Confessions of a SPAM ARTIST!
Have you been getting as much spam lately as I have? SHEESH. I get at least 40 spam emails a day now. However, not to point the finger too stridently: I must admit my own part in e-spamming! Recently, I decided to email the women in my network an invitation to a party and one registered my email as spam (mea culpa).
Upon closer reflection, I realized I had blithely cruised my database for women. How rude to assume my business contacts would want to socialize with me? So that was my comeuppance: business contacts are not always up for social or other causes. And in our business, financial matters being so personal, a lot of people you have been through heck getting them qualified for a loan or purchase contract might not want to squirm next to you on a social sofa. As a southern female that was one lesson I should have remembered. Like no white shoes before Easter for goodness sakes!
Another reason people are so wary of 'invitations' is practical: SPAM has a way of getting into your hard drive and playing havoc and suddenly sending out rude jokes to your friends from your email address. Fake greeting cards often carry viruses. These companies featured on sites like Facebook and Twitter are often scams. "MyLuvCrush" has been slapped with a $500,000 fine by the WA State Attorney General for sending out fake 'admirer' emails. This happened to be a home grown version. The ones based in other countries are impossible to stop.
SO, if you are overwhelmed by spam here's some pointers: First, forward the offending email to the Federal Trade Commission's abuse department: spam@uce.gov then delete it.Use Catchall Email accounts: If you want to know how a list-bot got your email address start using different 'alias emails' when you sign up for social media sites: for example, if you set an email as your 'catchall account' (in your email box settings on your domain host) you can tag emails to the source: for example I signed up on Twitter as twitter@mydomain.com. Then if I get spam to that address, I can track it back to the source and deal with it: i.e., either it was sold by that site owner or my posting there was somehow compromised.
Woops? I did post my email openly early in my blog career and that seems to have started a rash of spams. Yes, it's too late to retract them once they are out but you can reset your account to filter out those 'tags' by returning to non catchall accounts. You can just call that site webmaster and ask politely how someone could get that unique email first...once they know their site was compromised they may be willing to correct the problem at least on their site.
Unfortunately spammers are spawning like rabbits on steroids these days but if you do report them by forwarding to the FTC and include them in the reply it is highly likely that particular abuser will get the message and take your email off their list...one can hope
Victory in Washington State: Our WA State attorney Genera's case against the creators of MyLuvCrush involved misleading advertising and has been resolved with a settlement. Here's a link to the news release: http://www.atg.wa.gov/pressrelease.aspx?&id=22284.
Some advice from our own SAG: Internet scams are increasingly common. The easiest option is to simply delete the email. Because these schemes are usually international and involve individuals who live other countries, we let the Feds handle investigations.
Below are some resources:
* The Federal Trade Commission: Forward illegal spam to spam@uce.gov
For other types of fraud, call toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or file a complaint online at www.ftc.gov
* FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center: They have a form online at http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/
* Mail fraud - U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Call 1-800-372-8347 or file a complaint online at http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/welcome.htm.
* Phonebusters, the Canadian anti-fraud call center: 1-888-495-8501, www.phonebusters.com
* Internal Revenue Service: For phishing and other scams related to tax returns, etc. Forward the e-mail or Web site URL to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov .
* Attorney General's Office: Washington residents who believe they are victims of a scam can file a complaint online at www.atg.wa.gov or call 1-800-551-4636.
In order to track the origin of an e-mail, investigators need the full header. One way to ensure that your message has the full header is to send the e-mail as an attachment, rather than simply forwarding.Here's HOW to send emails as attachments: (use Help to search 'forward email as attachment' )
In MS Outlook
You can forward a message without double clicking to open it in a new window. Highlight the e-mail in the message list of your inbox and follow the directions for your particular mail client:
1. Create a new message
2. Drag and drop the phishing e-mail into the body of the new message.
This ensures the original message is contained as an attachment with the appropriate Internet headers.
Or
1. Open the phishing e-mail message*
2. Select View > Options. The Internet headers will appear. You can copy these as you normally copy text 3. Forward the original message with the copied message headers pasted into this message
In Outlook Express
You can forward a message without double clicking to open it in a new window. Highlight the e-mail in the message list of your inbox and follow the directions for your particular mail client:
1. Create a new message
2. Drag and drop the phishing e-mail into the body of the new message.
This ensures the original message is contained as an attachment with the appropriate Internet headers) Or 1. Open the phishing e-mail message* 2.
Select File > Properties > Details. The Internet headers will appear.
You can copy these as you normally copy text 3. Forward the original message with the copied message headers pasted into this message
In Netscape/Mozilla/Thunderbird Mail
1. Select View > Headers > All
2. Select Message > Forward As > Inline
If you are using an alternative to these e-mail clients, please consult your provider for instructions on how to forward messages.....and HEY HEY HEY....be careful out there!
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