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"When receiving spam, I've heard you should ignore the opt-out link or other options at the bottom since they only serve to confirm you have a live address and will increase the spam. I have received spam that tells me I am on an opt-in list and I can remove myself. Since, I did not opt in, I am dubious about them asking me to opt-out. Do you know if it helps or hurts to attempt to opt off of spam lists." -- Don Winfield, Liberty Marketing Network
I classify spammers into three groups, each of which I would treat differently:
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Deliberate, deceitful spammers. These are the hardcore spammers of porn, get-rich-quick schemes, mortgages, and secret African money transfer scams. You can detect these by their content as well as by observing random numbers or letters appearing in the body text, Subject, From, and/or To fields. These spammers often use a throw-away "From" e-mail address such as yahoo.com or hotmail.com. They are deceptive, rude, fraudulent, and don't care how they affect recipients. They send out millions of untargeted messages for the tiny return they get. You'll never get off these lists, since skuzzy spammers don't care about you or your wishes -- only your money.
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Gullible, accidental spammers. These are small businesses that don't know any better. They have bought one million e-mail addresses on a CD for $19.95 and are now starting to spam. They'll soon either quit from losing ISP and web hosting accounts or join the ranks of the deliberate, deceitful spammers. You can't get off their lists either, since they probably have no working unsubscription system. See GotMarketing CEO Lynda Partner's article "Don't Be an Accidental Spammer."
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Legitimate users of fraudulent, opt-in lists. Many companies have rented or bought so-called "opt-in" lists that don't have any meaningful permission attached. But these businesses often use web-based systems that can easily unsubscribe you with an opt-out or unsubscribe link. These are worth trying to unsubscribe from.
I don't think it hurts to try to get off spam lists -- few spammers will take the time to "confirm" any address. I read an article recently (which I can't find right now) that documents a three-month attempt to get off such lists, with the finding that spam did not seem to increase as a result of the attempt. My wife has reduced her e-mail load by diligently unsubscribing from as many phony opt-in lists as possible. My own rule of thumb is this: if there is an unsubscribe link I'll click on it to get off the list. But I won't send an e-mail message to remove myself unless the company really seems legitimate and my actual e-mail address is used in the To field. To see how I avoid opening lots of spam, see the "Batch Deleting" section of "How I Keep Up with the Deluge of E-Mail," Web Marketing Today, 10/23/01 (www.wilsonweb.com/wmt6/email_deluge.htm#batch).
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