Prevent Multiple or Duplicate Case Email Notifications in Salesforce Email-to-Case

This article explains why an email reply to an Email-to-Case case can trigger multiple duplicate notification emails, and how to permanently prevent this email loop.

Why This Happens

This occurs when 'Notify Case Owners on New Emails' is enabled in the Email-to-Case settings, and the Email-to-Case routing address (the support mailbox address) is also the Case Owner/Queue email address, or matches the Default Case Owner user's email address.

Because 'Notify Case Owners on New Emails' is enabled, Case owners automatically receive a notification whenever a new email arrives on their case. If the Default Case Owner's or Case Owner/Queue's email address is the same as the Email-to-Case routing address, that notification email is itself sent to the routing address. Salesforce then treats the notification as a new customer reply and routes it back into the case, creating an email loop that triggers repeated, duplicate notifications.

How to Fix It

Always configure a unique routing email address for Email-to-Case services. This address should never also be used as a Case Queue email address or assigned to any Salesforce user, including the Default Case Owner.

For more detail on configuring these settings, see Email-to-Case Settings.