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Why am I still receiving emails in my inbox from a removed account?

  • 8 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 37 views
  • Last reply by ccentre

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I recently removed an email account from my inbox because a colleague is using the address and checking it routinely. Since removing it, I am still receiving emails addressed to that account and wish not to be.

I recently removed an email account from my inbox because a colleague is using the address and checking it routinely. Since removing it, I am still receiving emails addressed to that account and wish not to be.

Chosen solution

If you are original sender : sending from your email address, then there are things to check in Thunderbird, but it would only apply if you are the only sender that this occurs with.

But note: if you are not the original sender and you still get emails sent to colleague, then this will not be something done in Thunderbird. It arrives in Thunderbird because it arrives in your server Inbox. This means there is a setting sending the email to your Inbox, then it gets downloaded to Thunderbird.

I do not know how your colleague accesses their emails. It might be via Thunderbird or Outlook or directly via webmail.

You need to logon and check the webmail accounts because the account you removed from Thunderbird, may still be part of your webmail account. Are those emails actually arriving in your webmail account because technically you are still the owner of email address you removed OR the webmail account of 'removed' email address is set up to forward everything to your email address.

But, if you are not the only sender, then it is not occuring in your mail account in Thunderbird.


Check your account settings in Thunderbird if you are the only sender who receives emails in Inbox.

In Thunderbird:

  • Right click on mail account name in Folder Pane and select 'Settings'
  • click on 'Manager Identites' button
  • Please double check there is only the one identity as a second non default identity could have it's own set of 'Copies & Folders' with Cc & Bcc info.
  • Select: 'Copies & Folders' for mail account

When sending messages.....

  • check....Cc and Bcc these email addresses to make sure nothing is hiding in there.

click on ok

Check Message Filters.

  • Menu app icon > Message Filter > Message Filters

Check through the filters to see if there is one which upon 'sending' is copying the message to Inbox.

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All Replies (8)

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re :I recently removed an email account from my inbox

  • Was this 'removed' email address set up as a mail account in it's own right with it's own set of folders?
  • Was this 'removed' email address added as an additional identity to another mail account?
  • Was the 'removed' account a pop or imap mail account?
  • If pop was it set up as a deferred account also commonly known as a 'Global Inbox' account which used the 'Local folders' mail account to display emails.
  • Does that removed email address/mail account currently display in the 'Account settings' window?
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Thank you for your response, here are my answers!

Was this 'removed' email address set up as a mail account in it's own right with it's own set of folders? Yes

Was this 'removed' email address added as an additional identity to another mail account? No

Was the 'removed' account a pop or imap mail account? imap

If pop was it set up as a deferred account also commonly known as a 'Global Inbox' account which used the 'Local folders' mail account to display emails.

Does that removed email address/mail account currently display in the 'Account settings' window? No

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re :I am still receiving emails addressed to that account - removed imap account.

If you are receiving emails from removed account into another imap account then the emails maybe being auto forwarded to your email address on the server and then being downloaded to your imap account in Thunderbird. This would have been set up on server.

Or it is entirely possible you are being Bcc'd in that email by the sender.

Check the account password info is not stored in your thunderbird.

  • Menu app icon > Options > Options > Security > 'Passwords' tab
  • click on 'saved passwords' button
  • Remove any mention of the removed imap account if it exists.

Check 'Activity Manager' to see if there is any mention of the removed imap account.

  • Menu app icon > 'activity manager'
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So the current user for the removed email account checked for me and my email is not CC'd or BCC'd on the account. Likewise the account is not mentioned in the saved passwords section or the activity menu.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks again!

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'Current user' for the removed account would not know if the sender had Bcc'd you, only the original sender would know that. That is the point of a Bcc. So until you get confirmation from the original sender that they have not accidentally or intentionally Bcc'd you into that email, you will not know.

Thunderbird on your computer is not accessing the removed account server for the email address now used by 'Current User', it has no information about the server, no account, no passwords and is not showing anything in the Activity Manager.

Thunderbird can only download something that is on the server. So those emails are being sent to the server that has your email address.

This can only be done by the original sender including using your email address as bcc or a setting in the webmail account itself to auto forward copies of emails to another (your) email address or a setting in the email client which the 'current user' is using to auto forward copies of emails on download. In which case they need to check 'Message Filters' in the email client.

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If I am the original sender, and I send an email only to the removed account, (aka current user), it goes to her and it comes to my inbox as well. She is my coworker and has checked and my account is not cc'd or bcc'd on her emails.

This is what is causing the frustration for us. There is no where that would indicate why, even with her account removed, I would receive emails sent to her inbox.

Thanks for your efforts on this, I appreciate the suggestions!

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Chosen Solution

If you are original sender : sending from your email address, then there are things to check in Thunderbird, but it would only apply if you are the only sender that this occurs with.

But note: if you are not the original sender and you still get emails sent to colleague, then this will not be something done in Thunderbird. It arrives in Thunderbird because it arrives in your server Inbox. This means there is a setting sending the email to your Inbox, then it gets downloaded to Thunderbird.

I do not know how your colleague accesses their emails. It might be via Thunderbird or Outlook or directly via webmail.

You need to logon and check the webmail accounts because the account you removed from Thunderbird, may still be part of your webmail account. Are those emails actually arriving in your webmail account because technically you are still the owner of email address you removed OR the webmail account of 'removed' email address is set up to forward everything to your email address.

But, if you are not the only sender, then it is not occuring in your mail account in Thunderbird.


Check your account settings in Thunderbird if you are the only sender who receives emails in Inbox.

In Thunderbird:

  • Right click on mail account name in Folder Pane and select 'Settings'
  • click on 'Manager Identites' button
  • Please double check there is only the one identity as a second non default identity could have it's own set of 'Copies & Folders' with Cc & Bcc info.
  • Select: 'Copies & Folders' for mail account

When sending messages.....

  • check....Cc and Bcc these email addresses to make sure nothing is hiding in there.

click on ok

Check Message Filters.

  • Menu app icon > Message Filter > Message Filters

Check through the filters to see if there is one which upon 'sending' is copying the message to Inbox.

more options

Thank you so much for your help! I logged into our webnames account and voila!...the wastewise emails were being forwarded to my email inbox.

I really appreciate your help!