> Often I receive mail that was not sent by the person that is in the
> from: line. Many people also get mail that claims to be sent by me. I
> even get myself mail sent by me often from places that I might wish to
> visit, but haven't done so yet.
> What I never fully understood is if this is legal or not. I know it is
> easy to do, and hard to track down, but I would expect it to be illegal
> anyway. Anyone here knows?

Sending an email is like sending a postcard; you write on one side who 
it's from, and on the other side who it's to. Most people write who it's 
/really/ from, but there's absolutely nothing to stop you pretending to 
be anybody you fancy. (Whether the recipient will believe you is another 
matter...) People seem to think because it's on a computer it must 
somehow be "secure", but it isn't.

Is it illegal? Well, is it illegal to send a postcard claiming to be 
from somebody it isn't?

Clearly trying to deceive somebody for financial gain is fraud, which is 
illegal no matter which way you try to do it. But is pretending to be 
somebody else illegal in itself? I don't know. (And I'd guess it varies 
by country anyway.)

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