SPAM

What is SPAM? SPAM is the common term for unsolicited email.  There is no way to block every piece of unsolicited email that comes to your inbox.  There are SPAM email servers that can send up to a million emails an hour. Multiply that by 24 hours in the day by 7 days a week, you are bound to get something. All you can do is follow these suggestions and be cautious when giving your email address.

What can you do to prevent receiving SPAM?

• Be cautious when giving out your email address. Read the privacy policies at web sites or companies that ask for your email address. You want to make sure that your email address is not being sold to solicitors.
      
•  If it is not necessary to enter an email address…don’t.
   
• Have at least two different email addresses. If you must enter an email address for an online form and you aren’t sure of their privacy policy, give out the secondary email address. This way most of the SPAM will go to the secondary email address. However, you will have to empty that email box occasionally. You will know that all those emails aren’t important and can be deleted.
   
• Create an email address that is not short and common.  Sometimes servers that generate SPAM do not rely on a collection of email addresses, they will just email address combinations for a specific domain.  For example: sam@lc-ps.org or 123@lc-ps.org. Create an email address that is more complex. For example: sam3th1q4@lc-ps.org.
   
• If you go to chat sites do not post your email address.
   
• Purchase a SPAM filter and keep it updated.

What can you do with the SPAM you are receiving now?

• Do not open it. 
   
• Do not reply to it.  Replying will tell the sender that it’s a “live or active” email address and you will just get more SPAM.
   
• Delete the email.
   
• If the SPAM email has a reply option to be removed from their list, don’t do it. Again it shows that the email address is “live.”
   
• If your email software has an option for junk email, use it.

How did unsolicited email get the name SPAM?

One of the most famous skits from Monty Python involved a group of Vikings that visit a restaurant and start ordering all dishes made with SPAM (the canned meat).  They also start singing, “SPAM, SPAM, SPAM” loudly, over and over again.  Needless to say they are very irritating and you can’t even talk they are so loud.  So when junk email started coming out in large amounts it reminded people of the skit, hence the name.

Web Site

The Spam Laws Website will keep you up-to-date on spam laws at the Federal and State level also in other countries. http://www.spamlaws.com