wrong with SPAM? I would soon learn that SPAM was not America's favorite canned meat but something far worse.
If you do a Google search for SPAM there are many different meanings. The one I feel best describes it is this;
to indiscriminately send unsolicited, unwanted, irrelevant, or inappropriate messages, especially commercial advertising in mass quantities Noun: electronic "junk mail".
Pretty much describes any piece of e-mail we get on a daily basis that isn't from friends, family or co-workers. Yet, this isn't the first time I (we) were faced with this type of marketing strategy. For me, it doesn't seem that long ago when I would come home from work, kick off my shoes, sit in my favorite chair and just start to relax from the hard day of work only to get bombarded with phone calls from companies trying to sell me something I didn't want or need. Their screeners would call the prior week to learn when I was home and always hang up when I answered. Luckily, the "Do Not Call List" was created to filter out these parasites, and peace was once again restored to the galaxy. Hooray!
Now with the internet as big as it is, and e-mail along with it, these businesses are back in full force with a whole new agenda and a foolproof way to sell their useless products. No one regulates them and it seems that nothing can stop these people and companies from invading our privacy. Unfortunately a do not e-mail list is not the answer this time around. If spammers ever got their hands on such a list it would be sold to companies around to globe and used against us.
So what is the solution?
1. Sign up with sites like Spamcop.net and report each and every occurrence of SPAM that is sent to you. They have a very simple and easy to use interface and only takes second's to do.
2. Find the offending SPAMMERS I.P address, (click here to learn how) and go to Whois.sc. Sign up for a free account and enter the I.P of the originating e-mail source and report it directly to their hosting company. If they host their site themselves, report it to the F.T.C's Complaint Division.
Even though SPAMMERS are required to provide "unsubscribe information" in their mailings be leery of clicking the link. On many occasions, I have clicked that link and still get e-mail from the company or have been redirected to a non working webpage. Remember it is the SPAMMERS goal to make sure the e-mail address is valid so they can either sell it to another SPAMMING source or continue to SPAM you.
How do SPAMMERS get your information?
When you sign up for anything online such as "FREE OFFERS" and provide a "real" e-mail address.
If you are a member of a particular Forum that allows for personal information to be view by other members or anonymous users. If you post in these forums and include an e-mail address in threads that can be viewed by anyone.
If you host a webpage, blog or myspace account where an e-mail address is clearly visible.
Basically anytime you give out your e-mail address to any company that doesn't have a privacy policy.
How to prevent SPAM
1. You should create a another e-mail account with a website like Yahoo, Google or Hotmail. They are free to use, easy to set up and you do not need to worry about SPAM in your personal inbox.
2. Always make sure to read the privacy policy for each website you visit that requires an e-mail address for service and things of that nature.
3. Never provide personal information on a public or private forum unless you want that information out there.
Reporting SPAM takes time and can be tedious. Yet by doing so, you are providing information that can be tracked and used to stop the SPAM at the source.
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