Patent ID: 7139825

Claim:
In a network environment configured to control distribution of an electronic message address to unauthorized sources, a method of monitoring leakage of a source-specific address in order to prevent receipt of unsolicited electronic messages, the method comprising the following: an act of sending an electronic message address to a source computer system for using when the source computing system submits electronic messages to a recipient computing system; an act of making the electronic message address source-specific based on a correlation between identifiers for both the recipient computing system's address and the source computing system's address, wherein the electronic message address conceals the identity of the recipient computing system's address; an act of receiving an electronic message that includes the electronic message address from an unauthorized computing device not associated with the source computing system indicating that the source computing system inappropriately shared the electronic message address; and marking the source as untrusted such that additional source-specific electronic message addresses, other sensitive information, or both, will not be distributed to the source due to an abuse of a privilege of having a source-specific address.