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email Scam Alert: Oh What is Spam? It's a Scam Says Sam I am...
By Shelley Lockwood
What is spam? No, we're not talking about the sandwich meat!
In the offline world we've all heard the term junk mail. You know, when you go to your mailbox and there is some kind of flyer or other. Some we keep (like restaurant menus), some we toss in the recycling bin. It is a marketing technique. Done properly it can be very effective. It doesn't cost the recipient anything. With advertised specials and coupons money can be saved.
Online it's referred to as Spam (also known as Unsolicited commercial e-mail, UCE, junk mail and bulk mail.) Online it's a highly undesirable marketing tactic.
It's advertising e-mail sent to people without their permission.
Besides being used mostly to promote scams and illegal schemes it costs the recipient. It costs Internet Service Providers. Sorting through e-mail costs wasted time.
Spam is a major issue on the Internet. In fact it's out of control with widespread implications.
Due to the sheer volume it can render e-mail addresses useless.
As the volume of Spam grows it is becoming more difficult for you to receive e-mail you want.
Span blocking technology isn't foolproof Spam messages sometimes get through or permission based ones don't.
One of the first Spam counter moves was the development of permission based e-mail. Known as opt-in Net users add their contact information to a subscriber list when they are visiting a website. Confirming their interest to receive e-mail from them; and giving permission to send it.
They must include the option to easily opt-out from receiving further e-mails. Usually in the form of a link appearing at the end of each e-mail they send. Click the link, your information is removed from the list and no further mails are sent.
Genuine Internet marketers don't use spam to solicit business. So there's a pretty safe rule to follow...if it's spam it's a scam!
Don't open it, don't read it and most importantly don't respond to it.
If you've opened it, don't bother trying to unsubscribe. It either won't work, or you'll let the spammer know your e-mail address is active and you'll receive even more!
Reporting Spam is encouraged. But proceed with caution. The scamming spammers move around, they have to because they're doing something unethical, in some instances illegal and can be arrested or sued. Mistakenly reporting authentic correspondence causes a lot of problems for the sender.
It isn't easy to keep track of what we've signed up to receive. Understand your e-mail software so that you can block out the unwanted but let the good stuff through.
As a general guideline most spammers send out blatant ads filled with hype; the real deal arrives in the form of information (because that's what you signed up to receive).
With one click I sort my incoming e-mail by sender, with another click highlight the ones I don't recognize then click to delete. I don't want any postal worker deciding what mail I should or shouldn't receive. It's my right and only my right to do so. I feel the same way about e-mail (though it may be a pain sometimes) I'm the one who should decide what I want to receive not my Internet service provide nor any software filter.
On the other hand picture this: Your at home sitting back enjoying a coffee to a beep beep beep sound. The sound of a mail truck backing up to your mail crate (no further use for a little box or slot) and dumping out pile after pile of mail. The end result - driving up costs and lowering efficiency. It costs more to process mail, to send mail and everything takes longer.
Spam in my books is a scam. The best way to fight scams? Through awareness. The perpetrator's sole objective is to get people to hand over their money regardless of the legal risks. Stop that cash flow and the scam disappears into oblivion.
Same idea with Spam. As long as spamming is profitable no amount of safeguards are going to stop it. The only way it will ever stop is when it stops making any money.
Fight Spam spread the word - don't respond to it and don't give the scam artists your money.
Take care,
Shelley
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