Registered: Sep 2000
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 100

Ugh. More Spam.

I recently received a spam email from a company I've never heard of before. In it they try to sell themselves as a valuable service. Frankly, this is a service I can do without. This email goes on to tell me how easy it is to unsubscribe to this "service" if I choose. Just go to the web site and fill out a form. Here's my suspicion: this company is really in the name selling business rather than the advertizing business. If I try to unsubscribe from this list I'm confirming that I read it and my address becomes 10 times more valuable. Soon I'm getting mail from a half dozen other spam outfits.

Any opinions on this matter? Is there a way to get off of these spam lists? I'm really tired of using my cellular minutes to download large spam email messages.

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 708

I forget where I first heard of this, but you are dead on. Any response to SPAM typically opens you up to more.

I just delete them and move on. I wish I knew of a guaranteed way to get rid of it.

The only other option I can think of is two email accounts. A primary account that only friends and family have and an alternative account. Get one at yahoo and use that one when registering software and buying online. Then maybe, you could prevent getting it while using Cellular Minutes.

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In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. JOHN 14:2

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

The only way to get rid of spam is to get a new email address. Kill the old one, set up a new one, and NEVER post that new email address on the internet anywhere.

Then, set up a Hotmail account for filling out online forms and such.

And, as you guessed, never try and unsubscribe from one of the spams you get.

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We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
-David Byrne

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Modesto, CA USA
Posts: 599

Don't be so sure

I have 3 email addresses two of which have never been "exposed" on the web in any fashion other than they exist. Both of these have received spam.

One email address is a uunet and the other is a pacbell. I can honestly state that one is a company address and might have been exposed by someone other than myself. The pacbell has never been exposed and although the amount of spam that it get's is relatively low - its never been used by me, period. It's strictly there because they are my DSL supplier.

I'm not certain of getting rid of any spam in any form is a good thing: According to US Law, spammers must provide some way of insuring removal - if the instructions say to simply hit reply with either remove or unsubscribe in the subject line - then I'd bet that is a better bet than going to a web server and performing some "button" method of removal. I usually check the sender's IP and decide if it's a US location and follow the instructions for removal. If it's an IP outside the US then I simply delete it because they are not bound by US Laws.

The bottom line - you'll always have spam to some degrees, even if you change email addresses.

What's a few mouse clicks amongst friends - I can easily use the delete key.

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Moose Man
I may be from the LEFT coast but that's not the correct political view in my mind!

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: TX
Posts: 80

Re: Ugh. More Spam.

quote:

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Originally posted by mnartker
This email goes on to tell me how easy it is to unsubscribe to this "service" if I choose. Just go to the web site and fill out a form.

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I clicked on the link, once, (before I heard not to do this) only to have a photo of a scantly (did I say scantly? I meant nada...) dressed woman pop up on my screen. As I have an impressionable 9 year old boy around I immediately did what every mother would do and FREAKED OUT!

Needless to say, I have found the delete button is my friend...

I now have an email address that I only give out on the internet for things I don't need replies for. I also have one for shopping purposes only. And then I have the address that only goes to family and friends. I rarely get junk mail at the F&F account. I don't need to check the other accounts unless I have recently purchased something and need information or receipts. Works for me...

Teri

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 100

Heya thanks for all the feedback. I suspected that the multiple account thing might be my only sure bet for not really being spammed so much.

Deleting them is not difficult, and it never has bothered me, (although downloading huge spam mails on the VisorPhone at 9600 is just painful.) I guess when these spammers pretend to be something they're not in order to sucker the unwary, is when I get annoyed.

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 832

Someone told me once to delete any unknown email before opening it, so I turned off preview in my mail program. I get very few spam messages as a result, the guy told me that if no response, or confirmation, is sent, then they assume the account is invalid, anyway, it works for me.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

Hotmail has a autospam filter that works pretty good....

For all other, just delete and DO NOT respond....

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Do files get embarrassed when they get unzipped?

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

quote:

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Originally posted by ToolkiT
Hotmail has a autospam filter that works pretty good....

For all other, just delete and DO NOT respond....

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Registered: May 2001
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Posts: 90

Yes, if you respond to a spam e-mail, you are simply confirming your existence, thus moving your e-mail address from the ordinary list to the worth-twice-as-much list. Unfortunately, not responding does not mean you'll get dropped -- there is no cost-per-name to the spammer, so why bother deleting names that don't generate an error.

