Getting someone else's mail

If you get someone else's mail, check the reasons below to get help.

Getting messages sent to a dotted version of my address

If the sender added dots to your address, you'll still get that email. No one else sees your emails, and no one can take your account. For example, if your email is [e-mail], you own all dotted versions of your address:

• [e-mail]
• [e-mail]
• [e-mail]

If you still think the message was meant for someone else, contact the sender to let them know they mistyped the email address.

Learn more about dots in Gmail addresses.

My address isn't on the email at all

If you get lots of messages addressed to someone else, check if someone accidentally forwards their mail to you.

1. On your computer, open a message that looks like it was sent to you by mistake.
2. Next to Reply , click More .
3. Click Show original.
4. If you see "X-Forwarded-For" on the page, someone forwards their Gmail messages to your account. Try to contact this person to let them know about the mistake. 

Tip:  If you've been sent the message by "Bcc", you may not see your email address at the top of the message. To check for email address in the recipients list, click the Down arrow . If you check from a non-gmail account, you may not see this information.

The email address in the "To" field isn't mine

If the email address listed in the "To" field isn't your address, here are some possible explanations:

• You've accepted automatic forwarding from that email address to forward copies of their incoming emails to your inbox. If you think these emails should not be forwarded to you, you can contact that email owner to request that they remove your email address from their forwarding settings.
• That email address is an anonymous one that was created for you when you signed up for a particular service. If you think that email address doesn't belong to you, you can contact that email provider to report the issue.

Getting messages sent to an @googlemail.com address

Messages sent to @gmail.com and @googlemail.com are the same.

Some countries use @googlemail.com instead, but messages sent to the address will go to the same place.

Getting spam that isn't addressed to me

If you don't see your email address in the "To" or "Cc" fields, you may have been sent the message by "Bcc." If that’s the case, you won't see your email address at the top of the message.

Spammers sometimes add random email addresses into the "Bcc" field to try to get people to respond.

Here's how to report the message as spam:

1. Open the message or select it in your inbox.
2. Click Report Spam .

Tip: When you click Report spam  or manually move an email into your Spam folder, Google will receive a copy of the email and may analyze it to help protect our users from spam and abuse.

Getting messages I didn't sign up for

If someone uses your email address to sign up for emails, like promotions or newsletters, you can use the unsubscribe link to stop these emails.

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
2. Open an email from the sender that you want to unsubscribe from.
3. Next to the sender's name, click Unsubscribe or Change preferences. If you don't see these options, follow the steps above to block the sender or mark the message as spam.

Tip: It may take a few days for messages from the mailing list to stop.