your net:// What can I do about spam?

The main way to avoid spam is to be vigilant about who you give your email address to.

But with spammers using all manner of tricks to track you down, from scouring postings on newsgroups to stealing subscriber mailing lists, it's not always easy.

Many people set up a separate email account for use when giving out their address to shopping websites or subscriber mailing lists.

If you get spammed:

Don't respond. It just encourages them.

Don't flame, or mail-bomb, to get back at the spammer. Not only will you leave yourself open to retribution (possibly legal recourse), but you will also discredit the efforts of genuine anti-spam campaigns.

Besides, most of the e-mail addresses that spammers use are not valid and your efforts will be wasted.

Do contact your internet service provider and inquire about its Acceptable Use Policies on spamming and what it is doing to block the transmission of spam to you.

Do report all spammers to the authorities. Sites that help with this are www.abuse.net, www.elsop.com/wrc/complain.htm, http://mail-abuse.org.

Tell the Consumer Affairs Ministry, which lists net scams at www.consumer-ministry.govt.nz/scam-alert.html

A Web of deceit?

Links:

www.abuse.net

www.elsop.com/wrc/complain.htm

http://mail-abuse.org

www.consumer-ministry.govt.nz/scam-alert.html