Thanks to the CAN-SPAM Act, the federal government is acknowledging and cracking down on spammers.
If only one law did it all.
It's up to you, dear consumer, to ensure spam doesn’t clog your inbox, or worse, steal vital personal information you use to conduct business and go about your daily life.
Spam.getnetwise.org, a site maintained by the Internet Education Foundation, offers tactics you can do to prevent spam from getting to your inbox:
- Use a unique e-mail address: Pick an address, using both letters and numbers, that will be hard for spammers to guess and easy for you to remember. Also, if you chat online, use a unique screen name not associated with your e-mail address.
- Use multiple e-mail addresses: Consider creating separate addresses or accounts that can be used for online purchases, chat rooms and other public postings. You can also use a free forwarding address. More Information.
- "Mask" your e-mail address: If you post your e-mail address online consider masking your address. There are several ways to correctly mask your address and thwart spammers. More Information.
- Check the privacy policy when you submit your address to a site: Always be familiar with a Web site's privacy policy before submitting any information. Learn more about how to read a privacy policy.