BleepingComputer.com: Anti Virus Scanning E-mail ?

When I receive an e-mail and open it and find out the attachment is another email,

and opening it, . .I have noticed that the AV scan has not scanned it a left the

message that it has been scanned. I am guessing it has not been scanned correct, . .

Reason I'm asking is I'm wondering, like this particular one is a somewhat religious

painting of angels, and it is also a chain letter, asking me to send it to twenty people, .

Since it isn't scanned, I am curious, could the anti-virus scan if it did scan detect the

kind of thing that might report back to someone, . . the email addresses

I have mailed it to.

Yes, those type of emails are called chain letters. They are used to create a hoax about some false virus. They are also used for email addresses harvesting. You should not open or follow directions of the message.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_letter

OK, . . but if it is an active letter that performs some type of function like harvesting addresses and such, do you have any idea what or where that content is hidden or how it works, or even if it can be detected ?

In any case in case you don't thanks for your reply, it was enlightening

Most of the chain letters say : send a copy to all your friends(or at least 10, 20 or more people etc.) including the one you received from. Which means each time, someone sends a copy, there is a high probability that the original person gets one too through the backward chain. That person then can find out new email addresses from the CC field of the email. This works great if you just forward such emails.

Simple solution for chain letters is just delete them and don't forward them.