5 Simple Ways To Avoid Getting An Avalanche of Spam

As you probably already know from first hand experience, once you’re on a spammer’s list, it’s next to impossible to get off. And changing your e-mail address can be a major inconvenience especially if you rely on it to stay in touch with important business and personal contacts.

To reduce the chances of your e-mail address getting spammed, here are 5 simple preventative measures you can take that will go a long way in keeping not-so-delicious spam out of your in-box.

1. Use a disposable e-mail address.

If you buy products online or occasionally subscribe to web sites that interest you, chances are your going to get spammed.

To avoid your main e-mail address from ending up on their broadcast list, set up a free Internet e-mail address with Hotmail or Juno and use it when buying or opt-ing in to online newsletters.

You can also use a “throw-away” e-mail address when making purchases or subscribing to newsletters (see #4 below).

2. Pay attention to check boxes that automatically opt you in.

Whenever you subscribe to a web site or make a purchase online, be very watchful of small, pre-checked boxes that say, “Yes! I want to receive offers from third party companies.”

If you do not un-check the box to opt-out, your e-mail address can (and will) be sold to every online advertiser. To avoid this from happing, simply take a closer look at every online form you fill out.

3. Don’t use your main e-mail address on your web site, web forums, or newsgroups.

Spammers have special programs that can glean e-mail addresses from web sites without your permission. If you are posting to a web forum or newsgroup, use your disposable e-mail address instead of your main e-mail address.

If you want to post an e-mail address on your home page, use “info@” and have all replies forwarded to a folder in your in-box that won’t interfere with your main address.

4. Create throw away e-mail accounts.

If you own a web domain, all mail going to an address at your domain is probably set up to come directly to you by default. For example, an e-mail addressed to anything@yourdomain.com will be delivered to your in-box.

But don’t worry, this is a great way to fight spam without missing out on important e-mails you want to get.
The next time you sign up for a newsletter, use the title of the web site in your e-mail address. For example, if the website is titled “successsecrets.com”, enter "successsecrets@yourdomain.com" as your e-mail address.

If you get spammed, look at what address the spam was sent to.
If successsecrets@yourdomain.com shows up as the original recipient, you know the source since that e-mail address was unique to that web site. Now you can easily stop the spam by making any e-mail sent to that address bounce back to the sender.

5. Don’t open, reply to or try to opt-out of obvious spam e-mails.
Opening, replying to, or even clicking a bogus “opt-out” link in an obvious spam e-mail signals that your e-mail address is active, and more spam will follow.

The only time it is safe to click on the opt-out link or reply to the e-mail is when the message was sent from a company you know or do business with (for example, a company that you purchase from or a newsletter you subscribed to).