[ Home | Telemarketing | Junk Mail | Spam E-Mail | Tips | Contact ]

Unsolicited E-Mail (Spam)

Junk e-mail, commonly known as "spam", is one of the biggest problems facing the Internet today. As an e-business professional that manages an e-mail server for hundreds of people, I fight spam not only for myself, but dozens of businesses, on a daily basis. It is my hope that you will follow the suggestions here, as it will surely help you reduce the amount of spam you receive.

How do Spammers get my E-Mail Address?

By far, the most common way spammers get your e-mail address is by "scraping" it off of a public web site, such as this one. They have programs called "harvesters" that scour the Internet for e-mail addresses. Whenever they find one, it gets added to their list. The best way to stay off the spam lists is to never, ever post your e-mail address on a web site without obfuscating it first. More on that later. Once you have removed your e-mail address from public web sites, you will eventually see a decline in the amount of spam you receive. Like anything else, e-mail addresses eventually expire, so the spammers are constantly collecting new ones. Eventually the older lists are discarded, your e-mail address along with them.

They may also harvest your address from Usenet newsgroups of public message boards that you have posted to. The web-based archives of some mailing lists you are on can also be ripe for harvesting. If you sign up for free "giveaway" or "sweepstakes" web sites, your address will likely be passed around to dozens of "partner" companies that will market to you (remember, there's no such thing as a free lunch).

Never Open Spam

One thing that is guaranteed to increase the amount of spam you receive is opening the existing spam you receive. Many spammers include what are known as "web bugs" that will track each time you open an HTML-based spam message. These bugs pull down a small image from a web server that tells the spammer who opened the message, when, and how often. If you open the spam, the spammer will see that your address is active, and it's sure to be flagged for more spam and sold to other spammers on new lists.

Newer e-mail applications such as Microsoft® Outlook® 2003 disable the downloading of images from web sites within messages to protect users from this kind of abuse. Older e-mail clients do not have this option, and the best defense is to disable the "preview" window. Only open messages you believe are not spam and delete anything that looks like it could be spam.

NEVER Buy From Spam

We all hate spam with a burning passion, but the spammers wouldn't be blasting us all with mail if they weren't making some money, right? Apparently there are people out there who just can't pass up some of the "deals" the spammers are offering. Never buy anything from a spam message, ever, under any circumstances.

Many spammers are scam artists to begin with. Many times the products they are advertising either do not exist or they will not ship it once you have made a purchase. On top of that, their order forms are usually not secure and it is very easy for other people to get your credit card information, which can lead to identity theft.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on one such customer list (complete with full name, credit card information, address, phone number and e-mail addresses). Some of the people I contacted couldn't believe that all of their personal information was just sitting out there for anyone to take. Many also told me that they didn't even need the product being offered, but the price was so good that they just had to buy one. Of course since their personal information was free for the taking, I suggested that they have new credit card numbers issued, which I'm sure cost them more in time than they saved on this "deal."

E-Mail Address Obfuscation

Earlier I told you not to post your e-mail address to the web without obfuscating it first. What does this mean? Basically, you can encode your e-mail address in such a way that the harvesters cannot read it, but a web browser can. Take, for example, this e-mail address:

webmaster@centraloptout.com

This is how you would normally put it on a web site. It is readable by both humans and the harvesters. Now we can take this address and encode it as such (except all on one line with no spaces or breaks):

webmaster
@centralo
ptout.com

Now you cannot read this address directly, and neither can the harvesters. However, when your web page is displayed in a web browser, it will decode the address and display it just as if it had never been encoded at all. This is the best way to post your address on the Internet and not have it become a beacon for the harvesters.

To help you encode your own e-mail address, there is an online e-mail address encoder that will help you create safe e-mail links on your web pages.

The CAN-SPAM Act

In 2003 the U.S. Government created the CAN-SPAM Act and touted it as an anti-spam measure. What most people don't realize is that this bill actually legalized spam in the United States as long as specific conditions are met. Among these the spam must include a way to opt-out, must not be fraudulent, and must include the mailing address of the spammer. Because it is nearly impossible to prosecute spammers, many have completely ignored the new law or routed their messages through off-shore mail servers to avoid it. In short, don't expect this law to do anything to decrease your spam. Many have referred to this law as the "Yes you CAN-SPAM" Act.

I Just Want Spam to Go Away, NOW!

If you're fed up with spam and want a quick-fix, there are a couple of options.

  1. Spam-Free E-Mail Service - There are a number of companies that specialize in providing spam-free e-mail accounts. My company, Sceiron Interactive, Inc. offers this type of service for both businesses and individuals. This is a drastic move, but it will put a stop to your spam in a hurry.

  2. Anti-Spam Software - If you prefer to keep your e-mail account where it is now, or if it is not feasable to move your e-mail service to a spam-free provider, there is still some hope. In February 2004, PC Magazine picked Norton AntiSpam 2004 as its Editor's Choice for the best anti-spam tool for end-users. This software costs about $40.00. I've never used it personally, but if PC Magazine picked it, I'll assume it does the job.