I hope you don't think that I am "spamming" you be sending on
this letter.
          SDR
______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________
Subject: Internet ScamBusters #16
Author:  Scambusters Editors <[log in to unmask]> at ccmail_gateway
Date:    8/4/97 9:06 PM


Internet ScamBusters

By Audri and Jim Lanford, NETrageous Inc.
Copyright (c) 1997 NETrageous Inc.

Issue #16  August 4, 1997

.................................................................
We'd like to start by asking you a favor. If you like Internet
ScamBusters, would you tell two of your friends or colleagues and
suggest they subscribe (or forward this issue on to them -- just
please don't remove the copyright notice)? Thanks.

In this issue, we're going to do something different. Instead of
reporting on another scam, we're going to provide you with some
great resources to help you deal with the most common problem our
subscribers tell us they are facing...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
How To Dramatically Reduce The Amount Of Spam You're Receiving
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We noticed that the amount of spam we were getting at NETrageous
was significantly increasing each month. A couple of months ago,
we were each getting about 30 to 50 spams a day! Spams had gone
from being a real nuisance to a serious problem.

So, we decided to see if we could systematically reduce the
amount of spam we receive. We starting using the tips we present
here.

And it worked. We've reduced the amount of spam by about 55%.

We're also adding a "Stop Spam" page to our Web site with all the
resources in this issue -- plus new ones -- as we find them. If
you know of any good anti-spam resources we've missed, please
email us at [log in to unmask]

Visit http://www.scambusters.org/stopspam/

So here are some tips -- and lots of resources -- to help you
reduce the amount of spam you receive.

................................................................
Register with "exclude" lists. Exclude lists are lists of email
addresses that more experienced spammers use to filter out people
who don't want to receive spam. You fill out a simple form and
then you are excluded from receiving bulk email from the
companies that have their email address lists filtered.

For example, add your email addresses to:
No Junk Email: http://www.glr.com/nojunk.html
The Jensen House's No Spam list: http://kenjen.com/nospam/
................................................................

Always follow the instructions *exactly* to remove yourself from
each spam you receive which includes "Remove" instructions. (Many
spams don't include these instructions -- if so then just delete
the spam.) We always look at the top and bottom of the spam --
if it's buried, we don't bother. We don't want to waste the time
searching for remove instructions.

Check to see exactly who the email is sent to (if you have more
than one email address). After all, it's useless to try to remove
yourself from a list when you are asking them to remove the wrong
email address. So, it's important to send your request from the
correct email account (the one which was sent the spam).

How do you know what email address was sent the spam? You won't
find it in the "To:" Field. There are lots of resources below to
help you do this.

Here's a brief description if you use Eudora: You can click on
the Blah Blah Blah button at the top of the email. You'll see
your email address buried in the top few lines.)

Note: Your request to get off the list will most likely bounce
over half of the time. Nonetheless, it still does seem to help.

................................................................
Use a separate email address when you post to newsgroups and
mailing lists. Never use this email address for personal email.
Then, you can quickly go through the email in this account to see
what's spam and what isn't. And your main personal email address
won't be as clogged with spam.

For example, AOL users can set up a special user name for free,
and use that for their postings. Then, they can just discontinue
that account if they start to get too much spam.

................................................................
NEVER buy anything from a company that spams. Don't visit their
sites or ask for more information. (If you respond to their
spams, you're encouraging them to continue spamming.) See the
Boulder Pledge below.

................................................................
Filter your spam.
Visit http://www.mmgco.com/nospam/  for instructions.

................................................................

OK. Here are a host of other good resources to deal with spam:

Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email: The online
anti-spam organization. CAUCE:  http://www.cauce.org
Their list of anti-spam resources is probably the best around.
Check out:  http://www.cauce.org/resources.html

...............
Fight spam on the Internet.
http://spam.abuse.net/spam/
Includes a good description of how to complain to the spammer's
provider.  http://spam.abuse.net/spam/howtocomplain.html

...............
Our other articles on why spamming is a bad idea and what to do
about spam.
http://www2.scambusters.org/scambusters/Scambusters2.html
http://www2.scambusters.org/scambusters/Scambusters4.html
http://www2.scambusters.org/scambusters/Scambusters12.html

...............
The Boulder Pledge
http://people.clarkson.edu/~pritchea/pledge.html
A simple part of the solution to the spam problem, devised by
Roger Ebert at the Conference on World Affairs at the University
of Colorado. (He announced this pledge in his column in Yahoo!
Internet Life's December 1996 issue.)

