I get close to 700 e-mails a day. It’s exhausting. Perhaps a fourth of my incoming e-mails are SPAM, so I tag them as junk and they go away eventually (only to be replaced by others). Many people ask me about this modern day phenomenon: “how do you get rid of SPAM?” Well, the simple answer is “you don’t.” You can mark it as junk or bounce it and that will help. There are some tools and SPAM combatting methods that I will list at the bottom of this email, but in general, SPAM is a reality we all must live with.
I often recommend using a secondary email for online sign-ups and newsletter subscriptions. Then when that e-mail becomes overwhelmingly clogged with junk, you can easily change it.
While we can’t rid our in-boxes of SPAM—ever—we can at the very least be aware of it and the potential threat these emails can cause to our computers and our financial information.
What does SPAM look like and how do you identify it?
I can spot SPAM immediately. Most use a bizarre combination of bad grammar and misspelled words as well as the use of some friendly though inappropriate greeting or colloquialism. I gotta hand it to them though—their techniques are improving.
My favorite are the relatives of royalty and leaders whose power has someone been usurped and now they have hidden wealth that you alone can save if you simply give them your bank account info—they will then deposit 1 million dollars into your account, of which you get to keep a nice fat sum. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
Or how about those e-mails from your bank or PayPal that say your account has been jeopardized and you need to click a link now to protect your money? Nice. Never give away your personal information or reveal your passwords. If you are ever in doubt, go ahead and login to your account the way you would normally and check it there—or call a representative for help. But, remember, don’t click links or call phone numbers that have been sent to you via e-mails.
Some SPAM emails will even come from a friend’s email—but they are always so weird. I remember the first time I got an email from a client stranded in Europe—in the e-mail she wanted me to wire her money. Funny, I had just spoken to her.
Sometimes I get FaceBook SPAM urging me to click a link. These are typically SPAM adverts for Viagra and the like, but they can also trigger viruses that will infiltrate your computer. In some cases you might not even be aware of the viruses presence, but it can steal your private data including saved passwords and also contact everyone in your email list.
Here are a few examples of modern day SPAM. The first almost looks legitimate, but it includes a zip file—which I imagine would cause great harm to your computer when opened. Never open an attachment unless you have requested it from a known source. This second example is just plain mean since it is preying on some unsuspecting person who is clearly looking for employment.
EXAMPLE ONE:
From: Melissa Abernathy – helixes7@rossjames.com
Subject: You are invited to another show
You’re invited to another LIVE performance featuring:
“KEVAN WILKINS”,
“LENIE”,
“THE TRUTH”,
and “TREKAS SIMS”
This Friday, August 13th from 9pm to 1am.
(Admission is free . A portion of drink and food purchases will go to the artists. Please come and show your support)
If you haven’t had a chance to see these great performers this is a great time to check them out. For those of you who know Kevan Wilkins, he will be showing off his guitar skills again. There might even be an appearance from Perry Cobb on the sax. Hope you can make it to the show!
For your convenience, I am attaching driving directions.
EXAMPLE TWO:
From: Cornelia Gifford – birthrate8@royalairmaroc.com
Subject: Employment Application
Hi
Confirming our phone conversation today, attached please find our employment application for you to complete and bring with you to your interview scheduled for Thursday, 6/24 at 4:00pm. You will be meeting with Dana Sirolli, Director of Student Financial Services.
We look forward to seeing you at that time.
Cornelia
If you receive e-mails like the above and you are not sure of their validity, there a few ways to check the source before opening any files or clicking any links. In the e-mail of the sender, you can check the extension URL – for example, my email is jt@jenifferthompson.com – so you could then visit www.jenifferthompson.com to see if I in fact have a real company.
In short, if it looks suspicious, it probably is. Protect yourself and be cautious. Below are a few tools you can use.
WordPress SPAM filter plug-ins:
- wp-spamfree – this plug-in can be added to your WordPress back-end to help alleviate SPAM.
- http://akismet – Akismet created by the same company that brought you WordPress is a plug-in that you must register for on their website.
Free Online Tool:
- http://www.captcha.net/ – If you are getting a lot of SPAM in your Inbox, it could be that SPAM bots are harvesting your e-mail. We often hide the email or add a form to alleviate this issue, but the perpetrators are simply getting better at their game. Captcha is a tool that will elliminate this misuse – it ensures that a person and not a computer is sending you a message. And since most SPAM is automated to send out in huge batches, your e-mail will be protected from this specific misuse.
Paid Software:
- McAfee SpamKiller: http://us.mcafee.com/root/product.asp?productid=msk – This software package sells for $39.95, it allows you to customize your filters, block SPAM, create a safe list, etc.
Free Plug-in for Drupal, Joomla, WordPresss (content management systems):
- http://www.bad-behavior.ioerror.us/ – this helps alleviate link SPAM.
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Tags: 2002, Akismet, email, Facebook, Joomla, Spam, Uniform Resource Locator, WordPress
