Do You Report Spam Email?

[Blue]

Because of Highman's topic and Alan's queries (http://www.ihelpyouservices.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1015) , I decided to see what the general consensus was.

Please give an explanation as to how and where you make your reports to, and what the response/end result is (if any).

If you answered no, please explain why.

Thanks,

[ihelpyou]

That depends.

On how busy I am at the time. How often I get this particular spam. On many things.

If I go ahead, I will try to find out where the email came from. If a Url is posted, I will see who owns it and contact them. Sometimes by phone, sometimes email, and give them the holy heck.

Many times I simply delete the email based on what the subject is. If they are tricky with the subject and I open it, it gets deleted instantly. My delete button is very worn.

jl Scott from i-Cop reports most all spam she receives with lots of research. She has successfully shut down web sites from this.

[Blue]

Yes Doug,

I gotta agree with you that since the sheer volume of this plague is so high, it would take up all ones time.

However, I too, report spam, especially if it is adult related, or obviously came from a harvester, and so on...

Some may be familiar with SpamCop (http://www.spamcop.net/), which I use sometimes.

[Advisor]

I had a brief period of time where I was reporting all my spam (through spamcop). But it was too time consuming, and the spam just kept-a-coming. Then a few months ago, I had these cool domain processing rules that I could put directly on my server, and that cut down the spam by a lot. Now, though, I changed servers again and don't have that option. Email filters aren't as good and the email still comes (albeit it goes to straight to the trash). Nowadays, I will report selective emails that really bother me. Like those that pretend that I signed up for their newsletter or something like that. Those get reported immediately. Usually I'll report SE submission company's spam emails too. The rest I just trash because it's a never ending battle. :1:

Jill

[MazY]

Report spam e-mail? LOL

How bizarre! Not a chance. I'd be forever writing e-mails!

[JuniorHarris]

I don't report spam because as Maz points out, it would be a never ending task. Spam should be addressed by the engines and they should not rely on the common folk to do their work for them.

I did report one case, simply because it was such a blatant example. And to my dismay, the site along with their many redirected spam pages remain today...almost a month later. What makes it worse, is they were leveraging paid inclusion...which in the money hungry internet world today seems to carry even more weight then relevancy!~

[ihelpyou]

No JH! They are talkin bout email spam. :D

[JuniorHarris]

Doh!~ I guess I'm still reeling from my last experience!

HELL YES I REPORT EMAIL SPAM!

Not only do I report the spam, but I also have a spammer hammer script I will load their URL into. They want page views, so that is exactly what I give them...about 30,000 of them! <evil laugh> In fact I'm hammering two spammers as I type...damn near 20,000 page views apiece. You have to love the throughput a fat-pipe DSL connection offers. I had one site which was automatically disabled because they exceed their bandwidth usage!~;)

Just think if we all were able to provide volumes of traffic, many of these spammers would either be shut down or be forced to pay excess usage charges. The unwanted traffic could cause some spammer hosting companies to pay a little more attention to who they host!

Now only imagine what a nice DOS attack would do for these spammers...

[ihelpyou]

Hey Jh, could you give that script to Analog? He could stick in Url's and send the bot along it's way to hammer sites as well. :) That sounds like a very good one! Sounds like fun also.

[Advisor]

Not only do I report the spam, but I also have a spammer hammer script I will load their URL into. They want page views, so that is exactly what I give them...about 30,000 of them! <evil laugh> In fact I'm hammering two spammers as I type...damn near 20,000 page views apiece. You have to love the throughput a fat-pipe DSL connection offers. I had one site which was automatically disabled because they exceed their bandwidth usage!~ Wow...the evil side of JuniorHarris!

Who is this JuniorHarris anyway? We don't know his real Web site, nor the company he works for. He's probably someone we all know of in the SEO world, but he just uses the pseudonym JuniorHarris. For all I know, I've even met JuniorHarris at conferences, and maybe even had a beer with him.

Hmmm...trying to think of all the evil people I met recently....

Jill

[ihelpyou]

LOL. yea, o'l Junior is a sneaky one, that one is.

I've kinda wondered that meself at times. :cool:

[Mel]

I once spent the better part of three days trying to report a particularly bad email spammer and got nowhere,

Guess what? Now I trash them first time I receive something from them, and if I get another it gets added to my spam filter for automatic trashing.

[Mel]

ROFL - I love JHs solution to the problem, and would do the same if I had a nice fat pipe to use. Hit em where it hurts in the pocketbook!

[MakeMeTop]

Report spam - no. Like others, I'd be at it all day!

If one really annoys me, I may fire off a terse reply by getting their real e-mail (if I can). If they persist then the submit your site to a zillion FFA sites for free links gives them a taste of their own medicine - if I manage to trace their real e-mail address.

But mainly it is just put on the filters.

I have also got 30,000 rubbish e-mail addresses (with assistance from fantomaster - who will generate them for free) on my site (on a section which I call 'eat this spammers'). Seems to have cut down on e-mail harvesters somewhat :D

[Alan Perkins]

Replying is a double waste of time:

1) Even if it works and they are eventually shut down, they just move elsewhere. It's probably part of their business plan.
2) It proves to them that your e-mail address was valid

JH, I like the sentiment behind your solution, but if everyone did it it would just clog the Net with more useless traffic. :(

Filters are the answer. They will become as essential as anti-virus software as the problem gets worse.

[JuniorHarris]

Sorry spammers, just bring the worse out in me! :mad:

The script is actually written in ASP, but I suppose a nifty little JavaScript would work as well. Basically all I do is have the script prompt for a URL, and then it simply builds a page using several iframes which call the URL with a meta-refresh on the main page. Not really that complicated to create...

The trick is to make sure you wade through any spammer framesets and find the real source or home page. Typically I like to use their form script, since scripts such as cgi will incur more cpu overhead. I understand it may add more useless traffic on the net, but with all the viruses and spam being transmitted, there seems to be plenty to go around!~

Filters can help, but the little buggers always find a way to slip some through. I already have quite a lengthy filter list now! Hit the spammers where it hurts and maybe we can help prevent it from getting worse!

I never reply directly to any spammer email, but seek out the host and backbone provider, and shoot them a message stating the spammer is using their services for the recipient of their spam messages. I had one arsehole who I have tracked through several different host providers, but with the combination of the hammer script and a message to their host provider they typically do not last more then a day after I receive their email poo!~;)

[MsSearch]

I've tried to report spam before....but nothing came out of it...i've also tried the 'remove' from mailing list (following thier bogus remove instructions) but that failed also...

I have a list of email addresses that have sent spam to me...and sometimes I'll go to different websites and enter their email address for newsletters, updates, mailing lists, etc...

[newriver]

Nope, I never do! feel free to sign me up for some more...I CAN" GET ENOUGH OF IT!!!!!!