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  3. Is spamming illegal ?

Is spamming illegal ?

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  • C Corporal Agarn

    To me junk snail mail is worse as I have to dispose of it costing me money. I also get a weekly "bag" that goes directly to the recycle pile if dry or tossed if wet. (I really need to get a plastic container for recycled papers). For those who may not know, a "bag" is usually a plastic bag filled with various advertisements. It is delivered once a week to your door, if you live in town, or dropped at your mailbox, for rural delivery. When it rains they absorb water quite well as the paper is cheap.

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    Slacker007
    wrote on last edited by
    #13

    I love that Bank of America sends me mail every month, trying to get me to come back. It costs them money and I recycle it. What a waste of paper and money.

    "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
    "No, that is just the earthly manifestation of the Great God Retardon." - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "It is the celestial scrotum of good luck!" - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "But you probably have the smoothest scrotum of any grown man" - Pete O'Hanlon (2012)

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    • S Slacker007

      I love that Bank of America sends me mail every month, trying to get me to come back. It costs them money and I recycle it. What a waste of paper and money.

      "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
      "No, that is just the earthly manifestation of the Great God Retardon." - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "It is the celestial scrotum of good luck!" - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "But you probably have the smoothest scrotum of any grown man" - Pete O'Hanlon (2012)

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      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #14

      Whenever my dad gets junk mail with a pre-paid return envelope he puts the original envelope and everything that came in it into the reply envelope and posts it back to them, so they pay to get their own junk back.

      Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

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      • L Lost User

        Whenever my dad gets junk mail with a pre-paid return envelope he puts the original envelope and everything that came in it into the reply envelope and posts it back to them, so they pay to get their own junk back.

        Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

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        Slacker007
        wrote on last edited by
        #15

        ChrisElston wrote:

        he puts the original envelope and everything that came in it into the reply envelope and posts it back to them,

        Brilliant.

        "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
        "No, that is just the earthly manifestation of the Great God Retardon." - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "It is the celestial scrotum of good luck!" - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "But you probably have the smoothest scrotum of any grown man" - Pete O'Hanlon (2012)

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        • L Lost User

          I have a gmail account and get spam. Of course it goes into my spam box. Is spamming peoples email illegal ? Was just wondering . I thought it was .. UBX ...

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          lewax00
          wrote on last edited by
          #16

          If I remember correctly it is, but there are certain requirements before it is legally considered spam, like it has to not contain an unsubscribe link, or it takes more than 10 days to get you off the mailing list, and there are probably a few others. Because of the requirements, the emails you get from most companies aren't spam, because they conform to the requirements (which is why I unsubscribe anytime I get such an email, because they do stop). But there is still plenty of real spam to go around, I like to browse through my spam looking for funny titles ("Big [male organ] like girl" is my favorite so far).

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          • L lewax00

            If I remember correctly it is, but there are certain requirements before it is legally considered spam, like it has to not contain an unsubscribe link, or it takes more than 10 days to get you off the mailing list, and there are probably a few others. Because of the requirements, the emails you get from most companies aren't spam, because they conform to the requirements (which is why I unsubscribe anytime I get such an email, because they do stop). But there is still plenty of real spam to go around, I like to browse through my spam looking for funny titles ("Big [male organ] like girl" is my favorite so far).

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            Lost User
            wrote on last edited by
            #17

            lewax00 wrote:

            (which is why I unsubscribe anytime I get such an email, because they do stop).

            Proper companies will unsubscribe you and the spam will stop. Dodgy companies will unsubscribe you and then sell your email address as a confirmed, live one. Even dodgier spammers will simply confirm your email address is live, continue sending you their crap, and sell on your email address to everyone they can think of.

            Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

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            • L Lost User

              I have a gmail account and get spam. Of course it goes into my spam box. Is spamming peoples email illegal ? Was just wondering . I thought it was .. UBX ...

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              Michael Bergman
              wrote on last edited by
              #18

              Here is in the US, spamming, in and of itself, is not illegal. However, the contents may be. For instance, if fraud is involved. And while the spam has to provide a link for opting out of the spam, if you use that link, then they have your email address and can sell it off to 10+ spammers. Really, the only way to get rid of spammers is with a chair, some rope, a gallon of gasoline and a match like in the movie Reservoir Dogs[^]. The closest thing we have is a "Do Not Call" list for phones. Even that is a little spotty (though better than nothing).

              m.bergman

              For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.

              To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire

              In most cases the only difference between disappointment and depression is your level of commitment. -- Marc Maron

              I am not a chatbot

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              • L Lost User

                lewax00 wrote:

                (which is why I unsubscribe anytime I get such an email, because they do stop).

