Spamming
What is spam?
Also known as UCE (unsolicited commercial email), spam is unsolicited email. Often, spam will relate to dishonest get-rich-quick schemes, bogus products, or invitations to pornography sites. Sometimes, spam mail contains viruses as attachments. For a more detailed explanation of spam and why it should be stopped, see the article on spam About the Problem by CAUCE (the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email).
Can I stop spam?
Prevention is better than cure. Be careful about giving your email address when filling in forms online. You could also consider using a separate email address for some public activities, such as chat rooms, in order to protect your main address from spammers.
What can I do if I am being spammed?
Do not write back to the spammer. Often, spammers will try to guess email addresses. If they get a reply from you it simply confirms that they have found a valid email address. Although many spam mails include a link for removal from their list, this is normally a trick.
If you wish to do something about spam you may have received, you should report it to the spammer's ISP. Most ISPs realize it is bad for their reputation to have this activity on their networks and should be able to take action against the spammer.
How do I find the spammer's ISP?
You need to open up the email header and find the spammer's IP address.
Tracking spam
What are headers?
An e-mail message is divided into two parts, the headers and the body. The headers contain all the technical information, such as who the sender and recipient are, and what systems it has passed through. The body contains the actual message text. The headers and body are separated by a blank line. In some mail programs, the headers are shown separately. For more, see Tracking Spam: What are these "headers" you folks keep talking about?
How do I complain to the spammer's ISP?
You can forward a copy of the spam to the spammer's ISP, being sure to include the full header (although if the spam contained a virus you should not include the attachment). Although spam can be extremely frustrating or offensive, be polite when telling the network contact about spam coming from their network. The network may be an intermediate party unaware that a spammer is using their network to send messages. For help on how to formulate a polite but firm complaint, see How to Complain to the Spammer's Provider.
Should I retaliate by trying to spam the spammer?
APNIC strongly recommends that you do not try launch a counter attack. In many cases, spammers work by disguising their location or hijacking the systems of others. By trying to spam them back, you may simply do more damage to another innocent party. Depending on the applicable laws, you may be committing a criminal offence or exposing yourself to litigation.
For more information on other strategies that are counterproductive, see:
I want to know more about spam
For more detailed advice on how best to deal with spam, visit the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUSE).