janRN

You all seem pretty computer savvy so I thought I'd ask for advice from you-I've learned more about navigating around my computer on this board than anywhere else. How do you stop getting certain spam emails? Is there something like a "do not spam" list (like the "do not call list" for phone)? Every day I win lots of foreign lotteries and could have the most enhanced male part!! Can I block these somehow? I don't open them, they go in the spam box. One of these days I'm going to total up the amount of money I could have won and add up how enhanced my male part could have been if all these were true. Thanks for your help with this silly, but annoying, problem.

AtHomeSewing

Some internet service providers offer spam blockers.

One thing though, DO NOT OPEN spam emails. Spammers often include tracking images within the sent mail. Then your mail client calls back to their server, to ask for the image. The spammer then knows that your email account is a real one, and the spam grows.

SaraSewing

Not sure what email you use, but with Yahoo those types of email go directly into the spam folder. Also on yahoo, if you don't open it and declare it as spam, pretty soon it quits going into the inbox. I had stupid "you are such a good friend" from a friend of a friend - she got my address from something that Mary sent to both of us. Anyway, I didn't open them, moved them to the spam folder before deleting, and now they go directly to the spam folder. I'll bet it is dependant on your email provider.

Ninnie

You can go to Tools, I think and block that e-mail address. I have had to do this before.

amandasgramma

The problem with SPAM e-mails, is they'll use a different "return address" each time....so if you block one, you'll get 10 more with a different address. A friend suggested I IGNORE them....if you delete them, move them to a junk file, etc, it somehow, electronically, notifies them that this is an ACTIVE e-mail address. If you ignore them, they'll after a time, decide that your e-mail address is "dead". I was getting tons of smutty spam (not sure WHY, but I was getting some really wild offers :shock: ), I started ignoring them and within 2 weeks the # of them dropped off dramatically. Now I may get 1 or 2 a month.... :mrgreen:

Lisanne

It's a war. The spammers WANT to send you their crap, so they don't offer you an easy way to get rid of them. Moreover, they sell and share email lists with other spammers.

There is no Do Not Spam signup the way there is for Do Not Call. There has been talk of doing this, but enforcement would be difficult without more regulation of the Internet.

Legitimate spam (marketers who are trying to foist their products on you but not to actually con you) offer an opt out link, usually in small print at the bottom of their email. Beware of giving them any info other than the email address to which they are no longer to send their email. Many will then send you another email to confirm that you really don't want their spam. Then when you confirm it, they will send you another email to say it'll take ten days to process your request. And they may blast you with spam during that time (and we all know the request can be process instantly, automatically).

So the best way to avoid it is prevention.
1. Keep your personal email private. Make sure those people who have it know not to share your email with others. tell them not to put you on group emails for jokes, sayings etc, because those get shared with other people, who share them with others, and meanwhile, your address is there for all to see and it doesn't take long for a spammer to grab it.

2. Keep a separate email address for vendors, because even the ones you want to deal with will pass on your info. Buying online? Staying at a hotel and want reward points? Want to give your email to a local business? Give the vendor address.

3. Use a separate email for email groups. Same idea, and it also keeps your main address from clogging with posts from an active group.

butterflywing

some people are forced to open new email boxes to receive real mail and leave their old ones for junk. it IS one solution, but a real pain.

janRN

Thanks everyone. I don't open the spam but I was deleting them as they appeared--didn't know this made my account look "active". I also think I'll set up different accounts. I hesitated asking this on a quilting site but you guys are always so helpful. Thanks again!!

butterflywing

whatever site you're on spam only stays online for a certain number of days and then disappears. i don't know how to tell what your number is, but it's a lot. you may be able to change that somehow.

i have my rea lemail account on another site and everything else here so i don't clutter. i hardly ever get spam on this one. strange, no?

zyxquilts

Depending on which email you use, most of them will let you set up filters for your mail. In Yahoo! mail it's under Options. For example, I have a filter set up so that all mail from one friend who I love dearly, but sends me a ton of "forwards", all goes into a folder with her name on it. And another set up with some keywords (like for those enhancers!) so that any email with those words go directly to the trash. I know they were pretty easy to do, cuz I was pretty much a newbie at the time I did mine.