                Proper companies will unsubscribe you and the spam will stop. Dodgy companies will unsubscribe you and then sell your email address as a confirmed, live one. Even dodgier spammers will simply confirm your email address is live, continue sending you their crap, and sell on your email address to everyone they can think of.

                Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

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                lewax00
                wrote on last edited by
                #19

                The only ones to make it through the spam filter in the first place are in the first category luckily (as far as I can tell anyways).

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                • M Michael Bergman

                  Here is in the US, spamming, in and of itself, is not illegal. However, the contents may be. For instance, if fraud is involved. And while the spam has to provide a link for opting out of the spam, if you use that link, then they have your email address and can sell it off to 10+ spammers. Really, the only way to get rid of spammers is with a chair, some rope, a gallon of gasoline and a match like in the movie Reservoir Dogs[^]. The closest thing we have is a "Do Not Call" list for phones. Even that is a little spotty (though better than nothing).

                  m.bergman

                  For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.

                  To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire

                  In most cases the only difference between disappointment and depression is your level of commitment. -- Marc Maron

                  I am not a chatbot

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                  lewax00
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #20

                  Michael Bergman wrote:

                  The closest thing we have is a "Do Not Call" list for phones.

                  I forgot about that, and I just found out that it also applies to text messages and reported some spam I've been receiving that way :thumbsup:

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                  • M Michael Bergman

                    Here is in the US, spamming, in and of itself, is not illegal. However, the contents may be. For instance, if fraud is involved. And while the spam has to provide a link for opting out of the spam, if you use that link, then they have your email address and can sell it off to 10+ spammers. Really, the only way to get rid of spammers is with a chair, some rope, a gallon of gasoline and a match like in the movie Reservoir Dogs[^]. The closest thing we have is a "Do Not Call" list for phones. Even that is a little spotty (though better than nothing).

                    m.bergman

                    For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.

                    To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire

                    In most cases the only difference between disappointment and depression is your level of commitment. -- Marc Maron

                    I am not a chatbot

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                    SortaCore
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #21

                    Well, if you receive more than one email, you can sue for harassment...

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                    • S Slacker007

                      ChrisElston wrote:

                      he puts the original envelope and everything that came in it into the reply envelope and posts it back to them,

                      Brilliant.

                      "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
                      "No, that is just the earthly manifestation of the Great God Retardon." - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "It is the celestial scrotum of good luck!" - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "But you probably have the smoothest scrotum of any grown man" - Pete O'Hanlon (2012)

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                      daleofcourse
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #22

                      Gonna take a hit here... :~ Being a developer in the 'Direct Mail' world, it's worth it for companies to send out vast quantities of printed material because it's cheap and has around a 5% response rate depending on the product.

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                      • L Lost User

                        I have a gmail account and get spam. Of course it goes into my spam box. Is spamming peoples email illegal ? Was just wondering . I thought it was .. UBX ...

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                        Konstardiy from Tbilisi
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #23

                        I think it is illegal, because: 1) you did not agree to get emails from a concrete broadcaster, 2) you did not agree to get emails about a topic the spam message has. This looks like an imposed service. 3) it can contain false or frauded links, targeted to a infected site. 4) it can contain infected attachments. These activities are criminal, aren't? Also these activities breaks the email hostingor delivery services rules. Well... I feeling like i'm Captain Obviousity.

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                        • D daleofcourse

                          Gonna take a hit here... :~ Being a developer in the 'Direct Mail' world, it's worth it for companies to send out vast quantities of printed material because it's cheap and has around a 5% response rate depending on the product.

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                          RugbyLeague
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #24

                          Count me in too - DM Developer here

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                          • L Lost User

                            India is the world's largest spammer, where there are no specific laws to control it. At least 85% of all email is spam.

                            Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

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                            Alexander DiMauro
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #25

                            ChrisElston wrote:

                            India is the world's largest spammer, where there are no specific laws to control it.

                            You must be referring to the recent news that India has taken over first place as the world's biggest origin of spam email. Yes, it's true, but they took over first place from the United States, which DOES have specific laws to control it. So, just having laws doesn't mean it will go away...

                            I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone - Bjarne Stroustrup The world is going to laugh at you anyway, might as well crack the 1st joke! My code has no bugs, it runs exactly as it was written.

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                            • S SortaCore

                              Well, if you receive more than one email, you can sue for harassment...

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                              Michael Bergman
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #26

                              "Oh, I'm sorry. We had a bug in our program that caused us to send you the other emails after you asked us not to. And the person who is handling the emails is new and in training and he made a mistake. Sorry. And there is a problem with the company that we outsourced this to. We are taking corrective actions and we are going with another company. Sorry...." I don't know of anyone in the last two years who has succeeded in a harassment suit regarding commercial spam.

                              m.bergman

                              For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.

