Help with Spam and Phishing

...and Other E-mail Pests
by Randy Cassingham

The basics of spam, "phishing" and other e-mail pests, how they got your address in the first place -- and what to do now that you're inundated.

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The Basics -- What You Need to Know When You Venture Online

for the full text behind this summary, start here. The Very Basics: Keep your e-mail address private. Never reply to spam. Use great caution in complaining. Never buy products advertised in spam. Don't forward chain mail. Your bank never asks you to "confirm" your account!

"Spam" is unsolicited commercial e-mail that is sent to you by unscrupulous people trying to make a fast buck -- usually by ripping you off. Many spams say that you can get off the mailing list when you ask, but very often if you try it, it leads to more junk mail because you're confirming to these unscrupulous people that your address is good. Just throw away any junk mail you get.

Most wonder how such scammers got their e-mail address. It is actually pretty easy for them: if your address is shown in any public place, spammers can and will find it. They use software to scan web sites, chat postings and more for any address they can find, and it's added to a list that spammers pass around. Once you start getting spam, it's too late: you will continue to get it forever until you get a new address that is not shown in any public place. (And even then, you can still get spam, as explained on the Primer's page 1.)

Complaining about junk mail does not help, so don't bother trying. Spammers don't care that you're annoyed by their junk -- remember: they're charlatans, not legitimate businesses! -- and your mail provider can't help either. If you feel you must complain, we tell you what you need to know for your complaint to have a chance at making a difference on page 2. Caution is very much needed: the only thing worse than spam is accusing the wrong person of doing it! A misdirected complaint could even get you sued. The government is of little help either; the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (fraud), Securities Securities and Exchange Commission (stock fraud) and the Secret Service (international scams) investigate the most outrageous illegal spams (as explained on page 3, but with literally millions of complaints pouring in, their ability to provide specific help is very limited.)

A new federal law went into effect January 1, 2004 to help turn the tide. It not only didn't reduce the level of spam, but the level has increased dramatically since then -- spam is now 75-90 percent of all e-mail on the Internet. It's possible to "filter" your incoming e-mail to get rid of the obvious junk mail, but very often legitimate mail can be caught up in these filters, making them of limited use. Of course, your own mail can be lost in filters too. The tips on page 4 help you learn how to get your mail through.

A very scary type of spam is e-mail that appears to be from your bank warning that you must "update" or "confirm" your account information. You're sent to a legitimate-looking web site to put in your account number, password, and other personal information. Banks do not send such messages -- ever! The e-mails are sent by identity thieves who want to drain your bank accounts. Don't fall for this scam! This con is called "phishing" (pronounced "fishing" -- they're fishing for your secret bank passwords so they can tap your accounts), and countless people fall for it every day. Don't join them; you could lose all your money, and the odds of getting it back aren't good. This is discussed in more detail on page 5.

Spam isn't the only e-mail pest. For instance, there are urban legends -- silly stories passed along as if they were true. One ridiculous example is an e-mail that tells you that billionares are tracking how often some stupid message is being forwarded, and they'll pay you cash for doing it. Of course, they cannot tell if you forward the mail. Even if they could, why in the world would they pay you to do it? They wouldn't: the point is to make you look like a fool -- which you are if you believe it and pass the message along. Pleas to help find a missing child are heart-wrenching, but are almost always false too.

The Internet is a wonderful resource that can help you find out nearly anything you want to know. It's also home to the same types of people who inhabit the real world: thieves, conmen, liars, cheats, exploiters and other ruffians. You can be robbed online just as easily as you can in a back alley. Keep alert! If something sounds too good to be true, and maybe it's a scam, trust your instincts: avoid them. Delete their e-mails and don't go to their web sites. There are plenty of good places to go.

If any of this is new to you, you really should read the entire text of this site, not just this summary. It includes the "whys" behind our advice, and obviously has more detail than this summary.

Want to Know More? Read the Full Spam Primer.

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Please pass the URL for this site to others you think could benefit from the information here. The more people that truly understand spam, the harder it will make things for spammers.

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