|
Foreword
This
document discusses unsolicited email, both commercial and non-commercial, and
multi-level marketing schemes. While there are legitimate multi-level
marketing programs in existence there are also so many illegal scams on
the Internet, being sent out as unsolicited email that it may be impossible for
the average consumer to make any intelligent choice as to what offerings
are legitimate and what are not.
The
old Latin phrase, caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) was never more
true than today as applied to unsolicited commercial email offerings. Our only
advise can be that if you would even consider reading or responding to
email SPAM, that you read all you can about the illegal activities going on so
you have a frame of reference when considering any offer which "seems"
to be legal. Remember, always: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Participation
in many of the "legitimate sounding" schemes currently being offered
on the Internet will not only cost you money, but may subject you to serious
civil and criminal liabilities.
Dealing
With SPAM
Your
Internet Service Provider (ISP) usually can not take any action against SPAM you
receive, that you can not do more efficiently (and much more quickly) for yourself,
unless the spammer is operating from one of your own ISP's accounts. Here is
some advice and resources to help you deal with SPAM, primarily related to how you
can identify spammers and report them to someone who CAN take action.
Terms:
What is SPAM?
SPAM
is sending out many copies of the same unsolicited email (or Usenet)
messages, usually for commercial advertising purposes, to persons who have had
no prior dealings or relationships with the sender or company he/she represents.
It is also called UCE (Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail) and "flooding".
The root of the term "spam" came from an old Monty Python song, SPAM,
where the "the" word is repeated over and over again ("Spam,
spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam...) - which is what electronic SPAM does: it
sends out the same message over and over again to many recipients, usually using
one or more lists.
A
SPAMMER is someone who sends out SPAM. If a spammer has your name on a
list, you will often get many messages from him/her over a period of
time, though none may show the same "address" in the "From:"
field of the message since many spammers forge the FROM information to
confuse the trail as to who actually sent out the information. Furthermore, if
you are on a spammer's list, he/she may share that list with other spammers,
which will add to your problems.
The
term SPAMMING is the act of sending SPAM.
Classic
commercial spam may include come-ons such as "Make Money Fast!" or
"Extra Holiday Cash!" or "Mass Email Works!".
All
you have to do is send them a few dollars and they will share the secret of how
to make easy money! Often, that secret is how to sell the secret to other
people. It's a variation of the classic pyramid scheme: A multi-level marketing
"program" built around people giving other people money in exchange
for no real product other than the "secret" of how to make money by
getting other people to give you money for the secret of.......
They
will also include impressive statements about how it's a fully "legal"
program and make false authority claim like:
"I
EVEN CHECKED WITH THE U.S. POST OFFICE TO VERIFY THAT THE PLAN WAS LEGAL. IT
DEFINITELY IS! (Refer to Title 18, Sections 1302 and 1341 or Title 39, Section
3005 in the U.S. Code, also Code of Federal Regs. vol. 16, Sections 255 &
436)"
(the
very statutes which declares what they are doing is ILLEGAL in most cases!)
Why
is SPAM Bad?
Other
than that it is unsolicited, which may not seem as necessarily bad, the content
of SPAM mail is usually "worthless, deceptive, and partly or entirely
fraudulent". SPAMMERS are people (or people working for people) who want to
separate you from your money, and make you pay them to do it.
How
To's
How
do I know who actually sent the SPAM?
To
know who is actually sending you spam, you will often have to view the
"full header" of the message. Many email clients don not show
"full header" information by default. However, it will usually have a
option, which you can select, to allow you to view the full header information
from the message. A full header shows the various hops the message took from
it's sender to you.
The
senders "return address" shown in the normal "FROM:"
box on many readers may often be a forgery when dealing with SPAM.
For
a more complete tutorial on how to complain, including instructions on how to
identify the source of the spammer.
How
To Complain To The Spammer's Provider
(from www.abuse.net)
WWW.ABUSE.NET
also has a nice piece of boilerplate text, that you can paste in front of the
headers, when composing a letter to either the ISP of the spammer, and/or to
intermediates (such as an ISP who has been "framed" for the spam by a
forged "from" address).
Many
email clients have a method of storing "stationary mail" or
boilerplate text so it can be very easy to create and save a "complaint
template" for future use.
Make
your complaint letters polite, short, and to the point, and include the
offending message (or at least part if it's long) and be sure it shows the full
header information of the message.
Links
to more Information
WWW.Abuse.net
A
site specializing in Anti-SPAM links
CAUCE
(Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail)
An
organization lobbying for prevention of SPAM and Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail
(UCE) in general.
U.S.
Federal Trade Commission
NOTE:
E-Mail about suspicious claims, pyramid schemes, or suspected fraud that you
received via e-mail should be directed to The Federal Trade Commission at: uce@ftc.gov
|
