What is a spam?

The dictionary definition of spam is unsolicited bulk email (UBE) or unsolicited commercial email (UCE).

An email message can be considered Spam ONLY if it is both Bulk/Commercial and Unsolicited.

Bulk Email is email which is sent to 2 or more people simultaneously like a newsletter or opt in marketing of a product.

Commercial Email is email which is considered promotional with the intent of advertising/selling something.

Unsolicited Email is email which has not been requested like a sales enquiry.

Spam is not a valid means of doing business because it has many negative consequences for the internet. For one thing, it clogs the mail servers, making all email slow and burdening the ISP besides raising the cost and lowering the effectiveness of legitimate advertising. In fact, spam is actually threatening the viability of email

Spam also seems to be one of the major ways to promote scams online. More often then not, spam is likely to be fraudulent and misleading to say the least. Furthermore, taking up any of the "unique opportunities" or "once in a lifetime" offers is probably going to cost you more money then you imagined!

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently published what it considers to be the 12 most likely spam scam emails and has dubbed them as "the dirty dozen". These are Business opportunities, Bulk email, Chain letters, Work-at-home schemes, Health and diet scams, Effortless income, Free goods, Investment opportunities, Cable descrambler kits, Guaranteed loans or credit on easy terms, Credit repair and Vacation prize promotions.

Do any of these sound familiar? Then read the detailed FTC report. If you think you have already been a victim, check out our scams section to what action you can take.

How to I avoid spam?

• As already discussed in the tips page, the best ways are;
  Keep your personal email secret. Do not use this email to apply for newsletters, opt in mails etc. Also avoid entering contests, since you'd possibly win a mailbox of spam! Try setting up a free email account and give this email address to anyone you don't absolutely trust with your personal information.
  
• Avoid opening spam email since opening it will only confirm the address exists and will only get you more spam!
  
• Never reply to spam (not even to unsubscribe) since again this will only confirm the address exists.
  
• Never buy anything advertised by spam since this will only serve as encouragement to the spammers, plus they only need the tiniest of response to be profitable! Remember, if you buy from a company that spams, you encourage them to spam more.
  
• Do not post your email address in any chat rooms, forums, instant message services, free for all pages (FFA), online bulletin boards. or newsgroups. Spammers use special programs which harvest these emails and use them to build spam lists. Once your email address has been caught in this way, you'll never get off the spammers' lists.
  
• Finally do not be a spammer yourself. Remember that merely forwarding chain letters can be regarded as spam plus spammers collect email addresses from chain letters!

What do I do with spam?

Simple. Ignore it, delete it or fight it and REPORT IT. You can start by reporting it to your own email company. Then think of going a step further and report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Just send a copy of the unwanted or deceptive spam to spam@uce.gov. The FTC uses the unsolicited bulk emails stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive spam email.
You can also consider investing in spam filters that reside on your own computer and perform spam filtering as you receive it. The filters reject spam with obvious catchphrases that is utilised by spammers.

Other interesting spam sites:

SpamHelp - The one-stop site for all your anti-spam needs. Featuring articles, software, services, books and anything related to spam.
Spamfo - The site is a central resource of all information relating to spam, with topical news, reviews, FAQs and useful links
Spam-Site - This site includes reviews of spam blockers, articles on spam, information on how spammers think, how they work and anything that relates to you being able to get rid of spam.