Spam Emails and Spamming

Do you receive lots of junk email messages from people you don't know? It's no surprise if you do. As more people use email, marketers are increasingly using email messages to pitch their products and services. Some consumers find unsolicited commercial email - also known as "spam" (Sending junk mail electronically is called "spamming")  annoying and time consuming; others have lost money to bogus offers that arrived in their email in-box. Scams may find you via your email address. Treat unsolicited emails with the same caution you would junk mail. If you are a U.S. citizen or resident who receives a spam email that you think is deceptive, forward it to spam@uce.gov. The FTC uses the spam stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive email.

And don't think for a moment that the "sent from" or "reply to" addresses are real.. or really who sent it.  See this page about spoofing!

If you are interested in the costs and psychology behind spam, see this page!

How to protect from getting spam

• Don't click on the "unsubscribe" links in the email if you don't recognize the sender or company sending the mail. That simply confirms your address is real to the spammer
• Don't ever reply to spam - again, that simply confirms your address to the spammer. Never write back and ask to be taken off the list
• Don't offer your email address to any websites that don't have a privacy policy
• Don't publish your e-mail address on any Web site or discussion forum. If necessary, obfuscate e-mail address: for example, write an e-mail address as "myname at mycompany dot com."
• Use a separate e-mail address (such as a free Yahoo, Hotmail or Gmail account) to sign up for newsletters, online posting, trade shows and anything you respond to on the internet. If the mailbox gets unwieldy, you can delete it or filter it more aggressively.
• Use anti-spam software.
• Try to filter your email - a link at the scam busters site will show you exactly how to do this. Or your ISP might provide a filtering service or be able to tell you how to set one up yourself.
• Don't ever buy anything from spammers.
• Don't write to or give your email address out to clueless folks, whether they are friends or family.  Inevitably, those people will fail to use up-to-date firewalls, ant-virus, anti-spyware, and they will visit dubious scam websites.  Sooner or later, their pc will become infected, and the virus or worm will harvest all of the email addresses in their Outlook or other email client.
• How to Stop Spam almost forever! You don't have to face an inbox full of porn, spam, scams and junk every day.  Here's how to stop it.

What to do if you DO get spam:

• Don't unsubscribe immediately. After a few weeks, compare the messages you want to unsubscribe from and look for common traits, such as common strings of text that you can use to block further mail.
• Do complain to your internet service provider (ISP) and to the spammer's ISP - and remember to include the junk mail's entire header
• Check here for a list of companies that use spam to promote their products - never purchase anything from these companies.  Send us a copy of spam and we will add the company to the list.
• If the spammer is a US address, email your spam to the spam recycling centre at spamrecycle@ChooseYourMail.com (they will forward the message to state and federal authorities
• Click here to see a list of spam email, with images of the actual email and their website.  You can use this to compare against the spam you receive and report them to the FTC!
• Do set up a private email address for friends and associates and use a free web-based email address (like Yahoo or Hotmail) for any interactions you have with other websites and companies

Spam - What it is and what to do about it!

This page has information about the Federal Trade Commission's recent law enforcement actions against deceptive commercial email and spammers' responsibilities under the CAN-SPAM law. In the "For Consumers" section, you'll find tips on how to reduce the amount of spam email in your in-box.

• Keep Your Email Address Unlisted: There Is No "National Do Not Email Registry"
• How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing’ Scam
• National Do Not Email Registry: A Report to Congress
• The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers

Spammers and examples of Spam

• Lists of known spammers
• Convicted spammers

Where to report spam

Country Spam Reporting Addresses

Australia

• ACMA Spam Reporting System Foreign spam (or unknown origin), for Australian residents
• Australia Spam Laws ACMA
• reportingspam@submit.spam.acma.gov.au
• Foreign spam (or unknown origin), for Australian residents Formal spam complaint form Australian spammers

Belgium

• spam@privacy.fgov.be 
• Belgium Spam Laws privacy

Brazil

• mail-abuse@cert.br
• Brazillian spam CERT-BR

China

• spam@ccert.edu.cn
• abuse@anti-spam.cn
• Anti-spam CN

Denmark

• spam@fs.dk
• Forbruger ombudsmanden (Net-tjek). Include a short background of your complaint; and your name, address and email address. 

Germany

• mailbox@datenschutz-berlin.de  
• Germany Spam Laws
• Daten Schutz

Hong Kong

• webmaster@ofta.gov.hk

Korea

• spamcop@kisa.or.kr
• Korea Spam Laws
• Korea Spam Response Center

Netherlands

• meldpunt@spamvrij.nl (may be outdated)  
• Looks like a private scheme spamvrij Klacht indienen    
• spamklacht

Malaysia

• Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Malaysian spam

United Kingdom

• UK Information Commissioner
• UK Spam Laws -
• Advertising Standards Agency
• New guidelines at the CAP

United States

• spam@uce.gov - If you get spam email that you think is deceptive, forward it to spam@uce.gov. The FTC uses the spam stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive email.
• US Spam Laws
• FTC spam info
• Report Porn Spam
• US States' Spam Laws OAGVA

California

• caspam@doj.ca.gov, for CA residents
  Also see CAAG
• US States' Spam Laws CAAG

Missouri

• spamcomplaint@ago.mo.gov  

Virginia

• cybercrime@oag.state.va.us  

Limiting Spam

• Ready to Pop Your Top Over "Pop Up Spam"? Here's How to Make it Stop  [PDF version]
  Here's How to Make it Stop Informs home computer users about how to stop Microsoft Windows Messenger pop up spam.
• You've Got Spam: How to "Can" Unwanted Emails  [PDF version]
  Provides tips to help reduce the amount of spam you receive.
• Putting a Lid on Deceptive Spam  [PDF version]
  Consumer Features Article

Spam Scams

• Who's Spamming Who? Could it Be You?  [PDF version]
  Informs home computer users that their computers may be used - without their knowledge - to send spam.
• Keep Your Email Address Unlisted: There Is No "National Do Not Email Registry" [PDF version]
  Explains that that there is no "National Do Not Email Registry" and consumers should not share their personal information with anyone who claims to represent one.
• What's In Your In-box?  [PDF version]
  Gives tips for limiting the amount of unsolicited commercial email you receive and provides guidance on reporting that spam.

Protecting Your Personal Information

• Email Address Harvesting: How Spammers Reap What You Sow  [PDF version]
  Explains ways computer users can minimize the amount of spam they receive.

Other credible sources of information:

• Internet Education Foundation Spam Tips
• Federal Trade Commission - "Break the Chain" Homepage
• organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - Work on Spam
• Alaska Attorney General
• Alaska State Troopers
• Alberta Government Services
• British Columbia Securities Commission
• British Columbia Solicitor General
• Canada's Competition Bureau
• Canada's Electronic Commerce Branch - English or French
• Idaho Attorney General
• Montana Department of Administration
• Norwegian Post and Telecommunication Authority
• Oregon Department of Justice
• United Kingdom's Department of Trade and Industry
• Washington Attorney General
• Washington State Department of Financial Institutions
• Wyoming Attorney General
   

For More Information

• The Can-SPAM Act - How to use it!
• Court cases of spammers who have been caught
• List of known spammers!

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.