But what a lot of people miss, is that spam is not just something to sigh-and-delete. There is indeed a real cost to spam. Unlike junk mail you get via snail mail, the cost of spam is not paid by the spammers. It's paid by the ISP's whose servers are commandeered by spammers. If you've ever had trouble getting your e-mail, it could be because a spammer's bulk e-mail software was tying up the server. If you think you're paying too much for your internet service, part of that cost goes to pay for that spam. Unfortunately, most people never see this.

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Inglewood, CA, USA
Posts: 390

I also have several different email addresses for different things. Of course, the one that I use when ordering things gets the most spam.

One thing that doesn't help is that most people don't clean up "forwarded" emails before they send them. How many times have you received an email that was sent to many people, many times, and you have to scroll way down to the bottom to see the original message? You can see a LOT of email addresses that way, even if the original poster was just sending something they thought was cute to just a couple of close friends, using their "friends & family only" address. Guess what? I now have that address to use if I wanted to spam you...

One of they ways I cut down on the spam is to set up a filter that sends everything that doesn't have my exact email address directly to the Trash. There are a few exceptions, like when I sign up for a newsletter, and they send it to "all members" or something like that. To catch those, I check the trash bin every so often, and set up additional filters to send those to my Inbox instead of the Trash.

__________________
"Attitudes are contagious... Is YOURS worth catching?"

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

Re: Don't be so sure

quote:

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Originally posted by RSGMOOSE
What's a few mouse clicks amongst friends - I can easily use the delete key.

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Modesto, CA USA
Posts: 599

Shift Key or Contrl Key

Mensachicken,

It's my A.R. side showing through (see Black Dog post) but don't forget to use the control or shift key to highlight multiple emails and then hit delete this will save on some of the mouse clicks.


I feel your pain though because if I'm gone for more than a day or two from the web - I get upwards of 90+ spam mails. I guess since the advertising revenues are done at all of the web sites caused by millions of sites, that more of the databases have been sold to unscrupulous companies.

I'm not certain of any fix that wouldn't involve way too much government intervention and or moneys. I for one would rather have spam then to have the government start "taxing" internet usage or excessive regulations that won't apply to foreign webmasters or spam generators.

You could always review this program from Neotrace and see if it might help you locate the offending sender.

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Moose Man
I may be from the LEFT coast but that's not the correct political view in my mind!

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

Re: Re: Don't be so sure

quote:

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Originally posted by mensachicken


a few? i get upwards of 40 - 60 pieces of spam per day (about 20% of the email i get daily). and it's climbing.

spamming should be illegal, period. regardless of remove options. almost without exception every piece of email i receive comes from americans.

mc

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well, stop dropping you email adress on all those porn sites

Just kidding, 20% is a LOT. I get maybe 10 spam mails a week and hotmail filters 90% of them...

On my work adress I only recieved 1 Spam mail ever (if you ignore all the corperate 'spam' I get....

You must be extremely unlucky. You don't look like the type who is careless with her email details...

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Do files get embarrassed when they get unzipped?

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

Re: Re: Re: Don't be so sure

quote:

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Originally posted by ToolkiT
well, stop dropping you email adress on all those porn sites

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i use my hotmail account for those. i wasn't including spam to that account with the 20% thing.

quote:

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Just kidding, 20% is a LOT. I get maybe 10 spam mails a week and hotmail filters 90% of them...

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well, i've been online for 11 years or so and have had one of my email addresses since 1993 so it's had plenty of time to get around.

quote:

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You must be extremely unlucky. You don't look like the type who is careless with her email details...

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or my gender. i'm a man.

mc

Registered: May 2001
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Posts: 90

Re: Re: Re: Don't be so sure

quote:

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Originally posted by ToolkiT
You must be extremely unlucky. You don't look like the type who is careless with her email details...

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

quote:

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I'm not certain of any fix that wouldn't involve way too much government intervention and or moneys.

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__________________
We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
-David Byrne

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

My Solution - Mail Forwarders

To control spam I use mail forwarders and aliases. Whenever I start to get a lot of spam at one of my addresses, I just turn off the pipe. Change the alias or point it somewhere other than my inbox.

BTW NETWORK SOLUTIONS..the domain people sold my email addresses to spammers! How do I know? I registered a domain with them and they were the ONLY one i ever give our my university address to. Since then i have been getting pure spam of the "I have seen your web site" variety. Disgusting!

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Alexandria, VA
Posts: 49

quote:

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Originally posted by homer
I believe unsolicited faxes are already illegal.

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

quote:

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BTW NETWORK SOLUTIONS..the domain people sold my email addresses to spammers! How do I know? I registered a domain with them and they were the ONLY one i ever give our my university address to. Since then i have been getting pure spam of the "I have seen your web site" variety. Disgusting!

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__________________
We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
-David Byrne