If only it was that easy. Unfortunately, it isn't. But it is possible!

SPAM. When you say that word does it feel like all these creepy slimy indescribable things are crawling all over your body? You're not alone. The slime that sends this stuff say that it is their right - freedom of whatever. What about your rights. Unfortunately, because there is a lot of money to be made, you have very few.

There is a technique that you can use that may reduce the amount of SPAM you receive. It does work but it requires persistence.

WHAT IS SPAM?

SPAM usually arrives in the form of an unsolicited email. It comes as an advertisement for stuff that you do not want and don't even want to read about. If you happen to enjoy reading these advertisements for some reason then it isn't SPAM and you need go no further.

SPAM is here to stay just like death. Once a SPAMMER has you it is unlikely that you will ever be free because your email address makes them money every time they sell it to another SPAMMER. But should you just give up and accept this as your reality. Maybe there is something you can do.

There are numerous ways that SPAMMERS can get you email address. You can check out other SPAM sites to find out. Remember that nothing is free. For example, greeting card sites. Don't send them to your friends. Some are okay but others are there to collect information. And if you send a card from one of these sites you not only give away the email address that you are sending to but you are also giving away yours. If you really care send a real card, phone or email if you must.

Nothing is free! There is always a price to pay.

WHAT NOT TO DO

When you receive your SPAM you will notice that at the bottom of the page there is some small print.  Maybe this is done so that you think it has some significance. The sender usually claims that you have "opted-in" to their newsletter but that you can "unsubscribe". DO NOT TOUCH THAT LINK? Remember that slime is sticky and if you try this route you have just told the SPAMMER that you are real and that you read this stuff. You are toast! Not responding to this offer will not save you either no matter how long you wait. Remember that it is some mindless computer that has you on some huge list sending this SPAM. You have to get the attention of real people that may be able and willing to do something.

WHAT TO DO

There are a number of ways to deal with SPAM. You can ignore it if you can. You can filter it with your email program. You can purchase programs that will filter it. You can pay someone to filter it. There are probably other ways but the SPAMMER is still sending SPAM to you but you don't see it. 

It may be possible to get your email address off some of the lists. The following is one technique, there may be others. It was passed on to me and I want you to know about it if you already don't. I was told that it would work but I was not sure. After using it for a couple of weeks I do know that I am off some lists. It may work for you too.

This technique is based on the premise that the majority of internet service providers truly do not tolerate SPAM and do not just write the words. These are reputable firms and they want to attract and keep customers. SPAM also costs them money so I would like to believe that they do not want SPAMMERS using their equipment to send stuff that people do not want.

If you plan to use this technique you will have to be persistent and seek out those who can help get you off the list. The tools provided will help you to do this.

HOW TO DO IT

The following is an example of a header but the information has been changed to protect the guilty. You need to get this information. Copy this information and paste it into your new mail message and make sure that you add a couple of blank lines at the end.

Return-Path: <spammer@spam.com>
Received: from "your internet service provider" ([555.555.55.55]) by msg1."your internet service provider"
(Messaging Server ) with ESMTP id H1S74Y00.V5B for
<you@yourisp>; Sun, 1 Sep 2002 17:43:46 -0500
Received: from "garbage.org (moregarbage.org [66.666.66.666])
by mx1b.yourisp (8.11.4/8.11.3) with SMTP id g81Mhjv19030
for <you@yourisp>; Sun, 1 Sep 2002 17:43:45 -0500 (CDT)
Received: (qmail 16099 invoked from network); 1 Sep 2002 22:46:37 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO garbage.org) (99.9.9.999)
by 0 with SMTP; 1 Sep 2002 22:46:37 -0000
Message-ID: <1030918846.25443@garbage.org>
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="_----------=_103091884625443"
MIME-Version: 1.0
Date: Sun, 01 Sep 2002 15:20:46 PDT
From: SPAMMER <editor-3829@realgarbage.net>
To: <you@yourisp>
Subject: Someone wants to SPAM you.
Precedence: bulk

OTHER TIPS

When you find the address of potential SPAMMER internet service providers you can visit their web site and check their policy page regarding SPAM. You can usually get to their site by entering the address shown after the "@" in the email address into your browser. Sometimes you will find that they have a special email address for reporting SPAM, usually "abuse@****.***". Make sure that you send an email to that address.

Always remember to include all the detailed header information and the entire body of the SPAM message in any email you send.

You will find that a lot of your SPAM comes from the same sources. Report each SPAM individually and send an separate email for each piece of SPAM. Do this for every piece of SPAM you get. You have to let them (?) know that you do not want any of this stuff. You must be persistent. If enough people reported these SPAMMERS perhaps their internet service providers would terminate their service. Ooops - only a dream!

