5 websites to help 'prank' your friends with fake emails

If you want to send fake emails to prank your friends and family, there are a number of online services worth exploring. Each service has slightly different features and use cases, some will generate a fake email address for you, while others will actually help you write a clever email.

Note : Nowadays, major email services have more stringent Sender Policy Framework (SPF) policies to verify the legitimacy of senders. For this reason, some anonymous emails may be rejected due to unknown email addresses.

1. Send Anonymous Email

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Send Anonymous Email is a web application that allows you to send emails while hiding the real sender. The site claims to have successfully sent over 10 million anonymous emails. Regardless of whether that number is true or not, the platform gets the job done.

In terms of features, Send Anonymous Email has a pretty good text editor. You can add text, embed images, edit the source code, and adjust the style and formatting. However, you cannot change the color and font of the text.

The site also hides some features behind a premium paywall, such as customizing the sender address. Without signing up, recipients will see emails from 'Anonymousemail' and the platform's standard email address.

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So the recipient will know the email came from an automated mail generator, but at least they won't know it's you. Plus, since it's a valid email address, the SPF filter won't block the message. However, if you want to identify the sender, you can pay $59 for an annual subscription. As a premium user, you can also add attachments and track email impressions.

It should be noted that Send Anonymous Email takes a serious stance on misuse of its services. According to the company's terms of service, legal action may be taken if you use the site to threaten or harass others, misrepresent an organization, or engage in other fraudulent activities.

2. Emkei's Mailer

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Emkei's Mailer may have a simple text editor, but the site offers full customization for sending messages. You can choose From Name, From Email, To, Subject , and Message .

Another significant difference between Send Anonymous Email and Emkei's Mailer is attachment support, with support for sizes up to 25MB.

Emkei's Mailer hosts a plaintext editor and an HTML editor for composing messages. This makes it simple to write a short line, but can also be deployed when you want to make a fake email message look more convincing.

The downside of Emkei's Mailer is that your emails may not always reach the intended recipients. Since Emkei's Mailer sends messages from unknown email addresses that you create, some email services may reject them due to their SPF policies.

3. Anonymous

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Anonymouse is another website that allows you to send emails from a fake address. With the AnonEmail service, the website generates a random fake email address for you, which you can use to send your prank emails.

To increase anonymity, Anonymouse will randomly delay your sent email for up to 12 hours. This way, you can send fake emails to your friends in the same room and your prank target will not immediately suspect you when they receive the email much later.

Like Emkei Mailer, there is a risk of Anonymouse emails being rejected due to containing fake addresses. Furthermore, it can take up to 12 hours to find out if your note was sent or not.

4. ZMail

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ZMail offers a unique way to prank email. It's the only service on this list that works via a desktop app instead of a web app. But you don't have to worry about viruses and malware. ZMail is open source, meaning anyone can review the code to make sure it's safe.

There are limitations here, however. The app is only available on Windows, so Mac users will have to use one of the web apps listed. Alternatively, iPhone users can search for dedicated iPhone prank apps through the App Store.

5. Letter Generator

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Unlike the other sites on this list, Letter Generator won't actually send anything for you, but it does help with another essential step in the pranking process - figuring out what to say. You can use it to create a compelling letter using topics and keywords of your choosing.

This site is perfect when you're not sure what to write in your prank email. Pair it with one of the email services above and you'll have a fun prank on your hands.

Letter Generator's categories include love letters, notices to landlords, and even templates for writing to local politicians. Letter Generator is completely free, and there's no limit to the number of letters you can create.

It is important to be responsible when sending anonymous emails. Services that allow for spoofing emails can be easily abused. Pretending to be someone you are not in cyberspace raises ethical and moral questions that you should consider when using these platforms, even if the intent is innocent. Depending on the content of your message (and the actions the recipient takes based on it), there may even be legal consequences.

Spoofing emails can be fun for family and friends as long as you proceed with caution. Of course, don't send prank emails that could cause serious harm, distress, or panic. And it's worth emphasizing that you shouldn't impersonate the police or other emergency services. If you're worried about spoofing emails, you can always use one of these quirky prank websites to trick your friends the next time you hang out.

Kareem Winters

Update 13 January 2025