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Five Rules for Dealing with Spam
- Delete. If you don’t recognize the sender, just delete the email. If it is really important information, it probably wouldn’t be delivered in an email anyway.
- Delete. If the email asks you to ‘click here to verify your account,’ just delete the email. No reputable company will ask you to provide confidential information through an email. If your account has really been ‘compromised’ you are likely to get a phone call or postal letter, not an email.
- Confirm. Okay, you really think someone may have gotten into your bank account and your bank needs you to ‘verify’ your account. All you have to do is make a phone call and confirm that the email is legitimate. Go directly to the website for the company supposedly sending you the message. (IMPORTANT: Don’t rely on the link in the email and the information could be fraudulent. Type in the company’s web address or Google them). Look for a Customer Service or ‘Report Fraud’ number and call it. If the email is real, they will know, otherwise refer to Rule 1 or Rule 2.
- Do NOT unsubscribe. The ‘unsubscribe’ link on most SPAM email is really just a ‘confirm your email address so we can get more money selling it to other SPAMMERS’ link. Unsubscribing to SPAM won’t reduce your volume of email and in most cases will actually increase the amount you receive. If you want to unsubscribe to an email list that you signed up for at some point but just don’t want to receive it any longer (technically not SPAM) go to the company’s website and unsubscribe.
- Protect. Install Anti-Spam software or use an internet service provider or email service who does this for you. Some email providers such as GMail, Yahoo and AOL do a good job of sorting out the SPAM from the real email, but even then some SPAM gets through. When it does, refer to Rule 1 or Rule 2.
Learn More about SPAM
Visit these links if to learn more about spam and how you can best deal with it.
| FTC site offers helpful information on dealing with SPAM. You can also use this site to report SPAMMERS directly to the FTC. | |
| Everything you ever wanted to know about the history of SPAM | |
| This is Washington specific information. Check you local government site for options and information available to you. In the US start with the Attorney General's site. | |
| SPAM Archive |
Want to donate your SPAM to science? |
