So - I receive an email from a girl direct to my hotmail account bypassing flirtbox completely (she says she saw my profile on flirtbox, but there's no message from her on this site). I'm presuming this is a scam - or am I just being paranoid?

Welcome to the forums, lc2000.
I'd say it was a scam and coincidental.
If we assume that she knew there was a link between
Flirtbox and you, there could be two main possibilities:
1. She has access to information from Flirtbox's database, or
2. She is harvesting information from your system.
Are those likely?

But a tincture of paranoia is good.
Paranoia works, to misquote Gordon Gecko.
Some suspicion and a little cynicism are OK too!

Why not get over to the Introductions topic -
http://www.flirtbox.net/anything_else/introductions.html
- and introduce yourself?
_________________
Give me golf clubs, fresh air and a beautiful partner, and you can keep the clubs and the fresh air.
(Jack Benny)

If you've the same name on both I'd say it was possible it wasn't a scam albeit unlikely. Anything in the message to suggest they'd seen the profile?

Here's a possibility:
A scammer/spammer joined and sent you a message.
(And probably loads of other people! )
This went thru to your email (if you've got that set up).
Admin realised (or someone reported the scammer) and their account was shut down.
(I'd imagine Flirtbox have something in place which flags people sending a lot of messages! )
They disappear, their messages disappear (see footnote), and the only clue left is the email on your system.

Footnote:
I'm assuming their messages disappear! I have over a year of messages and they are all from accounts still open. I'm guessing someone must have PM'd me and since left, or been shut down.
If it was sent via Flirtbox, I can't see how it would have attachments tho, like joakimsthlm.
And I wouldn't open any attachments from something like that.
_________________
Give me golf clubs, fresh air and a beautiful partner, and you can keep the clubs and the fresh air.
(Jack Benny)