diff --git a/check.py b/check.py
index b78b8eb..7c497cc 100755
--- a/check.py
+++ b/check.py
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ def readmail(fp):
 
     theEMail = fp.read()
     try:
-        gpgmail = gnupg_mail.Message(theEMail.decode(), settings=gnupg_mail.Settings(log_level='debug',require_signed=True), gpg=gnupg.GPG(gnupghome=GNUPG_DIRECTORY))
+        gpgmail = gnupg_mail.Message(theEMail.decode('utf-8', errors='backslashreplace'), settings=gnupg_mail.Settings(require_signed=True), gpg=gnupg.GPG(gnupghome=GNUPG_DIRECTORY))
     except:
         gpgmail = None