SPAM and how to deal with it

Getting SPAM email is annoying and sometimes scary to deal with for some people as it can be targeted to you without any familiar identity or known origin. 

What is SPAM? Well to recite the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) it’s:

"the common term for electronic ‘junk mail’—unwanted messages sent to your email account or mobile phone."

I would even go to say rather than unwanted it’s unsolicited email as when you sign up to some services you are acknowledging that they will send you emails unless you explicitly advise otherwise usually with unchecking an option on signup.  It is required that the genuine commercial emails contain an unsubscribe link or method but be careful as the SPAM'ers do this too and the link is the same as dangerous link promoted elsewhere in the email.  Good rule of thumb, if you don’t recognise all of these items:

1. the sender
2. the sender address; and
3. the domain it’s from

THEN DON’T CLICK ON ANYTHING!

NOTE: The domain must match the senders email address so if the email looks like it's from your friend but the unsubscribe link is for a different domain then your friends email has been spoofed, for example:

The email is from your friend Joe and his email is joe@mysite.com.

The link will be something like http://unsubscribe.mysite.com or www.mysite.com/unsubscribe or a similar variant.  The important part is the domain which is the mysite.com, if it’s www.mysite.it.com then it could be a faked URL and NOT your friend Joes site.

But don’t fear, if you think that this is a targeted or unsolicited SPAM message you can forward this onto the Australian Communications and Media Authority spam-bot to investigate.  Just forward the email without any additions or editing to:

report@submit.spam.acma.gov.au

Then delete the message immediately. The ACMA will send you a confirmation email and if required may contact you regarding this but please be careful about any personal information that you give ANYONE that contacts you that you didn't request to do so.  More information can be found here:

http://www.acma.gov.au/Citizen/Stay-protected/My-mobile-world/Dealing-with-mobile-spam/spam-complaints-reports-and-enquiries

I hope this helps and please, if you are in doubt feel free to contact me with any questions before you do anything with it.