Prevent Spam

What is Spam?

It's the junk e-mail in your electronic mailbox. When you receive unsolicited, bulk, commercial electronic mail, you have received spam. Not only do you now have to take the time to clean it from your mail box, but it is taking up precious space on our network servers. Worse yet, some people use spam to commit frauds by sending thousands of e-mails to unsuspecting persons. These frauds are often password and credit card stealers that direct you to a seemingly authentic website that is soliciting your user name, password and often times a credit card number along with personal information.

How do spammers get my address?

There are many sources for e-mail marketers to obtain your e-mail address, such as newsgroups you have posted messages to. Or an internet business site may ask you for your e-mail address, which is then shared with others. If your e-mail address is listed on any website, no matter how obscure, chances are it can be obtained by software designed for that purpose.

How can I prevent Spam?

• Never respond to it. Once you do, a spammer knows they have a legitimate e-mail address.
• If you have one, learn how to use the filtering mechanism in your e-mail software.
  • In Outlook, Security recommends setting your Junk Email Options to "Safe Lists Only". Using this feature only mail from people or domains on your Safe Senders List or Safe Recipients List will be delivered to your Inbox. You have to check your junk email folder to move legitimate mail to your safe list. All advertisements and phishing messages will automatically not show up in your Inbox after making this one simple change.
• If you put your e-mail address on your website, it will likely be harvested by a spammer. Instead, create a graphic with your address and if someone really wants to send you an e-mail, they'll have to take the time to type it in.