FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING SPAM
Where did the Spammer get my e-mail address?
The first is newsgroups and chat rooms. People often use their screen names, or leave their actual e-mail addresses, in newsgroups. Spammers use pieces of software to extract the screen names and e-mail addresses automatically.
The second source for e-mail addresses is the Web itself. There are tens of millions of Web sites, and spammers can create search engines that spider the Web specifically looking for the telltale "@" sign that indicates an e-mail address. The programs that do the spidering are often called spambots.
The third source is sites created specifically to attract e-mail addresses. For example, a spammer creates a site that says, "Win $1 million!!! Just type your e-mail address here!" In the past, lots of large sites also sold the e-mail addresses of their members. Or the sites created "opt-in" e-mail lists by asking, "Would you like to receive e-mail newsletters from our partners?" If you answered yes, your address was then sold to a spammer.
Why am I getting e-mail not addressed to me?
It is an unfortunate circumstance that the "From" header of an e-mail message is so easily faked that it is usually not reliable in tracing its true source. However, spammers often even forge the "To" header of an e-mail message, which is an attempt to confuse the true recipient of the message. One of the problems with the way e-mail works is that the "To" header on messages (the line that normally contains your e-mail address, assuming it's a legitimate message) does not really determine where the message gets delivered. What does determine the recipient of the message is a command (or commands, if there are multiple recipients) sent to the mail server telling it where to send the mail. Unfortunately, these commands are ultimately hidden from the recipient's view, and do not show up anywhere in the mail headers once the message is finally delivered.
Does River City Online sell my e-mail address?
In the interest of ensuring your privacy, River City Online does not, in any way, publicize your e-mail address or any other subscriber information. All customer data is kept strictly confidential. See our Privacy Policy.
What is River City Online doing to stop SPAM e-mail?
In an effort to reduce SPAM e-mail, River City blocks e-mail from known Spammers using blacklists and we evaluate each e-mail being sent to our users and mark messages that are most likely SPAM. We are continuing a search for a more complete solution to reduce this problem.
For information on setting up and using our current spam filtering system click here.
What can I do to stop SPAM e-mail?
First of all never respond to spam. That means don't buy anything they offer and don't click through to any link in the text of the e-mail you receive from them. If spam doesn't work as an advertising medium then there will be little value in doing it. When you buy or respond to spam, you reinforce that spam works as a marketing tool. When you respond in any manner, you confirm that your e-mail address is active. You may suddenly find yourself receiving more spam as a result.
If the e-mail message came from someone who you solicited information from (such as a newsletter publisher), then it's normally safe to use the "unsubscribe" instructions at the bottom of the e-mail. If you didn't solicit the e-mail, then chances are that the unsubscribe mechanism will be used to confirm that your e-mail address is valid so it can be sold to other spammers.
If you have a Web site, don't post your primary e-mail address to it. Spammers have software that scan Websites for e-mail addresses. Then they either use the e-mail addresses to send you their promotions or sell the e-mail addresses to other spammers.
Don't give your e-mail to anyone on the Web. That's hard to do as lots of websites encourage you to share your address to sign up for services. It's a good idea to maintain an alternate e-mail address with Hotmail.com or Yahoo.com or any of the other free e-mail services on the Web. Check the secondary address occasionally to check for valid e-mail and if the volume of spam to that address gets too much, simply abandon it and get a new secondary address.
Keep your primary e-mail private. Only provide it to your close friends, family or business associates. Never post it to a newsgroup or type it into a Web form.
Read the fine print. If you do post your e-mail to the Web be picky about who you give it to. Look for privacy statements to see how the recipient of your e-mail address intends to use it.
If you want to fight back, you can. Forward a message with your spam complaint to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that hosts the spammer's e-mail account. For example, if you received spam from bobby1234@llama-boy.com, then go to the Web site www.llama-boy.com and look for a "contact us" page. Often ISPs have an e-mail account called "abuse" for such purposes. In the example above, you'd send a copy of the spam to abuse@llama-boy.com. You could also try postmaster@llamaboy.com or hostmaster@llama-boy.com. Try to verify what the correct address is first so you don't waste anyone else's time.
Reputable ISPs will investigate spammers and if they are found to be violating the company's member agreement they are shutdown.
It's often true that the spam hasn't come from the person who appears on the "From:" field on the offending e-mail. Often this is spoofed. That means the header of the e-mail message was manipulated to change the appearance of where the e-mail came from.
To find the real culprit, you'll need to read and analyze the e-mail header. More information on this can be found at: http://www.spamfree.org/resources/header_reading.html.
In Outlook, you can see the header by open the spam e-mail message and choosing the "View" menu and then "Options". The message header will be displayed in the Internet header box at the bottom of the dialog box that pops up.
To see a header in Outlook Express, open the message; click "File" and then "Properties" and then the "Details" tab.
For more information you may visit the FTC(Fedral Trade Commission) webpage at
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/online/inbox.htm
Should I "reply to remove"?
I try to reply but the message is returned to me.
As you may have noticed with much of the spam messages you receive, the "From", "Reply-To" and "To" headers point to addresses that are obviously fake. In many cases, trying to respond to the address in the "From" header results in your message being "bounced" back to you as undeliverable.
In other cases, you may discover that you are able to reply to an unwanted message. In fact, the message may actually give you "removal instructions" or invite you to "reply to be removed" from the spammer's mailing list. However, replying to spam, or even following the sender's instructions for "removal," may actually increase the amount of spam you get in the long run. By letting the spammer know that you've received the message, even though you are expressing disapproval at receiving it, you are confirming for them that your e-mail address is valid and that you read messages sent to that address. Unfortunately, many spammers do track which addresses write them back (regardless of the content of the reply) and use this information to update their mailing lists. Some even then turn around and sell these lists to other spammers.
In short, avoid attempting to reply to or contact the spammer by e-mail.
In Conclusion...
As you can see, there are no simple solutions to the problem of spam. River City Online hopes that some of the information contained in this page will help you reduce the number of unwelcome messages in your inbox.
