Getting Rid of "Spam"
...and Other E-mail Pests
The basics of spam, "phishing" and other e-mail pests, how they got your address in the first place -- and what to do now that you're inundated.
The Spam Primer originated as an extraordinarily large "author's note" in This is True, one of the oldest for-profit e-mail publications (online since 1994).
Weekly Weird News
As an e-mail publisher, True's author Randy Cassingham realized very early on how spam would impact us all. He wrote a primer for his readers about what spam is, how "they" got your address, what to be careful about (a lot!), and what can be done about it all.
It was published in This is True's newsletter, but as the problem got worse it got more complicated: urban legends, chain mail, viruses, scams and -- especially important -- "phishing", which could literally wipe out your life savings!
It's so important that the whole thing -- constantly updated -- has been moved from this page onto its own web site. You can read the entire Spam Primer or just the executive summary -- the basics about the problem.
But whatever you do, don't ignore the problem: it's not going away, and if you don't protect yourself from these slimy scammers, who will?
It's worth your time: The Spam Primer.