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Be very careful whom you give your e-mail
address to. Consider using a disposable e-mail service such as
Sneakemail when writing to anyone you do not trust 100%.
Alternatively you can set up free e-mail accounts with Web-based services
such as Hotmail and
Yahoo mail. Note that you can set these
up to receive mail from known contacts only if you wish.
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Always tick the "no" check box when a
company asks if it can share your e-mail address. A study by the
Washington Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) found that most
companies do honour their word.
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Never reply to spam e-mail. By doing so
you are simply confirming that your address is genuine. The flood of spam
e-mails you receive is certain to increase as a result. And (though it
should hardly need saying) NEVER buy anything from a spammer.
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Do not believe messages which claim not to
be spam because you can unsubscribe from them by clicking on an
'unsubscribe' link. If you did not specifically request a marketing
message, it is spam - period.
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And likewise, do not click the link to
'Unsubscribe' to mailings you never asked for in the first place. Again,
all this does is confirm to the spammers that your address is genuine.
'Bouncing' such e-mails using an application such as
Mailwasher may be a
more effective strategy.
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Never allow your e-mail address to be
included in 'group' e-mails where everyone in the group can see your
address. If you see your name in a group list, e-mail the sender to remove
you at once.
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Avoid using your private e-mail address on
Web sites that offer 'free' services such as 'free' greeting cards, or a
joke a day. These companies often sell your address information to e-mail
mass-marketers.
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Similarly, avoid giving out the e-mail
addresses of friends and colleagues to such companies - and ask your
friends and workmates not to do this with your private address.
