NEW DELHI: Technology and digitisation have made life easy for communities across the world. It has benefited people in numerous ways, including those who promote terror and anti-social activities. Some of the recent operations by the intelligence and investigating agencies in south and northern Indian states have revealed that terror modules and anti-India outfits are using “disposable email” or self-destructing emails as modes of communication which are making their operation extremely difficult to track. The terror handlers, radical outfits and module operators are using these email IDs to communicate and deliver instructions, due to which intelligence sleuths are on high alert.
Despite having specific information and concrete inputs, investigating agencies were quite surprised in some raids. While the sleuths were sure about the dubious activities of the subjects being raided, they were unable to collect evidence at raid locations in the form of documents, notes or digital evidences. “The major part of planning and communication seemed to have been done using disposable mails,” an official said.
Disposable Email Addresses (DEA) or temporary mails are email addresses that people use for a short time. It’s possible to get a new email address and receive email within seconds, with no sign-ups, no contact details required and certainly no verification that the person using the email address is “real.”
Disposable temporary emails were developed to protect the email users from spam, advertising mailings and malwares as it’s anonymous and free. These emails have a limited lifetime period and get dissolved in some time. These DEAs are also referred to as “throwaway email”, “10 minute mail”, “tempmail”, “trash mail” and “fake mail”. They are being increasingly used for illegitimate purposes.
While some platforms generate random email IDs some generate customised IDs as per the desire of the user. “Reference ‘like check in the dogsden or birdsnest’ or simply names of places like Indian towns during physical or tele conversations could actually mean email IDs which a caller would refer to for information exchange, sharing or delivery of messages,” said a source on anonymity.
Sometimes there is no exchange using the mail ID. “Instructions are kept in the draft folder. IDs and passwords of DEAs created for a specific purpose during a particular time period are shared in advance during physical meetings,” said an official. “These IDs get dissolved after their purpose is solved, leaving no trace,” he added. Can the disposable emails be tracked? While these are effective means to communicate some of these IDs are completely anonymous.
All personal details of the user, address, IP address are dissolved after the period of mailbox use is over, experts dealing with this menace said. Temporary emails are being used to create profiles on social media networks, download files, and use it each time the users want to conceal their identity.
How disposable emails work
Disposable Email Addresses (DEA) or temporary mails are email addresses that people use for a short time
Disposable temporary emails were developed to protect the email users from spam, advt mailings and malwares
These emails have a limited lifetime period and get dissolved in some time
These DEAs are also referred to as “throwaway email”, “10 minute mail”, “tempmail”, “trash mail” and “fake mail”
The DEAs are being increasingly used for illegitimate purposes
All personal details of the user, address, IP address are dissolved after the period of mailbox use is over
Temporary emails are being used to create profiles on social media networks, download files, and use it each time the users want to conceal their identity