If you've ever sent out a mass mailing of unsolicited email, then you have just become a member of that annoying group of people who 'spam'. 'Spamming' includes, but is not limited to:
What to do when you receive spam:
For Netscape Mail, choose "OPTIONS" from the options menu bar. Listed as an option is "Show Headers". Choose "Full Headers".
What you'll get when you have the headers is something that looks like this:
Never, never ever send reply mail to a spammer or visit the webpages advertised in their email. Sometimes a spammer will include a 'Unsubscribe from this list by emailing us at blah@blah.com' somewhere in their message. It's a safe bet that sending any mail at all to that address only does two things:
So grab your magnifying glass and let's track down a spammer!
First, you'll need some sort of introduction to let the ISP know that you are forwarding an unsolicited email you received, and want action taken against its sender. Every piece of spam I've received and complained about has had his/her account shut down! So don't complain or whine in your introduction, just get to the point and let the administrator know why you are sending this mail to them. To get you started, here's what I use:
I do not appreciate or support 'spam' and ask that you enforce any anti-spam policies you have in effect towards this individual and their actions. I do not reply to spammers, nor do I attempt 'remove from mailing list' tactics as this is usually construed as a way for them to prove that their spamming works.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Now we are getting down to business. Remember the example of a header I pasted up above? We'll use that as an example of what you should send to get the spammer shut down.
Anything that looks like it is a domain (ie. 'bigfeet.com' and 'geosities.com') plus the IP addresses are what you are looking for. An IP address is a set of numbers separated by a period and might look like this: "444.99.16.3". Remember that the email actually had to come from your own ISP otherwise you wouldn't have received it, so don't sent the complaint to them because they've only done their job!
It looks like this spammer sent the email through relay servers, so send each address in the "From" a copy of the complaint to alert them to this. You'll want to try to send this mail to 'abuse', 'postmaster' or 'admin' at these domains (ie. in the To: or CC: box, you'd type 'abuse@bigfeet.com'). Try all the combinations you want, like 'abuse@domain.net' and 'abuse@top.domain.net' as well as other names like 'webmaster@domain.net'. If it doesn't exist, it will simply bounce back to you, and you can try again.
Sometimes your complaint gets bounced back to you as undeliverable because the server doesn't exist, or they don't have an account set up for 'abuse' etc. At that point, personally, I attempt to track down those IP numbers (in the example above, top.domain.net is 444.99.16.3). Here's a great place to find out who owns the domain and grab an email address to send it to... Online 'WhoIs'. Or, use your own finger or whois program.
Then... send, send, send! Most ISPs are happy to enforce their anti-spam policies, and once something has been done about your complaint, will send you a note letting you know what they did and how overjoyed they are that you brought it to their attention. Sending a complaint looks a lot more complicated than it actually is, and each time you get a spammer disconnected, you are doing your neighbours and yourself a huge favour (spam tends to have a snowball effect - receiving one means there's more to follow).
But if they don't, please allow me to thank you for helping make the Internet a safe, happy place with less spam in it.
Note: You can print this page from your web browser by selecting File/Print. This information is provided for your personal use only and is not to be redistributed without permission of the author. Copyright 1999 by Paisley, all rights reserved.
Depending on who you talk to, spam is either the worst thing around on the 'net or the best (guess which one the spammers claim it is). Spam is annoying, and typically is illegal. Most Internet service providers, whether they are providing your dialup or a free email account have set up rules that you must agree to... and 99.9% of the time, there is an anti-spam clause in there telling you that your account will be terminated if you are caught sending out spam. Doesn't sound very nice, does it, to have all your website pages, email, and all server files deleted or your internet access taken away... but if you've ever logged on and received email spam more than once, you'd agree that the punishment fits the crime.
First of all, getting angry doesn't solve anything. The best way to stop spammers in their tracks is to report them to their ISP, and to any relay servers that they may be using (relay servers act to bounce the spam... it's an attempt to lose the spam sender's identity in the process). Once you've opened up the email you've received, and realized that it is spam, here's what you do depending on the email program you are using:
For Pegasus Mail, choose "READER" from the options menu bar. Then select the option "Show all Headers".
For Eudora and Eudora Light, while in the open message you'll find an option second from the left - it actually says "Blah, Blah, Blah." Clicking on this shows all headers.
For Outlook Express, while in the opened message, choose
"File" from the options menu bar, then choose "properties". Another window will open, showing two tabs. Choose "Details". Then cut and paste the headers into the message.
For Pegasus Mail, choose "READER" from the options menu bar. Then select the option "Show all Headers".
For Pine, Ctrl-h displays full headers and Cntrl-f will forward the message which you are currently displaying.
If the mail program you use is not listed above, contact your ISP and ask if they can help you find out how to read the headers for your email.
Return-Path:
Now, you are staring at what appears to be gobblydeegook and a very annoying message. What you need to do is to copy and paste (or forward) this entire thing so that you can send it.
But who do you send it to? And what exactly do you say by way of explanation?
Received: from geosities.com (mail2.geosities.com [444.1.224.30])
Thu, 28 June 1998 18:32:10 -0500 (EST)
(envelope-from spammer@bigfeet.com)
From: spammer@bigfeet.com
Received: from top.domain.net (top.domain.net [444.99.16.3])
by geosities.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id PAA17585;
Thu, 28 June 1998 15:31:31 -0800 (PST)
Received: from Micronette (enterprise.glass.net [444.449.58.38])
by top.domain.net (8.8.8/What) with SMTP id SAA28721;
Thu, 28 June 1998 18:31:18 -0500 (EST)
Message-Id: <194623052331.SAA28941@top.domain.net>
Date: Thu, 28 June 1998 18:30:55 PST
Subject: Hi!
Visiting the webpage advertised also is bad:
Don't believe anything the spammer claims within the email - I actually received an email from a spammer claiming that I had posted my email address in chat or on a bulletin board (a bald-faced lie), and therefore was 'asking for' and deserved his 'interaction' . Baloney! They won't remove you from their mailing lists, they didn't sort through millions of address and found yours to special to resist... they are spammers and participating in illegal activities. Telling the truth is no doubt way above their level.
To Whom it May Concern:
Add something like this above the spam you've copied and pasted, or are forwarding.
Copy of full message (including all headers) as follows:
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Anti-Spam Resources