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High Speed Interent Help - How To Stop Spam

Spam email is unsolicited email sent to many people who do not want to receive it. Most spam is for illegitimate services, looks to sell illegal or prohibited products, attempts to collect personal information for illegal or illicit purposes, or is get-rich-quick schemes. Most spam is either phishing email, that is an attempt to collect personal data for identity theft, or malware, which is malicious software that is spread through clicking on links and opening attachments.
 
Spam email is characterized as being invasive and unwanted – and sometimes overwhelming. Although it is seemingly impossible to stop all spam messages, there are steps the consumer can take to limit the amount of spam that they receive.
 
Steps to Stop Spam Email Messages
  1. Report Spam – Forward email messages that are obviously spam to spam@uce.gov, which is the address for reporting spam to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
  2. Use Spam Blocking Tools or Programs – Most email programs have a “This is Spam” option for marking spam emails. There may also be anti-spam filters that you can install that will work with your email program to block emails from known spam addresses.
  3. Do NOT Post Your Email Publically – Spammers are constantly scanning the internet to collect active email addresses. Instead of publically posting your email address, set-up alternate free or disposable email accounts through email programs such as Yahoo!, Google, or HotMail and use that email account for publically posting. That way, you can maintain your privacy.
  4. Do NOT Open Spam – Do not open emails that appear to be spam, do not click on the links contained in the spam message, and do not purchase whatever the email may be selling.
  5. Do NOT Respond to Spam – Even if the spam email contains a “Click Here to Remove Yourself from Our Mailing List” or “Unsubscribe” link, do not click on the link, as that will show the spammers that yours is an active email address and they will send even more unwanted emails.
  6. Do NOT Post Your Email on Your Website – Spammers use special programs, called spiders or robots, to harvest email addresses; if you must include your email address on your website, use a disposable address or write out your email address such as “yourname at mailprovider dot com”.
  7. Be Discrete – Protect your personal email address like you would guard any other identifying information.