1. Make sure to keep both a primary and a disposable email address
It is a good idea to have two email addresses: one for private and personal communication and one you submit when signing up for newsgroups, chat rooms, competitions etc. Spammers often "harvest" email addresses on the latter sites, and by having more than one address, it is all the easier for you to dispose of them as they get "junked up".
2. Get a unique email address
You are still easy prey for spammers even if you do not use your email address for activities on the Internet. "Dictionary attack" is another word for the technique spammers use when they send of droves of spam to a myriad of random addresses in the hope that some of them are valid. Ordinary addresses often contain a recognisable name or word in front of @ - take examples such as alice@test.dk or rabbit@test.dk. The more unique an email address, the more difficult it is for spammers to abuse it. Create your own special address by e.g. using your first name and the first three letters of your surname plus a number: mickey.mou2@duckburg.dk illustrates the procedure. It is a good idea to make your primary email address unique - yet still easy to remember for your friends and family.
3. Review websites’ privacy policies before posting your email address
In order to register as a user on a website or to participate in competitions online, the site often requires you to submit your email address to the company behind the website. If you state your email address - or others’ for that matter - you might, without knowing it, consent to receiving commercial messages or even allow your email address to be sold off to others. Be cautious when you pass on other people’s email addresses. Read the website’s privacy policy first. If there appears to be no such policy, then do not post your email address.
4. "Munge" your email address before posting it publicly
In some cases it would be nice if other website users could get hold of you – especially in connection to online discussion groups or chat rooms. However, a Norwegian survey has pointed out that there is a 100 per cent possibility that you will get spammed if you post your email address on such sites. This should not keep you from doing it because there is a way to avoid spam after all: by encoding your email you make it difficult for address harvesters to identify it as such. This is also known as "munging". The munged version of the Mickey Mouse email address mentioned above would be:
mickey–dot–mou2–at–duckburg–dot–dk
or
mickey.mou2@DELETETHISduckburg.dk
5. Update and arm your computer to fight spam
It is a known fact that spammers can take control of computers and use them to forward spam. So make sure that your computer is sufficiently armed for the combat. Firewalls, anti-virus solutions and frequent updates of your computer’s software will make it better protected. As for mobile telephones, be careful with downloads and installations.
6. Do not open spam mails – delete it straight away
Avoid reading spam mails and do not use preview panes. Spam mails often contain graphic elements stored on a server. This technique helps spammers to see if someone opens the mail, thus providing them with crucial information about whether an account is active. If you get spam, simply delete it for good and do not open it. Furthermore, you should disable the preview pane in Outlook (the most common e-mail account) to keep it from opening spam automatically.
7. Do not reply to a spam sender
Spammers want to trick you into confirming that your email address exists. Here are some things you should consider before dealing with the spam mail:
- Do not tick the unsubscribe box on spam emails you receive unless you know for sure that it is not bogus;
- Do not reply to spam messages;
- Do not forward spam to friends and family regardless of content;
- And remember: if you buy the product the spam sender purports to sell you actively help and encourage the sender to spread more spam.
8. Never hand over personal information via email
There is a particularly vicious type of spam, which tricks people into handing over personal information such as credit card number, PINs, civil registration number etc. under false pretensions. This is also known as "phishing". Start noticing the layout used by your bank or other public authorities for emails. Spammers may try to imitate this layout in order to fool users. Other variants contain a link to a site that looks exactly like your bank’s official website.
So: never pass on this kind, or indeed any kind of personal information, in connection with emails.
9. Use a spam filter
Many Internet providers can offer you anti-spam filters, which stop spam before it even hits your inbox. Various types of anti-spam filters, freeware as well as payware, are available on the market. However, some filters are too strong in scope and catch too many "real" emails while others do not catch enough spam. So it is important to check that the filter is correctly installed, and to review the junk folder regularly for genuine emails.
10. Report spam to the Danish Consumer Ombudsman
Let the DCO know if you receive spam. You can send foreign spam (i.e. spam emanating from other countries than Denmark) to int@spamklage.dk. Danish spam should be forwarded to dansk@spamklage.dk.