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Opt-In?
There
are many different kinds of SPAM. Spammers have put up a good fight, as have the
anti-spam organizations out there. Some states have passed laws against SPAM,
ISP's have adopted abuse policies, and each is crying out loud to defend their
rights.
The point is, if you do not want someone sending you an email,
why should you have to put up with the OBVIOUS HARASSMENT. You can ask to be removed
from the list, click on the remove buttons, send the reply with REMOVE in the
subject line, REMOVE in the body and all other requirement's, but they continue
to send you email. You would think that they would get the message, but the fact
is that once you ask to be removed your email address becomes more valuable. This
is because you have now let the spammer know that you are getting the mail. If
he knows that he has a good email address he will save it for future use under
another company name or different products.
The spamming community has
been trying different tricks for years trying to find a legitimate reason for
sending spam. Most times these are simple tricks to keep you from sending their
ISP a complaint. Some of these methods have been:
1) Sending an email addressed
to another person. The spammer hopes that you may just think that he got the email
address wrong. The spam is in your email box! (the goal of every spammer) Now
he sits back and hopes that you fall for the trick and do not send a complaint
to his ISP.
2) Sending you an email saying that he visited your web site.
This email will look like he really visited your page. In almost EVERY case this
was sent out as mass mail. Don't get puffed up when they tell you how great your
page was, they NEVER even saw it. Your page was visited by a robot program. The
message was designed to make you think that they were really there to limit the
complaints to their ISP. Some of these BOTS even send the mail using your online
form if you have one.
Other lines in their email that may look familiar
would be:
ONE TIME MAILING, NO NEED TO REMOVE
This message will
only be sent once
If you feel you have received this message in error
This
is not unsolicited email
If You received this e-mail by mistake
If you
have a good look at the history of spam in general and CLOSELY look between the
lines, you will notice the URGENCY. They are crying loudly - PLEASE DO NOT COMPLAIN
TO MY ISP!
Lets take a closer look while we chuckle and group the lines
above together.
I know I am sending you spam, but trust me only this once...
I am not lying to you, I will never send you another email as long as I live!
This is a one time mailing only! There is no need
to remove or complain to my ISP.
You
don't need to complain to my ISP or get mad, because this message
will only be sent once. I
am only going to punch you once. Now stand still...
Oh,
hold on, don't send in a complaint, if you feel you have received
this message in error, you are right! I sent it to you by mistake!
Now forgive me and send a check to the address at the end of my email.
Then
there is the more bold, "this
is not unsolicited email" You might want
to ask, then who are you and why are you trying to sell me something?
We
could go on, but the point is that not long ago, spammers were crying PLEASE DON'T
REPORT ME. Today things are changing. It took a while, but they spammers finally
found their loop hole.
The style of spam messages are slowly changing.
Lets have a look:
Your address was collected as a result of..
You opted
to receive..
You've
Received this mail service Via Request...
To
opt out...
You requested to receive info...
You are receiving this promotion
as a result of opting-in...
You
are receiving this letter because you have expressed an interest...
You
have Subscribed to a Membership...
OPT mail is rapidly becoming a big business.
There are many ISP's that have fallen for this as well, which keeps the mail flowing.
Spammers
are trying to shift the blame around!
They want you to believe that It is
now YOUR FAULT that you are getting spam!
They might respond:
Did you
opt-out?
It is not our fault that -you- opt'ed in to get the mail.
Somewhere
up the line -you- requested our email service.
Notice all of the blame
they put on themselves in the first list and all of the YOU's in the second?
YOU
opted...
YOU requested...
YOU have subscribed..
It is YOUR FAULT I am
sending you SPAM!
Now that the tables are turning, lets have a closer look
at OPT and just how it is being used.
Below are only a few examples.
Please
note that the email account for this part of our test was not used for ANY online
OPT opportunities. This test email account was only used to post a few messages
in news groups and online forums. "You
are receiving these special offers because you registered
at one of our partner sites."
"You
are receiving this email because you have subscribed to
a third-party newsletter list."
