Picture the following. You sign up for a free service and don't read the fine print. The next morning, you awaken to 4 rather odd messages about losing 483 pounds in 3 minutes or making $5,372 in 2 days. The following morning, you receive 12 similar emails. And 24 hours later, you start getting bombarded by these commercial soliciations that make you yearn for the days when communications were done by chiseling them in stone.

Your email address was, unbeknownst to you, added to a spammer's list. :-( Alas, these things do happen to just about everyone who has an online email account.

That's the bad news.

The good news is there are ways to decrease your email influx. Which is what I'll discuss right now.

Before You Begin - Never Click on Removal Links!

Truly, the above should be Step 1 or Step 2, but it's soooo important I had to fling it in front of your nose right now. When you click on a removal link from a SPAM email (not an ezine or newsletter, mind you), all you're doing is verifying your address is live. It can then be sold to other buyers as well.

With that out the way, let me now progress to:

Step 1 - Set Up Your eMail Filters

Just about every email program lets you filter your email based upon spam words. For example, if you don't want to receive anything that has the words "Casino" or "Rolex Watch" or "Make Money Fast" in the subject, you can configure your email filters to send all such messages to the big delete folder in the sky.

MS Outlook Filters give you some great step-by-step instructions for doing this. Setting Up Email Filters is another.

Some of the most popular words in spam emails are:

  50% off!
  Account Frozen
  Act Now!
  All Natural
  All New
  Amazing
  As Seen On.
  Avoid Bankruptcy
  Buy Direct
  Call now!
  Cash
  Cash Bonus
  Casino
  Cialis
  Click Here
  Collect
  Compare
  Consolidate Your Debt
  Credit
  Deserve
  Discount!
  Don't Delete
  Double your income
  Earn $
  Easy Terms
  Eliminate Debt
  Enlargement
  Free!
  Frozen
  Get Paid
  Give it away, Giving it away
  Great offer
  Guarantee
  Guaranteed
  Information you requested
  Join millions
  Loans
  Lose Weight
  MLM
  Meet Singles
  Million Dollars
  Multi level Marketing
  No cost, No fees
  Offer
  One time
  Online marketing
  Online pharmacy
  Opportunity
  Order Now
  Please Read
  Promise You
  Removes
  Reverses Aging
  Rolex
  Satisfaction Guaranteed
  Save up to
  Search Engine Listings
  Serious Cash
  Softab
  Special Promotion
  Subscribe
  Time limited
  Unsecured debt or credit
  Vacation
  Viagra
  Visit our web site
  While Supplies last
  Why pay more?
  Winner
  Work at home
  You're a Winner!

Spam Phrase Filters will give you bunches more. And don't forget about porn words too....they're very popular as well.

Step 2 - Consider Anti-spamming Services

It's possible now to sign up for mailing services that either decrease the amount of spam you receive, force users to click on an "allow" link for you to get your email, etc. Some of the more popular are:

• Spamcop.net - very popular resource

• SpamArrest.com - challenge/response system

• Spam HelpList of anti-spam services

Step 3 - For More Information

There are lots more resources about spam online, of course....you can even report spammers! Consider:

• Abuse.net - Internet resource to report and control network abuse/abusive users.

• Spam Tracing - lots of tips to track who *really* sent you that spam

• Stupid Spam Tricks - fascinating read on how spammers try to trick you in their messages

Looking for spam software? Consider:

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