If YOU have ever felt angry about these annoying pests and wanted to do something about it but didn’t know how, read on! The following is a list of what NOT to do when you receive spam.
- Do NOT try to follow remove instructions! In most cases, one of two things will happen. (1) You will have affirmed that your e-mail address is valid, and therefore will receive even MORE spam, or (2) You will receive a follow-up e-mail from the appropriate Postmaster that the e-mail address you replied to is invalid.
- Do NOT flame, mail-bomb, or otherwise use terrorist tactics to get back at the spammer. In a rock fight, both parties end up with bloody heads. Not only will you leave yourself open for retribution (in some cases this means legal recourse), but you will have discredited the efforts of other anti-spammers by bringing the Anti-Spam Campaign down to the same level as the irresponsible spammers themselves. Besides, most of the e-mail addresses that spammers use are not valid and your efforts will be wasted.
To help rid the internet of this annoying, unwanted waste, do the following:
- Contact your internet service provider and inquire about their Acceptable Use Policies on spamming and what they are doing to block the transmission of spam to you.
- Report all spammers to the appropriate authorities. The easiest way to do this is to register with Network Abuse Clearinghouse (abuse.Net) and let them do the legwork for you. Many spammers forge their e-mail addresses and headers, making tracking them down time-consuming and frustrating.
- Strengthening ISP policies and reporting spammers will certainly help, but the only way to PERMANENTLY stop spam is to contact your Representatives and urge support of opt-in anti-spam legislation.