What do I do if I get spam e-mail?

First thing to do is inform engineering about it. Engineering needs certain information to be able to track down the source.

Let me state upfront that not all spam can be stopped.

Stopping spam is usually done on a connection level... meaning that we block e-mails based upon where they are sent from. Such as certain countries or certain companies (like yahoo.com)

Much of the spam is generated by enterprising individuals sending from their home ISP (internet service provider) e-mail account. We all know that AOL is one of the biggest providers of internet access. We would be foolish to block all of AOL because of a few people sending spam. In the case of individuals sending spam through their home account the best we can do is send a complaint to their provider. (yahoo is an exception as they actively promote sending spam e-mail)

If the provider gets enough complaints the provider will most likely discontinue that persons access.

Regardless of whether the the spam is generated by a person or a company we will need the same information in order to do something about it.

What is needed most is the "E-Mail Headers"

The "headers" are identification notes about the source of the e-mail and are usually hidden.

To report spam to engineering follow the instructions below after choosing how you read your e-mail.

The Web Interface (through the website)

Microsoft Outlook

Outlook Express

Netscape