What Is Spam?
Spam is an internet buzzword, but it can be quite confusing to the newcomer. Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQ) about spam, starting with the most important: what is spam?
So what is spam, anyway?
Spam is email sent in bulk to unwilling recipients, usually to sell a product or service. Usually, the email takes the form of advertisement text, an image promoting a product, or gibberish followed by a link. Spam can take many different forms beyond these, but it always has one thing in common: spammers use it to make money.
Where does it come from?
Spammers operate all over the world, but due to legal restraints, spamming is becoming less common in certain countries. Some nations have very lax laws on the spam industry and, as such, spammers may actually send emails from different countries than those they’re based in. Increasingly, “zombie PCs” - computers all over the world that are taken over by viruses to become spamming machines - are sending more and more spam.
It’s not at all difficult for them to do this: all spammers need to get started is a PC, an internet connection, and some very simple email software. Of course, this means that the spammers themselves pay little to no money to carry out their work.
Who are the spammers?
A lot of internet companies carry out their own spamming. Adult websites, pharmaceutical stores and any other business can set up a mass mailing program in a matter of minutes. With just a simple list of email addresses, and a single email, they can easily spam as many people as they wish. It’s easy to see why a less-than-scrupulous business might choose to spam potential customers; it’s a fast and easy way to reach thousands of people or more.
There are also some agencies that either carry out spam on behalf of companies, or sell them the much-prized list of email addresses. These spam gangs are responsible for most of the spam you see today.
How do they make their money?
Usually, the spam email advertises goods or services. It’s a no-brainer: the recipient sees something they like in the email, clicks the link to an online shop, and buys the product. It’s a very direct - and very annoying - form of advertising.
A different time of spam, known as “phishing” or “419 scamming”, doesn’t explicitly sell you anything. It instead promises untold riches - proceeds from a diamond mine or a large inheritance - if you aid the sender in effecting a money transfer. What happens then is, the unsuspecting email recipient sends money to the scammer in the hope of gaining even more… and always ends up with nothing.
But, as mentioned, most spam advertises products. Spammers may sell the products directly to the customers, or work on an affiliate system, where they gain commission for directing a customer to another online store. Either way, it’s a profitable business.
I hate getting spam and would never buy from spammers! Surely nobody buys things from spam emails?
Because the cost of spamming is unbelievably low, it’s a no-lose situation for many spammers. While you, and almost everyone you know, would not buy from a spammer, it just takes one person out of thousands, or tens of thousands, to buy in order to make the spamming profitable. And that’s why spam isn’t going away any time soon.
Maybe spam will never stop being sent, but why am I getting it?
There are many ways to shield yourself from spam. If you haven’t carried out at least one of the below, that probably explains why you’re a victim of spam.
- Have you filled in online forms lately? Most reputable companies, charities and organizations protect your data very carefully, and thus will not give away your email address to potential spammers. Others, however, are less scrupulous, or are even spammers themselves. If you’ve filled in online forms, or signed up for online newsletters, spammers may have accessed your email address this way. (Don’t worry: most companies don’t do this.)
- Have you posted your email address on the internet? If you have a personal website, or post on message boards and guest books, you may have chosen to display your email address. Spammers run software that “harvests” these addresses and adds them to their mailing list. If you’ve left your email address on a public website, spammers may have gained your address for their database.
- Does your email provider have an anti-spam system? Most webmail providers - like Hotmail, Yahoo and Google Mail (Gmail) - have their own built-in spam blocker. They’re not 100% successful, but they help cut down on spam a great deal. If your email provider does not offer this service, you could be getting a lot more spam than you should be.
- Have you taken your own anti-spam measures? If your email provider does not shield you from spam, look into getting software that disallows unwanted email. If you already have an email client program with a filtering option, set it up as soon as possible to avoid the problem of email spam.
Email spam has changed in form and in impact over the years, but one thing’s for sure: it’ll never go away completely. As sure as there are junk mailers through your door, and telemarketers calling your phone, there will be spam circulating throughout the internet.