"Under no circumstances will I ever purchase anything offered to
me as the result of an unsolicited email message. Nor will I
forward chain letters, petitions, mass mailings, or virus
warnings to large numbers of others. This is my contribution to
the survival of the online community."

...............
Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/
Communications_and_Networking/Electronic_Mail/Junk_Email

http://www.yahoo.com/business_and_economy/companies/
marketing/direct_marketing/direct_email/index.html

There is so much discussion on the Web about spam, that Yahoo
has two separate categories for it, Junk email and Direct email
(a euphemism for spam -- we're not making this up).

...............
SPAM Media Tracker
This Web site has an amazing list of articles on spam.
http://www-fofa.concordia.ca/spam/news.shtml

...............
Netizens Against Gratuitous Spamming
Some excellent resources, including three methods to deal with
spams, starting with the "I'm nice" method.
http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~ivl/nags/index.html

...............
Stop Unsolicited Mass E-Mail Advertisements!
Excellent discussion of the problems with bulk email. Includes
special tips for America Online users, things to keep in mind
before joining an Internet mailing list or newsgroup, and where
and how to complain.
http://www.coyotecom.com/stopjunk.html

...............
Junkbusters
We've mentioned this site before, but it's worth repeating.
Excellent links, resources, and news.
http://www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/junkemail.html

...............
Get that spammer! Lots of anti-spam resources, including tools
and strategies for tracking down individuals, and links to lots
of other anti-spam sites. Good tips for what an ISP can (and
should) do about spam.
http://kryten.eng.monash.edu.au/gspam.html

...............
The Netizen's Guide to Spam, Abuse, and Internet Advertising.
Lots of good resources, including recent spam related news,
links, and suggestions for dealing with spam.
http://com.primenet.com/spamking/

...............
How to Get Rid of Junk Mail, Spam, and Telemarketers. Good tips,
information and links to help you avoid spams, junk mail and
telemarketers.
http://www.csn.net/~felbel/jnkmail.html

...............
Mark Neely's Anti-UMail FAQ. Lots of interesting links, plus a
good description of the common pro-spam arguments, with
rebuttals.
http://www.accessnt.com.au/faqs/spam.htm

...............
Blacklist of Internet Advertisers. We've been writing about these
folks since we started Internet ScamBusters. The site includes
lots of useful links, as well as information on how to deal with
spam.
http://www-math.uni-paderborn.de/%7Eaxel/BL/

...............
Direct Electronic Mail Marketing Association. Includes a
complaint form for getting off spammers' lists.
http://www.memo.net/demma/dema.html

...............
Fairly good description of spam and what to do about it.
http://www.lsoft.com/spamorama.html

...............
Everything E-Mail's Unsolicited Email (Spam) Issues.
Good (short) list of resources.
http://www.ronin.com/pa-software/unsolicited.html

...............
Existing and Emerging Laws Related to Junk E-mail.
http://www.tigerden.com/junkmail/laws
Also, visit their page on places to complain about spams.
http://www.tigerden.com/junkmail/compladdr.html

...............
Junk Email
http://www.junkemail.org/
Good list of resources, including how to report junk email
scams (where you've actually lost money) to the FTC.
http://www.junkemail.org/scamspam/

...............
The Campaign to Stop Junk Email Web site. Lots of good
resources, plus up-to-date news on the campaign.
http://www.mcs.com/~jcr/junkemail.html

...............
How to Get Rid of Junk Mail, Spam, and Telemarketers
Another good page of tips, news and links.
http://www.csn.net/%7Efelbel/jnkmail.html

...............
Junk Email Advice for Businesses
Includes a good essay called "Why You Shouldn't Advertise by
Bulk Email: Guidance for Internet Marketers," as well as
suggestions for what ISPs should do about junk email.
http://www.mcs.com/%7Ejcr/junkemailbusguide.html

...............
Spam, Scams and Relevant Resources
Good list of resources.
http://www.macintouch.com/spam.shtml

...............
List of domain names that allow spam (great for filtering).
http://www.exposure-usa.com/email/filters.html?

...............
We hope these resources help you succeed in reducing the amount
of spam you receive. Let us know your results. Thanks!

****************************************************************
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ScamBusters as a free resource to the Internet community.)

                           NEW!
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to "tricks" and "search engine spamming."

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Visit http://www.netrageous.com/reports/searchengine.html
****************************************************************

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