Fight Email Spam

So, you get a spam email. Or, you get a telemarketer (after you register with DNC and after the effective date passes). What do you do? Report 'em!

For email spam, depending on what it is, you report it differently. Here is an awesome and comprehensive list about reporting junk.

Here are some highlights: basically, any "spam" can be sent to spam@uce.gov. But, there are special reporting email addresses if the content is pharmaceutical in nature (for the US, webcomplaints@ora.fda.gov; internationally, drugs@interpol.int), or stock-related (for the US, enforcement@sec.gov; internationally, stockjunk@coldrain.net), or phishing-related (phishing-report@us-cert.gov).

To make the process automatic, I set up a filter in my Gmail so that anything flagged as 'spam' is automatically forwarded to spam@uce.gov:

• Create a new filter
• In the From field, type: "is:spam"
• Click next and Okay to any warning
• Click the to option to delete these emails (they go to your trash if you want to periodically check to make sure you're not missing something)
• Click the option to forward the email and enter: spam@uce.gov
• Click OK to create the filter

You can also consider a service such as SpamCop.net.

You're done! Now, your spam email will be automatically sent away. Apparently, they use these forwarded emails much like advertisers use data for data mining. They try to build profiles and associate spam with certain activities/people for future prosecution.