HOME An Email Link Experiment Click Here to Remove? Is it safe to click links in email? 'Work Offline' - Another Spam Fighting Trick Does Your Email End up in the Spam (Junk) Box (Folder)? DC Tech

Email Editorials Click Here to Remove? Spam is full of ways to "REMOVE" yourself from the list. There is the specific reply-to address. There is the reply with "REMOVE" in the subject line. There is the "Remove" web link with your email address embedded. There is the "Remove" web link which takes you to a form where you specify the address you want removed. Does any of this work? Again I experimented. The answer is yes, and no. Many spammers are well intentioned, just misguided. Somehow the fact that no significant company sends spam hasn't penetrated their cranium. They haven't yet worked out the math: sender-of-spam = fly-by-night-operation So they buy up an email address list to begin their newsletter, advertise their company, or whatever. They honestly haven't thought about how little you want to have to go through the effort of removing yourself from the address list of every such idiot out there. But, ask to be removed, and they will gladly remove you. That was only some of them... I spent one week replying, filling forms, and otherwise "removing" a non-existent @dctech.com email address using the methods given in the spam I receive that week. Today, the email logs show that this non-existent address gets a lot of spam. Remember, the only "existence" of this address is asking NOT to receive anything. Another problem with "removing" - the faking of email addresses or referring you to somebody else's removal form mean that you will often be a nuisance to somebody or web site who had nothing to do with the spam. Why would they bother inserting a fake way of removing? Making it look like there is a way to remove yourself will make the sender look more legitimate. In fact, they will often make claims about compliance with anti-spam laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. This suggests "the sender of this email is a good law-abiding company and is willing to remove me if I want". Hence, putting a "removal" method in the email makes you more likely to click on their web links or buy their products. So should you "remove" yourself? If you are getting desparate to reduce spam, give it a try. These people already have your email address, so you won't be giving it out to anybody new. What you will be doing is confirming that you read the spam, and for some spam senders that may be the information they are looking for to know they can send more. One other "reality check" is that the spam you get comes from a bought email list. Some companies make it their business compiling and selling such lists. When you "remove" yourself, perhaps you will get off the list somebody bought, but you will probably still be on the list somebody else is selling.