                              To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire

                              In most cases the only difference between disappointment and depression is your level of commitment. -- Marc Maron

                              I am not a chatbot

                              S 1 Reply Last reply
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                              • M Michael Bergman

                                "Oh, I'm sorry. We had a bug in our program that caused us to send you the other emails after you asked us not to. And the person who is handling the emails is new and in training and he made a mistake. Sorry. And there is a problem with the company that we outsourced this to. We are taking corrective actions and we are going with another company. Sorry...." I don't know of anyone in the last two years who has succeeded in a harassment suit regarding commercial spam.

                                m.bergman

                                For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.

                                To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire

                                In most cases the only difference between disappointment and depression is your level of commitment. -- Marc Maron

                                I am not a chatbot

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                                S Offline
                                SortaCore
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #27

                                Well, no, none of those arguments are valid, since the email address shouldn't have been given to them anyway. I threatened two spammers with my "legal department". I wasn't sure what the reaction would be (I didn't expect it to work), but surprisingly, it worked both times, not a peep out of either since (and spam level hasn't increased either) :-D

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                                • L lewax00

                                  If I remember correctly it is, but there are certain requirements before it is legally considered spam, like it has to not contain an unsubscribe link, or it takes more than 10 days to get you off the mailing list, and there are probably a few others. Because of the requirements, the emails you get from most companies aren't spam, because they conform to the requirements (which is why I unsubscribe anytime I get such an email, because they do stop). But there is still plenty of real spam to go around, I like to browse through my spam looking for funny titles ("Big [male organ] like girl" is my favorite so far).

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                                  Timothy J Sygitowicz
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #28

                                  Yes, there are certain requirements (and stiff penalties - at least in the US). This link might help: http://www.spamlaws.com/illegal-spam.html[^]

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                                  • S Slacker007

                                    It is interesting to me, that physical junk mail is not looked down upon as much as email spam...and no where as much as meat spam. :)

                                    "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
                                    "No, that is just the earthly manifestation of the Great God Retardon." - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "It is the celestial scrotum of good luck!" - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "But you probably have the smoothest scrotum of any grown man" - Pete O'Hanlon (2012)

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                                    snowman53
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #29

                                    Spam meat is considered a luxury item in Korea (or at least it was in the 80's when I was there). The up scale stores had huge displays of it and the US Military base stores limited the number of tins you could buy to two per month. During & after the Korean war, spam was just about the only meat product available and the Korean's apparently took a liking to it.

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                                    • S snowman53

                                      Spam meat is considered a luxury item in Korea (or at least it was in the 80's when I was there). The up scale stores had huge displays of it and the US Military base stores limited the number of tins you could buy to two per month. During & after the Korean war, spam was just about the only meat product available and the Korean's apparently took a liking to it.

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                                      Slacker007
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #30

                                      snowman53 wrote:

                                      Spam meat is considered a luxury item in Korea

                                      X| Say it ain't so.

                                      "the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
                                      "No, that is just the earthly manifestation of the Great God Retardon." - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "It is the celestial scrotum of good luck!" - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "But you probably have the smoothest scrotum of any grown man" - Pete O'Hanlon (2012)

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                                      • S SortaCore

                                        Well, no, none of those arguments are valid, since the email address shouldn't have been given to them anyway. I threatened two spammers with my "legal department". I wasn't sure what the reaction would be (I didn't expect it to work), but surprisingly, it worked both times, not a peep out of either since (and spam level hasn't increased either) :-D

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                                        Michael Bergman
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #31

                                        SortaCore wrote:

                                        Well, no, none of those arguments are valid

                                        It doesn't matter if they're valid. I expect they're not in any case.

                                        SortaCore wrote:

                                        I threatened two spammers with my "legal department". I wasn't sure what the reaction would be (I didn't expect it to work), but surprisingly, it worked both times, not a peep out of either since

                                        You are very lucky if that is the case. I had to burn an email address because I did the same as you. It didn't receive anymore spam from the company I complained to, but the amount of spam I got a week a latter multiplied nearly 10-fold.

                                        m.bergman

                                        For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.

                                        To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire

                                        In most cases the only difference between disappointment and depression is your level of commitment. -- Marc Maron

                                        I am not a chatbot

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • L Lost User

                                          I have a gmail account and get spam. Of course it goes into my spam box. Is spamming peoples email illegal ? Was just wondering . I thought it was .. UBX ...

                                          K Offline
                                          K Offline
                                          KP Lee
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #32

                                          The US is big on free speech. The spam that wants you to buy something is annoying, but completely legal. The spam where "I want to give you a million dollars, just send me a little money or give me your personal information and I'll give it to you." is fraud too and is illegal. It is so prevalent that any complaint about it mainly gets ignored. Good luck finding someone willing to help you out, especially if you weren't stupid enough to fall for it. You might get a mention in the "idiot abroad" section of the news.

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