There have been literally thousands of articles written on the subject of “spam” (and no, I am not referring to the canned lunchmeat); what it is, how to stop it, the dangers of using it. There are whole sites and specific laws devoted to it. People talk about it on groups, in forums and via email. News stories pop up telling us that another big spammer has been caught and arrested. And still it continues to plague our inboxes. The costs associated with the sending and receiving of unsolicited emails is astronomical; not only the costs to individuals who are scammed every day as a result of these emails, but for taxpayers as well, as new laws and techniques to combat it are being enacted every day by law enforcement and government agencies.
Each and every day people are bombarded with electronic correspondence with “tips” on how to improve their love lives, places to get prescription drugs without a prescription, how to get high dollar software for free or at ridiculously low cost, and how to make your fortune online without lifting a finger. And it doesn’t stop there. There are literally millions of spam emails sent on a daily basis on every subject one can imagine. It comes from big businesses, representatives of big businesses, work at home moms, small independent business owners, con artists; the list goes on and on. People are taken for millions of dollars each year, by falling for scams perpetrated by the use of these ambiguous emails.
By simple definition, spam is “any deceptive or unsolicited commercial email”. In other words, ANY commercial email that the recipient didn’t ask for is spam. According to the 2003 CAN-SPAM laws, in any business email (even those from mailing lists that have subscribers who not only subscribe but then have to confirm the subscription) you must identify it as a commercial email, you must include your PHYSICAL business address, and you must provide a way for the recipient to “opt out” of getting any more of them. Now, that doesn’t mean that you can send an email to just anyone you want, and as long as you include those 3 things it isn’t spam. On the contrary; if it is UNSOLICITED, meaning your recipient didn’t specifically ask for it, then it is spam no matter how much “legal” information you include in it.
You have to wonder, if everyone knows what spam is, and if everyone knows that there are laws against it, and if everyone is employing the “bigger and better” spam controls on their email programs, then what could these spammers still be getting out of sending spam? The answer is simple: MONEY. There is always someone willing to open up the spam and “take advantage” of the so-called “great deals” inside it!
As a member of various groups, it is not uncommon for me to see a post that says something like “I have been receiving emails from ‘XYZ Company’, they look good, so I was wondering if anyone had any information on them, good or bad.” Well first of all, they sent you spam. Isn’t that enough to determine whether they are good or bad? They have engaged in illegal and unscrupulous business activities in order to get your attention and your money. I am going to err on the side of caution and say, “BAD”. But that is just me.
Being vigilant in trying to combat spam is all we have when it comes to stopping it. You have to take control of your own inbox. Stop opening spam emails. Stop reading spam emails. Stop forwarding spam emails. And for heaven’s sake, stop USING spam emails! If you DO happen to open one, then be sure to forward it to the proper authorities. Most email hosts have an “abuse” or “spam” email address to which you can send the offending correspondence. When you send them one of these emails, be sure to use full headers containing the IP and other information on the sender. If you can’t figure out how to do that, then consult the “Help” files in your specific program. Always forward the emails with that header so that it can be determined from where the email originated.
If you receive any suspicious email that appears to be from anywhere you have secure personal and financial information stored, such as PayPal, Ebay, your bank, etc. and you aren’t sure about it, then DO NOT EVER click ANY link within that email. Log out of your email program, type in the SECURE link to the business web site (secure links begin with https:), and only then log in to your account and check things out. There are specific factors that determine whether an email is legitimate or fraudulent. Please read any information that these entities provide on what constitutes a legitimate email. For example, if it is an email from a REAL institution such as PayPal or EBay, it will call you by name. If the email starts with “Dear Valued Customer”, then you know beyond a doubt that it is fraudulent and should be forwarded immediately to the abuse division of that particular institution. Be sure you are familiar with the other specific details that will help you spot these counterfeit messages.
Of course it is one thing to receive spam. It is quite another if YOU are the one sending the unsolicited emails. If you are a web site owner, an independent representative of any company, or if you do any other type of business online, and you decide to blast emails to everyone you ever emailed (or that has ever emailed you), or if you join groups just to “harvest” or steal the email addresses of its members, then please reconsider. Remember, it takes more that a subject line of “Do not delete this email; it is not spam”, to make it legitimate. If you are using these measures to gain more leads, get more sales, or for any other type of commercial “payoff”, then you my friend are a spammer and you are breaking the law! You can be fined thousands of dollars per incident if caught and convicted. If you want to be seen as a legitimate and honest business person, then spamming is not the way to achieve that!
The bottom line is this: we all pay for spam. The only way we can ever hope to make it a thing of the past is to stop giving spammers what they want and to be very sure we ourselves are not engaging in this illegal and deceitful practice.
For more information on spam, please visit the FTC website and read the CAN-SPAM Act for yourself: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.shtm or http://www.ftc.gov/spam
—————————
Kandi Traxel is a WAHM and the owner of Shop With a Mom http://www.shopwithamom.com and A Love of Coffee http://www.aloveofcoffee.com
