Cannot read message

I cannot read any messages sent from one of my contacts.  These messages are being sent to a large group of people.  The subject line is always blank or says "no subject".  The content is random letters/numbers/symbols.  He is sending from a gmail account on his phone.  I cannot read them in IE explorer on my desktop or in Safari on my iPhone.  Others in the group say they receive the messages with no problem.  My husband is experiencing the same issue.  We have asked the contact to have the message resent - and if he fowards it to only one or two people we can view it just fine. We are the only two in the group that have hotmail accounts.  Please advise...