The same is true for these E-mail solicitations we call SPAM. It looks like legitimate E-mail, but it's not the E-mail you were expecting. It is a solicitation from a stranger. Sometimes, by George, it looks almost like a free lunch. It can be hard to resist, and just as hard to identify this junk E-mail. And, it is becoming more prevalent, because it costs almost nothing to send it; and, it is tiresome to eliminate.
So how do you identify this junk? I think most antiques are junk, but some people think they have treasures. Unfortunately, by the same token, some E-Mail solicitations contain useful information targeted to the specific reader. They are those diamonds in the rough, which might otherwise be overlooked.
So why did you publish your E-mail address in the first place? Aren't you giving it away by putting it on your web site and by handing it out to strangers on your business card? By doing this aren't you telling the world that you want Email? It is no wonder that the world responded so abundantly.
There is a very simple way to keep spam out of your E-Mail box. That is to keep your E-mail address private. Why else then would we have so much spam?
I recommend to all my customers that they have two E-Mail addresses, one private and another public. The public one can be filtered and the private unfiltered. Why so much trouble you may ask? It is because the filters are not fool proof, and you my get some legally binding E-Mail containing financial information. Then there is always the chance that you will need to enter your E-Mail address somewhere, where it will most likely be seen by a stranger. It is a fairly valuable piece of information.
Spammers have very creative ways to figure out E-Mail addresses and squeeze them from web sites. They frequently employ robots or cheap labor to peruse the web for E-Mail address. Because there is no standard server side SMTP object (mail sender), most all web authoring tools post the E-Mail address for their Web Form in the HTML on the client side where a robot or a technically inclined individual can pick it up. Spammers also employ shotgun techniques that carbon copy E-mail to all the common first names and other popular names like webmaster and so forth at a domain to see what sticks. I have even seen spam come through on our abuse address, which is reserved to report spam.
Keeping your E-Mail address private is much harder than you think. Vanity and ease of use should not be a consideration, when setting up a Private E-Mail address. Also, choose your ISP wisely. Check their privacy statement. Be wary of overseas companies. Their laws and culture are different. What you are giving up could be worth a lot more than the money you are saving. They could be drawing E-Mail addresses from your correspondence.
One should also be aware that opening an E-Mail and replying to it, puts your address at even greater risk. If you choose to remove yourself from an E-Mail List, and you are unfamiliar with the sender or the list, you could be confirming that the Spammers advertisement reached a real person. Also, be aware that you could be alerting the Spammer to your presence, when you open the E-Mail and read it in HTML format. HTML formatted messages can contain programs, called scripts, which can alert the Spammer to your presence. So do not feel tempted to read unwanted Email or guilty if you do not. Unlike snail mail, you are under no legal obligation to read the E-Mail unless you currently do business with the sender. And, the only safe way to read E-Mail is in its text form, which is difficult when HTML is embedded into the message.
One vendor, which most of us know, published the following common sense rules regarding the use of their name or logo on any E-Mail message. It is safe to assume that any reputable vendor would not want their product promoted by E-Mail using some less scrupulous means. So, if you receive E-Mail promoting a product that does not comply with the following guidelines, it is, without a doubt, spam.
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Web Page Created on July 29, 2003.
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