I hope that you will be successful and that your SPAM will be gone.

DOES IT WORK?

It did work for me. I put up with SPAM for over a year because I did not know how to deal with it. Then this technique was told to me. In less than two weeks the SPAM that I receive was reduced from more than 20 per day down to a couple. Believe it or not I actually had a SPAM free day. Now that was a weird feeling. I am sure that I will get more as my email address is out there somewhere and some other SPAMMER will get a hold of it. But I will use this technique again and hopefully it will work.

It is a shame that one cannot just ask to be left alone rather than having to waste the time of numerous people to get off a mailing list. That's life!

Here is a response that I received from one of the SPAMMERS you might find interesting. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. Please note that I did not request cancellation from their emails and this particular SPAMMER was sending multiple SPAMS every day.  I used the technique described above.

"Thank you for contacting the iSPAM.com Support Team. Your cancellation request has been received. Please allow up to 3 business days to be fully removed from our system. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Should I write back and thank them. Hmmm. Perhaps not.

SPAM UPDATE

After an intensive ANTI-SPAM campaign that lasted a couple of weeks, as of September 15, 2002 the SPAM was gone. It was a peculiar feeling for the first few days, going to pick up the email, expecting a bunch of garbage but finding none. Believe it or not you do get used to it. And then about a month later October 10 the dream was over - SPAM ALERT! THEY'RE BACK! A slimy SPAMMER had slithered back into the in box and left a mess. The next day another one. It was the same source. A persistent SPAMMER.

I reported both SPAMS to the SPAMMERS ISP "abuse" address figuring that this may go on for some time. After the second report things were quiet for a few days but it's hard to shake off slime. It was the same SPAMMER. I sent in another report and now it appears that the SPAM is gone.

September 15, 2004

Well it has been over a year since my last update. Everything was going well....and then....the SPAM hit the fan. It was pretty much relentless for a number of months with anywhere from 4 to 8 messages each day...every day! And they were coming from every conceivable orifice in the world. Pills to make "Little Willie" into "Big Willie", cheap watches, cheap university degrees, cheap software and on and on and on. There were a couple of times when I was ready to pack it in and turn on the SPAM blocker available for free from my ISP. But I made it through the low times and reported +95% of the SPAMMER-SCUM. I'm glad I did. I am now actually getting SPAM-FREE days. Like yesterday...today...tomorrow? Eat my shorts SPAMMER-SCUM!

August 12, 2004

I have been pretty well SPAM free since my last report. The only stuff I got was a few feeble attempts at sending me some viruses. I reported them and surprisingly they never came back. The secret is: "Never open attachments from someone you don't know and even if you do know the sender if the email looks funny, i.e. no message from your buddy, check it out first." Unless you are getting money (highly unlikely), there is nothing that important that justifies the risk of getting a nasty virus. DELETE IT!

January 2, 2004

Well, I haven't seen any SPAM for some time now and I really don't miss it. It's highly unlikely that they will stay away forever but I'm not in any real hurry to have those slimy critters come back for a visit.

September 9, 2003

The month of August provided some entertainment value. Talk about a "HARD-CORE SPAMMER"! This guy was a real pain in the butt - "postnote.com". These guys even had an abuse email address in the header. Would you believe that it didn't work? If you are being harassed by our friends at "postnote" and want to get rid of them foreward their emails to: 'abuse@optigate.net' and 'abuse@wcg.net'. Go get them!

May 29, 2003

It's been pretty quiet on the SPAM front the last little while. That doesn't mean that I haven't received some SPAM but they were easily sent off. It is interesting to note that there are basically two types of SPAMMERS. There's the "SPANNER-WANNA-BE" who sends a single, usually short, message asking for some sort of attention. These guys are usually blown away after the first report. Then there is the "HARD-CORE SPAMMER", who sends you multiple messages every day. This turkey doesn't stand a chance either because you get to report him multiple times each day. "HARD-CORE SPAMMER" usually goes away whimpering after two or three days. You have to thank the ISP for standing behind their abuse policy. Try it. You'll like it!

January 11, 2003

There was another month reprieve from the slimy SPAMMER but in November: "It's Back!". And would you believe they were trying to sell email addresses. Go figure! I had to report this guy twice before he slithered away. I would have hoped that his ISP would have swept him into the gutter after the first report. Anyway, that was November 13, 2002 and it has been quiet since then. But who knows what lurks in the night.

DO IT! IT WORKS!

Don't just mask SPAM by filtering and other whitewashing techniques. Attack the SPAMMER and get off the lists. It's the only way show the SPAMMER that you are in control. Take the time and DO IT!