A Free Educational Resource Created by Carnegie Mellon University to Empower You to Secure Your Part of Cyberspace

Unsolicited Mail

Email that you didn't ask for and typically don't want

Unsolicited email is email you didn't ask for and typically don't want. We consider several types here: spam, chain letters, and hate mail.

  • Spam: Companies use spam as a cheap method of advertising their products to a lot of people. They get email addresses from Web searches, lists sold by marketing companies, and other means. Large amounts of spam in your email inbox are a nuisance and a waste of your time.

  • Chain letters: A chain letter email asks you to send multiple emails to others in order to receive some kind of reward. They usually promise some huge return for a small effort. A common example is the dying girl in the hospital who only needs you to send this email of hope to everyone you know in order for her to receive her transplant and stay alive. This example appeals to your compassion; others may appeal to greed or other emotions. Letters such as these are illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to participants.

  • Hate mail: Hate mail expresses the sender’s dislike or hatred for the recipient. Free speech permits a certain degree of strong language, but libel, slander, and abusive speech are not protected by the law.

Protective Measures

Practices

  • Protect your email address: When filling out registration or subscription information in a Web form or email, be sure you know who is getting your email address and whether it will be used for any purposes other than what you expect. Many companies state that they will only disclose your information to their affiliated companies and partners. What you may not realize is that those affiliates could be spammers.

  • Don’t reply to unsolicited email. Whether the email is a chain letter, spam or hate mail, a reply will typically make matters worse. In the case of a chain letter or spam, the sender will know that your email address is active and continue to send emails, perhaps even more profusely. In the case of hate mail, you may trigger an even nastier response.

  • Don’t use the spam unsubscribe option: Spammers are required by law to provide an opt-out or unsubscribe option (either a clickable web link or a return email) in their emails. Most system managers and security experts recommend against using this option because spammers use it as notification that the email address is still active. A June 2004 study showed that only 10-15 percent of email unsubscribe mechanisms do not work; however, this small group includes many of the most aggressive spammers.

  • Alert the authorities: If hate mail becomes more intense, notify the proper authorities. The easiest and quickest way of dealing with the issue is to forward the email(s) in question to the sender’s Internet Service Provider (ISP), informing them of the behavior of that user.

  • Don't forward chain letters. Some companies have policies that penalize employees if they send chain letters because they waste network resources.

Settings

  • Set the Microsoft Outlook Junk Mail feature to “High”: MS Outlook 2003 offers the option to automatically send junk mail to a special folder. By default, this option is set to “Low,” which means many junk messages can get through.

    1. To change it to “High,” go to the Tools menu and select Options.
    2. Under E-mail on the Preferences tab, click Junk E-mail.
    3. Change the protection level to “High.” Click OK.

    Remember to occasionally check the messages in the Junk E-mail folder, because some desired messages may be sent there by accident. If that is the case, right-click on the message and select Junk E-Mail > Add Sender to Safe Senders List. This will make sure that messages from this sender go to your Inbox.

Tools

  • Spam filter: A spam filter on your ISP or email software can block most spam and some chain letters. Some anti-virus or general internet security software (e.g., Norton Internet Security) includes a spam filter. Check your anti-virus software to see whether this filter is offered. If not, standalone spam filters are available. However, be careful when purchasing these filters. Some filters eliminate a substantial amount of your regular mail along with the spam. Do your homework to find out which spam filter offers the best results for the lowest price.

Ethical Issues

Although some unsolicited emails have a legitimate business purpose, most unsolicited commercial email or spam is clearly unethical and may be illegal. Such email wastes bandwidth, and many people get annoyed with unsolicited emails and even consider them an invasion of privacy. In the worst cases, spam may be a way for unscrupulous people to defraud others, commit identity theft, or trick people into sharing sensitive personal or organizational information. Never give a credit card or your social security number to someone just because they ask for it in an email message or any other context, and do not share passwords or other sensitive information.

If you receive an email chain letter, you should not forward it on to others, no matter how adamant the letter writer is about not “breaking the chain.” Chain letters waste bandwidth, and they are unable to keep the phony promises that they make. Report chain letters to your Internet Service Provider if they start to appear in your email account regularly.

Clearly hate mail is not ethical since its basic intention is to offend and cause psychological harm to the reader. You should never send such email yourself, and if you receive hate email, you should report it to your Internet Service Provider.

Legal Issues

Spam: The CAN-SPAM Act , enacted in 2003, requires all unsolicited commercial emails to be labeled as such and provide an opt-out method. This law also prohibits using false headers and email addresses and deceptive subject lines. Spammers can be fined up to $11,000 for each violation of this law. Spammers can go to prison if they falsify their headers or email address information or use another computer without authorization to send spam.

Chain letters: Chain letters are a form of gambling, and sending them through email violates Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, of the Postal Lottery Statute. If you receive a chain letter that asks for money or other items of value, print it out, include a note stating, "I received this email and believe it may be illegal," and send it to your Internet Service Provider.

Privacy Issues

Never reply to unsolicited emails, because this will only notify the spammer that your email account is active. Your private information could then be sold to others.

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