Welcome to Kenneth Sudol & Associates, Inc.

Anyone who has had an email account for any length of time is familiar with spam.  In fact many people, perhaps even most people, get far more spam than they do legitimate email.  Recent statistics put the percentage of spam to total email well north of 80%¹.  It is a scourge of the internet age and for many email accounts once it starts it only seems to get worse. 

So the questions is, what can you possibly hope to do about it?  Well, let's first cover a few items that you should absolutely not do with spam:

• Don't unsubscribe to a spam email,

• Don't reply to a spam email (even if just to give them a piece of your mind),

• Don't buy from a spam email.

The single reason behind those statements is the same for all three - doing any of these things will only let the spammer know the email address is good and that you read your email.  This knowledge will make the spammer extremely happy (no matter what you say to them) and will only serve to increase the amount of spam you get in your inbox!

So what can you actually do, here are some options?

• Delete it (without opening it) and forget about it,

• Add the sender's address or domain to your junk email filter, or,

• Report it to someone who CAN do something about it.

Any one of these is better than letting the spammer know you actually exist, however, the best thing you can do is to report them.  What good will reporting do?  It will let an agency or company know of the issue so that potentially the source can be blocked or shut down.  Also, it will be reported to companies that control internet spam filters enabling them to catch more of that type of email, which may make life easier for everyone.

You can report spam by sending that type of message by forwarding it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at the email address below, who will place your email in a database and use the information to track down and prosecute the spammers:

• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Or, if you know how to extract the origin email address from the email header (using Outlook: click to highlight the message (but don't open it) in your inbox, right-click, choose Options, look in the Internet Headers section) it can be reported to the origin ISP or email provider's abuse@ domainname.com address (example: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). This way, the mail provider knows their network is being used for spam or potentially criminal purposes.

For instructions on some specific types of spam/fraud such as financial investments, medical products, etc visit the Justice Department's page devoted to "unsolicited commerical email" at:

• www.usdoj.gov/spam.htm

Now, if the spam seems to be more than just unsolicited advertising, but instead appears to contain a scam or fraud you should visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center (an FBI partnered website) and file a report:

• www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Another good location to report emails with malicious intent is the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team or US-CERT.  You can visit the phishing page on their site at www.us-cert.gov/nav/report_phishing.html and learn how to report these attempts to steal your information or money.

Also, it's a good idea to contact the company involved in the scam.  Meaning, that if you received a scam email about Bank of America, you should forward it to Bank of America.

Below is a list of just a few of the most targeted companies and where you can forward an email:

• Bank of America - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Citi - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• eBay - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• PayPal - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Wells Fargo - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

If the company you need is not on the list above just visit their site and look for their Security page or call their main customer service department.

Please feel free to forward this email or republish this information as much as possible.  The more informed we all are the better the internet world will be for everyone.