatically checking with each of said multiple ones of said second address, wherein said dynamically tagging is triggered whenever one of the multiple ones of the second address includes the matching email.

16. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the processes provided by the various code are performed at an email server within the email environment, wherein said server maintains a record of the True address and the second address, which is linked to the True address for analyzing potential spam mail.

17. A system comprising:

a processor and memory;

a network connectivity device for coupling the system to an external email communication network; and

program code for executing on the processor and which performs the steps of;

assigning at least two email addresses to a user, said addresses comprising at least a True address and a second address;

publishing at least one of said email addresses, said published email address being an address that is utilized to determine when an email addressed to the user is a valid email from a legitimate sender;

when an email is received by said user addressed to the True address, automatically checking the second address for receipt of a matching email to determine whether the email received at the True address is a valid email; and

when the email is determined to not be a valid email based on the result of the automatically checking step, dynamically tagging said email as spam mail and passing said email to a spam filter for handling as spam mail.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein:

said code for assigning further comprises code for assigning said second address as a Trap address, wherein said Trap address is not made known to the user; and

said automatically checking comprises code for checking said Trap address for receipt of a matching email at said Trap address; and

said dynamically tagging comprises code for tagging said email as spam mail only when a matching email is received at the Trap address, wherein when no matching email is received, the received email at the True address is not tagged as spam mail.

said system further comprising code for;

determining when an email is received at only the Trap address;

when the email is received at only the Trap address, initiating said dynamically tagging step for the email received at the Trap address and discarding the email received at the Trap address;

assigning multiple ones of said second address to said user; and

performing said automatically checking with each of said multiple ones of said second address, wherein said dynamically tagging is triggered whenever any one of the multiple ones of the second address includes the matching email.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein:

said assigning code further comprises code for assigning said second address as a Confirm address, wherein said Confirm address is not made known to the user; and

said automatically checking code comprises code for checking said Confirm address for receipt of a matching email at said Confirm address; and

said dynamically tagging code comprises code for tagging said email as spam mail only when a matching email is not received at the Confirm address, wherein when a matching email is received, the received email at the True address is not tagged as spam mail; and

said system further comprising code for;

determining when an email is received at only the Confirm address;

when the email is received at only the Confirm address, passing the email to a spam filter at the user email engine for further filtering;

assigning multiple ones of said second address to said user; and

performing said automatically checking with each of said multiple ones of said second address, wherein said dynamically tagging is triggered whenever none of the multiple ones of the second address includes the matching email.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein said system is an email server, wherein said server maintains a record of the True address and the second address, which is linked to the True address for analyzing potential spam mail.