| If you’ve received an unsolicited email
(SPAM), chances are good that we’ve received the same mail too.
Our administrator routinely tracks down the sources of SPAM and files
complaints with providers from which they originate. If an ISP complains
to us of SPAM coming from one of our customers, the customer gets
a warning and their service is terminated if it happens again. This
is usually the case throughout the industry. Although the complaints
may be effective, SPAMMERS can simply change their providers after
each major bulk mailing, so you can imagine that complaints have only
limited results. This is also true for the effectiveness of filtering
options available in most email programs.
Unfortunately, junk mail is a modern-day fact of life that has
made itself part of the Internet. At Dnet we are staying on top
of proposed legislation and possible technological solutions for
this problem, however prevention tactics are very limited in our
industry at this time. The delete key is always the best response
to unsolicited email.
Never reply to SPAM. The bulk mailings go out to hundreds or even
thousands of addresses, many of which are invalid. When a reply
is made, asking to be removed from their mailing list, etc., it
shows the SPAMMER that they’ve reached a valid address that
can be sold to other SPAMMERS. If you’ve made such a reply
and it comes back as undeliverable, it’s likely that their
service has been terminated or they’ve already moved on to
the next ISP.
As more and more companies realize that SPAMMING through email
is cheaper than a postage stamp, the problem will likely increase.
Controlling SPAM can be like trying to herd cats. However, we look
forward to seeing legislation and/or technological advances that
will prevent it in the future. |
