Spam is a very serious problem in this day and age especially considering that more than half of all electronic mail is considered unsolicited or junk mail.
Here at Namhost we take spam very seriously, not only because it's unsolicited but it's in fact unlawful and because of this, we have listed a few ways you can help the authorities identify and report spammers.
Identifying spam messages
Before we list some of the options available; I would just like to inform you about a common practice by email marketers.
Emails with promotions, products, or newsletters commonly list an unsubscribe link at the bottom of such types of emails; so that their readers have the option to easily cancel such subscriptions.
It may also happen that such an option is not available. At this stage, a mail could be spam, but first, try and contact the sender or website owner/webmaster directly rather than report it. Only after unsubscription attempts have failed, should you take further action.
Spam could also be emails trying to get you to click on a link. These links could do any amount of damage or even just send you to a website the spammer wishes to advertise. Never click on a link you are not sure about!
Reporting techniques
There are various ways and organizations that help to limit, block and investigate spam messages, so please note that the techniques listed here are by no means a bulletproof approach or the only options available to you in the fight against spam.
Report Spam To Knujon
Knujon is an organization that works with ICANN to shut down spammers by targeting the sites that are paying the spammers to send you spam.
This helps to identify the illegal practices by corrupt Registrars that made spam such a profitable business.
You can forward any spam as an attachment to them via knujon@coldrain.net.
Report Spam in Outlook
You require the Junk E-mail Reporting Tool for Outlook:
- Highlight the junk email you want to submit (You can only report one email at a time).
- Click the Report as Junk and Delete toolbar button.
Report Spam in Gmail
If you find a spam email in your inbox just click the "Report Spam" button on the top of the toolbar.
Gmail will move the message to the spam folder and treat any such messages as spam in the future.