"You are receiving this
special offer because you have provided permission to receive
third party email communications regarding special online promotions or offers.
We strongly oppose the use of SPAM email and do not want to send our mailings
to anyone who does not wish to receive them."
"You are receiving
this letter because you have expressed an interest in receiving
information about online business opportunities. If this is erroneous then
please accept my most sincere apology. This is a one-time mailing, so no removal
is necessary."
"The reason you are receiving this e-mail is for
your own privacy.
We wish to give you the full opportunity to opt out of our
mailings before you receive a single promotion from us. You can decide to stop
receiving these offers at any time by simply clicking the link at the bottom of
the page and you will be taken off our list and not receive any further benefits.
Its up to you! If you choose to take no action and do not
remove yourself from our mailings, we will begin sending you our offers."
"You
are receiving this offer as a result of having registered to win the EZsweeps
$5 Million Birthday Game on October 2, 2002."
There
are different terms and each has it's own meaning. It is important to understand
that most opt mail is simply a trick, that gets their mail into your box, while
limiting the risk with their ISP.
OPT-IN
Opt-In
mail is where you have opt'ed to receive mail. There is nothing wrong with this.
Remove
yourself if you no longer wish to receive it.
THIRD PARTY OPT-IN
Third
party Opt-In mail is when you have opt'ed to receive mail, but they had a small
print notice that said that they had the right to sell or trade your address with
others. This is fine if you knew this, but in most cases you did not. Third Party
OPT-IN lists are being sold and making the rounds! As these lists are being compiled,
some addresses are worth more than others. (see below)
DOUBLE OPT-IN
If
you are in a double opt-in list, this means that one list broker purchased the
list of another broker and your address was found in both of them! You are worth
more money! You go up on the auction block - DOUBLE OPT-IN here! Buy it while
it lasts.
TRIPLE OPT-IN
If
you are in a triple opt-in list, this means that you were found in three different
lists. You are now worth BIG Bucks!
FAKE
OPT-IN
Not all Opt-IN mail is truly Opt-"IN" mail. There are
those that only sell lists.
They call these OPT-"IN" lists, even
though they are not. This is how it works:
Joe Blow, downloads some email collecting
programs, news group harvesters, web search email finders, name server utilities,
DNS lookup programs, etc. He then starts them up and collects a list of MILLIONS
of email addresses. Next he sends an email to the list that he just harvested,
advertising and selling his so called OPT-"IN" list.
Those that
do have their own list, may choose to purchase this fake list along with other
clueless individuals. The sad part is, that now your address has been mixed together
with real OPT-IN lists. The sender may have a good reputation with his ISP which
allows him to proceed in sending spam even though you place your complaints. You
are termed as a 'clueless', 'stupid first time computer user,' that opt'ed into
the list. Now you are trying to start trouble for this *honest* promotion company.
It is all YOUR fault!
OPT-OUT
Opt-Out mail is mail that is not
saying that you signed up for anything, they are simply sending it because they
can. You can try to Opt-Out, but with our past experience all we can say is "Good
Luck".
BROKER'S
LIST - NEVER POSSIBLE TO OPT-OUT
Many
people ask: Why Do I keep getting spam when I always OPT-OUT?
The plain
fact is that you may NEVER be completely opt'ed out! This is because you can't
opt-out of where you aren't opt'ed into.
If your email address gets into
an BROKER'S LIST, there is nothing to click on to remove. He
does not send you email! He simply sells your address to
others.
If he sells your address to 10 companies this week, you will opt-out
of 10 or more different spam messages this week. Next week he may sell you to
15 different companies. You can guess what you will be doing, clicking on remove
or getting out the filter once again.
If you were to use a program such
as Spam-Stopper, you would know who put you in the list to start with. While it
is true that with Spam-Stopper you would not have the problem, it could be interesting
to request from them who they shared your address with. It can be really interesting
when you start to get porn mail sent to REALTRUSTEDCOMPANY@your-domain.spam-stopper.net
right before you shut them off.
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