What Is Spam?

Supposedly there is currently no standard definition legally or otherwise for “spam”.  Bull.  Spam is simple any email sent to you from someone you don’t know and didn’t ask for with the intention of you doing business with them (i.e. buying or using a product or service).  It is the email equivalent of junk mail.

Problem

Most spam is collected through bots traveling through web sites looking for email addresses, and from anywhere people give their email address, often for a “freebie” service, screen saver, etc.. 

From ISPs to the company you work for, to your own pocketbook, Corporate America spent over $10 Billion to curb the tsunami of spam.  And a lot of it still ends up in your inbox.  The never-ending race between people filtering it and spamholes* finding ways around it (taking away your choice to not receive it) has finally resulted in more urgent and meaningful — you guessed it …

Legislation

The bogging down of business and parts of the Internet itself due to unwanted email has prompted more and more much-needed legislation and even arrests.

In the past, legislation took so long to implement, it was outdated by the time it was passed.  The best hope may be to make it all illegal without an “ADV:” in the subject title, along with MAJOR fines or confiscation of assets that will fund or provide rewards for “spamhole hunters.”

Vital Tip

Don’t EVER use the “remove from email list” option.  With rare exception, it is a way for spamholes to verify that your address works, and then they can sell it to other spamholes.

Getting Even

Don’t buy anything solicited to you through spam.  ANYTHING.  EVER.  If you can avoid it, don’t visit the site or even open up the email.

If they leave ANY contact information, such as a toll-free number or fax, call them at least once to complain.  If they ask for your email, you have the right to refuse and simply tell them you represent the majority of the world.

If it guides you to an interactive form, such as an insurance quote, submit a complaint through it, filling out the fields any way you choose to get the message across.  Submit at least once.  (Personally, I like to … quickly put a weight on the enter key after hitting submit and often get a server error after a couple hundred clicks.

If you are sure you can go to a seemingly legitimate “remove” page that asks for your email, NEVER use your own, but try *@*.com.  It probably wont delete their database, but it’s a warm fuzzy feeling to think you might have.

You can also report spam to any ISP you suspect is being used for spam, and can even report spam to the Federal Government by sending an email to uce@ftc.gov. 

One Last Trick

One way to avoid getting listed by bots visiting the site, show your email address as an image, such as:   — Just be sure not to give it an exact text alternate, and don’t even link it if you can help it to your actual address. I saw one site that used an image for the “atsign”, making the whole thing unrecognizable to a spam bots.  It was something like:

kenkentropolis.com

Okay, One MORE Last Trick

Create a web page with countless fake email addresses that simply go nowhere (with the email configuration for the web server set to make them “black hole” instead of “fail” clog the server with bounced messages).  The more fake names on spamholes’ illegitimate lists, the less response people who buy the list will get, and therefore may not use that method or spamhole company again.  Just be sure the page is accessible somehow for bots to find (using a simple link from a dot somewhere invisible to the human browser).  For an example, click HERE.