SPAM

SPAM. Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam. I hate spam. Everyday I’m sent a truckload of spam emails. Having a publicly available email address means it’s open slather on my Inbox. Here are some subject titles that you may already be familiar with:

‘Maury got a really low rate, so can you!’;
‘Russian Sex’;
‘Re: Your enquiry’ (I didn’t enquire);
‘Thanks for Applying’ (I didn’t apply);
‘Soaking Wet Hoes’;
‘Get a Degree – No tests, classes, books, or interviews!’;
‘Attract Men or Women FAST’;
‘Cut Credit Card Debt 50% – No loan Required!’;
‘Never buy another DVD again’;
‘Increase the size of your pen-is today!’;
‘You have already been approved for a $5000 cash grant!’;
‘Spy On People Online!’;
‘Naked Teen Midgets’;

These are all genuine spam emails that I have received recently. There are some titles that even I (being the broad-minded individual that I am) gasp at – which I have not included in these emails (apologies to anyone who was offended by any of the above titles).

You probably are aware of just how big the spam problem is (even government departments have recently been under investigation by the Federal Privacy Commissioner for sending out their own spam).

The best advice I can offer is, if you’re going to make your email address public, or use it to register for a competition or for some other reason on a website – get yourself one of those free email accounts (hotmail, yahoo, etc) – and give them that one. Keep your favourite email address to yourself and your friends – even then, it’s hard to know when someone is going to send you a friendly greeting card – and wham, bam, here comes the spam!