How to Protect Yourself From Spam

E-mail has become an integral part of our lives, however, the flipside of it is that it can become annoying.

Especially when it comes in the form of spam.   

The definition of spam is that it is any “…unsolicited message or posting, regardless of its content, that is sent to multiple recipients…”  Not only does it clog up your inbox, it can also be dangerous. Spam can contain viruses or phishing emails that try to steal your online identity and credit cards.

It is reported that as much as 94 percent of all emails you receive is considered spam that is not only slowing down servers, affecting the performance of PCs and other computer hardware, but also your work performance too.

There are many tactics that spammers use to gather email addresses. Some set up fake websites to get you to sign up for something in order to capture email addresses while others use advertising malware to send spam. They can also build their email lists by using scripts to compile email addresses from bulletin boards, websites, newsgroups and forums.  Some unethical webmasters will even sell email addresses to spammers.

Just like sending junk mail to your mailbox, spammers send unsolicited email hoping that you’ll buy their products or services. With the cost of emails running in the pennies, spammers can afford to send out millions of emails. They only need a few responses in order to make a profit from their campaigns.

To reduce the amount of spam that comes to your email account, here are a few tips:

1.       Never click on anything in an unfamiliar email.    If you don't know the sender - don't open it! Any response made on an unfamiliar email lets the spammer know that your email address is active and will leave the opportunity for them to send more spam.  Be wary of emails from senders that you don’t recognize that hold attachments. They may certainly have viruses.

2.       Never send personal information through email. Watch out for emails that request any personal information from you. Be careful of any email messages that ask you to send credit card numbers, passwords or any personal information through email. Spammers will create fake e-mails that look like they are from PayPal, Facebook, or other popular sites. In many cases, clicking on these emails will lead you to a third-party site that will try to trick you in providing personal information.  And under any circumstances, do not email anyone your social security number.

3.       Don’t open an unfamiliar email until you have blocked HTML images.  By blocking graphics and HTML images in your emails, it prevents spammers from being alerted when you open the message. Tracking software embedded in the HMTL can identify when an email has been opened by the image that has been uploaded on your browser or email provider.

4.       Watch out for red-flag terms. Beware of phrases, such as "You have won!" , “How to collect your prize!” or "Verify your account." These are ways for spammers to try to get you to click on the email and see if it’s an active email address.

Each of the suggestions above in isolation doesn’t provide you with the best protection. When you combine all of them together, along with using proper anti-spam software, and being wary of divulging personal information online will make for an effective protection against unwanted email.   

Canada’s New Anti-Spam Legislation – How does it affect your business?

Bill C-28, Canada’s anti-spam legislation, was recently passed and will come into effect later this year. While its intended target is deceptive forms of spam, Canadian small and medium sized businesses should be aware of the Act in order to ensure their compliance when contacting leads, networking and developing marketing campaigns. Here are highlights of the important aspects of Bill C-28 that you and your employees need to know:

Definition of Spam

Generally spam is considered to be mass, unsolicited email from unknown or unwarranted senders. However, the new legislation applies to the sending of “commercial electronic messages”, which can encompass email, instant or text messaging and social media messages and other forms that we may not consider to be spam. Many times information that is sent may not be considered to be spam by the sender, but can be viewed as spam by the recipient. It’s important to think of how the message will be received on the other end before sending.  Hopefully, the yet to be released regulations will provide some added details or thresholds to more readily define the scope of this term.

Expressed and Implied Consent

Electronic messages are not considered spam if the recipient consented to receive the message so it is important that you first determine whether or not you have approval from the recipient to send the message. Consent comes in two forms – express and implied.

Expressed consent, as defined in the Act, is what is known as “opt-in” consent, whereby the person or corporation expressly agrees to be contacted before any communication is sent. Usually this would come in the form of a newsletter subscription sign up, adding an email address to a written or electronic list, or checking a box to receive more information. This is a more viable option for business owners because it is less likely that an issue will be raised from those who have clearly indicated interest.

Implied consent has a broader use, which can actually be beneficial to marketers and small business owners, but could also pose to be harder to prove if any issue arises. According to the new Act, implied consent occurs when “[t]he person who sends the message, the person who causes it to be sent or the person who permits it to be sent has an existing business relationship or an existing non-business relationship with the person to whom it is sent;" (Bill C-28 Sec. 9a).

If a customer has purchased wares or services from your business with the past two years, there is considered to be an existing business relationship between you and your customer, which would be implied consent. There is no time limit on the relationship status if the customer has provided expressed consent for future contact. In terms of expressed and implied consent, it’s best to err on the side of caution and try to gain expressed consent for all users when possible.

Identification

Messages must clearly express to the recipient who the message is coming from, remaining consistent with the branding used when the recipient made initial contact with the company. There must not be any misleading information in the subject line that misrepresents the message or the sender.  All messages are required to include the active contact information and postal address of the sender.

Unsubscribe Option

Businesses who have an email newsletter must have an unsubscribe option clearly stated on each message so that users can easily halt future correspondence at any time. Some users may not know to use the unsubscribe link, so including contact information for your business is important to ensure that recipients are able to contact you in another form in order to be removed from the mailing list. If a client does contact you via other means to be removed from the list, unsubscribe the user manually and notify them of the removal immediately.

Tips for Small Businesses

If you have a newsletter sign up area on your website, make sure your database saves important information such as name and date of sign up – not just the email address - so that you are able to prove consent if a problem arises. Always give your customers your contact information in any messages sent as well as the option to “opt-out” or “unsubscribe” at any time. Customers should not be automatically placed in an email database, they must be able to choose whether or not they would like to receive information from you. Don’t bombard your customers with messages, it can easily frustrate your clients if their inbox is getting constantly filled with messages from you.  Setting up an account with email marketing software can ensure that your messages are compliant with the government rules. Senders who don’t comply with the new regulations can face serious fines, so make sure your messages are useful or informative to the user in some way, this will make customers look forward to your correspondence and make your database grow.

There will be more to come on this important topic when the regulations are released.