Shooting Blanks? (Emails)
Have you ever received a blank email? What does that mean? One that appears to come from someone you know? What’s up with that? Let’s discuss.
What does it mean when someone replies to your email with a blank message (i.e., empty message box; no message text, not even your original message)?
Check Your Email Settings
Several reasons can cause blank emails. If the email is from someone you know, they could use formatting you cannot read. Ensure that your email program is configured to display HTML emails. That may be why you are unable to read a formatted email.
Another setting to investigate is whether your program is set to AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD HTML GRAPHICS. When that setting is off, an all-graphic email will not display without your approval.
I don’t engage this option, as I don’t want anything displayed by code without my knowledge. (Some viruses count on this option being available.) Nor do I want to be tracked to report back to the Sender that the email was opened.
Another cause can be if the underlying HTML code is broken. That is beyond your control to do anything about.
You can try right-clicking on the blank message and selecting ‘View Source’ from the context menu. There, you will see any underlying code and possibly even the message that the non-standard code is preventing you from viewing.
They continued…
There were no attachments from them nor a return receipt function from me. (If I had to guess, I’m inclined to the view that it’s simply a way of acknowledging receipt of email.)
I don’t think so—I’ve never heard of anyone doing that. Sending a blank email to acknowledge the receipt of an email doesn’t make sense. Replying with a blank email isn’t really replying, is it? As with email in general, try not to assume too much.
Is there a virus at play?
Is the email from someone you know? They may have a virus that generates and sends out these emails.
What if the email is from someone you do not know? It could be a spammer (or a spammer’s virus) trying to verify whether your email address is valid. They send an email; it doesn’t bounce back. The process confirmed that your email address is active. Add your email to the list!
Here’s another reason I don’t have AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD HTML GRAPHICS turned on. A tiny invisible graphic is embedded in the code. When the email is opened, the little hidden graphic displays. You don’t see it because it is so tiny.
To display that graphic, a call to the server where the image is stored is required. This “tracking pixel” reports back to their server that your address is valid and live because you opened the email.
Your email address is then added to the list to be spammed in the future or sold to other spammers. Nice, huh?
That’s why I have AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD HTML GRAPHICS turned off. I then have the option of displaying images on an email-by-email basis.
Always be Cautious!
The bottom line? In most cases, these emails are either spam or your contact has a virus. So, do your contacts a favor and email them to give them a heads-up. Start a new email to inform them.
Ask them if they know if their virus software is up to date. Or, when was the last time an entire system scan was performed? Of course, they will want to run one just to be on the safe side.
Trust your gut. When you see an email that doesn’t make sense, it tends to be something you want to be wary of. Just delete.
