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Attn: MRIS Members. Want to reduce Spam? Change your "public" email on MRIS.

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Northern Virginia Homes - FRANKLY REAL ESTATE Inc

I hate spam. Whether it is PORN spam, or Lender spam.

I have been fighting MRIS for literally 4 years! Yes, 4 years. Why? Because how they handle the member email addresses. 

I do not feel they are doing everything possible (or much for that matter) to reduce the amount of spam that we get as a direct result of giving them our email address.

When you give your email address to MRIS under the title "public email" you might think that this is just for Realtor logging into Matrix, so they can contact you about a specific listing.

Well if that is what you thought. You are dead wrong.

That email address is being distributed via a RETS feed to dozens, if not hundreds of "partners." Partners like HomeVisit (we had an issue in 2006 with them spamming my MRIS email address) and others that take the MRIS feed and spam all the members (see example below). One MRIS partner company even leaked (yes I call it a leak) all 20,000+ email addresses for spam crawlers to have a field day (a spam crawler is a software that will go to thousands of websites and cultivate email addresses to spam you, and sell your email addresses to porno websites).

Test out what I am saying! How?

1) Create a temporary email address. Try GivenToMRIS@YourDomain.com or even Yourname2@yourdomain.com

2) Then have that email address forward to your regular email address.

3) Then sit back and wait.

Once you start getting spam to the "GiventoMRIs@YourDomain.com" then you know that it was a direct result of giving your email to MRIS. (forward it to me)

I have been suggesting for years now (and I actually thought they agreed 2 years ago, but I appear to be wrong) that they REMOVE the email addresses from the RETS feed. 

Spam is crippling inboxes, and no spam filters aren't good enough. They trash $1Million clients and still require time to review the spam folders.

Does anybody else get spam? Do you know where it comes from? Will you change your MRIS email address, so I'm not the only one reporting my frustration with spam that results from entering in MRIS my "public email."

Note how ActiveRain does not publish emails. Why? ACTIVERAIN UNDERSTANDS TECHNOLOGY. They use webforms that spiders can't see the email addresses!!

I really wish MRIS would be less defensive, and instead try to work with those that are technologically inclined and try to find solutions that would better their members.

Frank 

Broker FranklyRealty.com

Owner RealtorSpam.org

Here is an example of a spam that came to my MRIS only "public" email address. It is from 

Salina Crismond
Salina.Crismond@prudentialcarruthers.com
Prudential Carruthers REALTORS®

She is selling CE credits. I have asked her 3 times to stop. Here are 2 of the 3 spams

She does not reply to requests for removal.

 

 

ps. I also wish NVAR, the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors would use their influence on MRIS to get them to listen to their members. Perhaps starting back up the technology group (why was that dismantled?). Or putting some techy people on an advisory board for things like this. MRIS won't listen to me, but they would listen to NVAR.

 

Comments (9)

Susie Blackmon
Ocala, FL
Ocala, Horses, Western Wear, Horse Farms, Marketing

If I were in your area, I know who I would work for! Love the spam evidence!

Jan 02, 2009 10:37 PM
Tony Grego, 317-663-4173 #1 Trade Association for Alternative Inv
REISA - 317-663-4173 - Indianapolis, IN

Interesting post but I have let the spammers win. It is like junk mail. I pick it up at the mailbox and put it in the trash can walking in the house.

Anything we do, the spammers will pick up on it as long as our emails are published.

In our industry it is a double edge sword. While we want "serious buyers and sellers" to email us we put our address on everything we have but we don't to be sold. When you look at it that way it does not make much sense

Tony

Jan 02, 2009 11:03 PM
Konnie Mac McCarthy
MacNificent Properties, LLC - Cobb Island, MD
Broker/Owner - VA & MD "Time To Get A Move On!"

Hey Frank I haven't seen you around these parts in a while :)  I no idea that MRIS was the culpret... I get tons of spam as well...

Jan 02, 2009 11:17 PM
Russ Ravary ~ Metro Detroit Realtor call (248) 310-6239
Real Estate One - Commerce, MI
Michigan homes for sale ~ yesmyrealtor@gmail.com

Fight them Frank.  Eventually people will get tired of that policy

Jan 02, 2009 11:27 PM
FRANK LL0SA Esq.- Northern Virginia Broker .:. FranklyRealty.com
Northern Virginia Homes - FRANKLY REAL ESTATE Inc - Arlington, VA

Tony,

Active Rain doesn't publish your email address. Sure somebody can fill out a webform to spam you, but the simple webform blocks out 95% of spam vs straight publishing of your email.

Little things like that can make a huge difference. And the "just delete it" doesn't work when you end up spending more time deleting then you do with legit emails.

Frank

Jan 03, 2009 04:36 AM
FRANK LL0SA Esq.- Northern Virginia Broker .:. FranklyRealty.com
Northern Virginia Homes - FRANKLY REAL ESTATE Inc - Arlington, VA

Konnie,

I'm not saying they are the 100% source of your spam, just telling you that one way to reduce spam is to make temporary email addresses on MRIS and kill them off every 6 months.

Also I'm in law school, recently married and spending a lot of time on my FranklyMLS.com

I also have a Photo/Video class coming up on the 8th of Jan if you want to come at FAAR.

And lastly, why haven't you contributed to FranklyMLS.com?

Frank

Jan 03, 2009 04:40 AM
Mark Organek
And the United States of America - Mesa, AZ
It's not a game, it's your life.

Way to go Frank.  Hopefully the well written bad press will get them to wise up.

Jan 03, 2009 12:06 PM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

I changed my Realtor related e-mail/MLS/board to a gmail account several years ago that is NOT associated with my website "business" client e-mail as I realize that they were accessing this for SPAM.  Likewise, I did not renew a trade association membership 2 years ago as they would not insititute an "opt out" procedure for vendor/affiliate/partners to be notified NOT to contact me.....I get my mail order confirmations at that e-mail, Craigslist, etc and check a couple of times a day....my BUSINESS/PRODUCTIVE e-mail I access more often and since it has less SPAM - I am more productive.

My SPAM has decreased and my time dealing with SPAM has decreased considerably...my time is worth money and not spending my $$$ dealing with SPAM is PRICELESS!!!

Jan 23, 2009 11:20 AM
Sharon Lancaster
Sage Executive Group Real Estate - Kelowna, BC
SRES, Realty Executives Okanagan

If only I had read this earlier ... .... do you know how I can change my Active Rain email address from my profile? Do I have to delete my profile and start again? I cannot find the edit for emails...???

Apr 09, 2009 01:40 AM