disable_functions = "system, exec, passthru, shell_exec, suexec, dbmopen, popen, proc_open, disk_free_space, diskfreespace, set_time_limit, leak"
Com_contact (or elxis) silently discards the error message from the failed popen() call. If you include "popen" in disable_functions as this wiki entry suggests, you will never get emails from your visitors but your visitors believe you do!