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Don't unsubscribe: Don't click on any “unsubscribe”
links contained in e-mails. These links can actually inform the spammer that your e-mail
address is valid, and they should continue to send you spam. Or worse
off, you can be added to a "valid e-mail" list, which is then sold by
spammers for profit.
Don’t open suspected spam: If you can tell from the subject line that a message is
clearly spam,
don't open it, delete it. The subject lines of spam usually are
peddling a better sex life, better mortgage rates, or prescription
drugs. Often times, the easiest way to get rid of spam is to hit
delete, if you're only receiving several per day.
Disguise your e-mail address: When you put your
e-mail address online, whether it be on a forum or a web site, write
your e-mail address as: "MyName at gmail dot com" and not myname@gmail.com.
The reason for it is because spammers use programs that crawl the
internet looking for e-mail addresses to add to their spam list. These
utilities look for "@" symbols and .com's.
Don’t use your personal e-mail address for online services: If you're
going to sign up for services online use a free e-mail address from a site like
gmail.com to create an
e-mail address specifically for that service. This way, your personal
inbox will not be bombarded by spam.
Use a complicated e-mail address: Spammers often look for easy
email addresses to automatically add to their spam list. By using a
complicated e-mail address, spammers can't guess your e-mail address,
they can only try to obtain it from other various sources, thus,
reducing the likelihood that a spam harvester program will guess your
e-mail address.
Use spam filters: Many e-mail programs (Yahoo!, GMail,
Hotmail) have built-in scripts for identifying suspected spam and
placing them in your spam folder automatically. If you're using a
program such as Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird to check your
mail, you can create your own spam filters. If the same email address
is sending you spam, you can add their to your "black list". If you
want to cease spam talking about home loans, you can create a spam filter
that will block all e-mails containing the phrase "home loans".
Read the privacy policy: Most reputable businesses
that ask for your e-mail address have a privacy policy. This policy
can also include instructions for opting out of e-mail newsletters or
opting out of being offered advertising by 3rd parties, along with
information on how they will use your e-mail address for their marketing purposes.
Don't participate in chain letters: Chain letters can
be a haven for spammers. When a chain letter gets to be large, since
it keeps getting forwarded, many confirmed, real, and recent e-mail
addresses accumulate in the e-mail. A spammer can extract these
e-mails and send a mass mailing to anyone who's participated in the
chain letter, and then sell his list to other spammers, and your
e-mail will continue to be sold and re-sold.
Disable images in your e-mail client: Spammers can
include an image that is embedded in the message so when you open the
e-mail, it verifies your e-mail address as legit to the spammer, essentially opening the door
for more spam to be sent to you.
Change your e-mail address: If you are receiving an
unbelievable amount of spam mail every day, learn from your mistakes,
and change your e-mail address. This is the only sure-fire way to eliminate spam.
