What are the potential security risks of using catch-all email addresses in PHP applications?

Using catch-all email addresses in PHP applications can pose security risks such as allowing for potential email spoofing and increasing the likelihood of receiving spam emails. To mitigate these risks, it is recommended to validate email addresses before processing them in the application to ensure they are legitimate and safe to use.

// Validate the email address before processing
$email = filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);

if($email) {
    // Process the email address
    // Your code here
} else {
    // Handle invalid email address
    echo "Invalid email address";
}