Solve Spam & Unsubscribe Issues: Tips & Tricks

[rkolter]

@rkolter :

So why do you think spammers include an "unsubscribe" link into their emails? Just for the fun of increasing the traffic on their web servers?

I'm not a professional scammer, but one thing I've learned: Just like magicians, it is very difficult to outsmart professional scammers ... because they're good at what they do and I'm not!

What is the best solution to ensure you won't get caught in their scams? NEVER engage with them. This is good for emails, phone calls, in person or any other way you can think of. If it smells funny, don't engage or end the discussion as fast as possible, because they are experts at luring people.

Why does spam offer unsubscribe links?
1 - What do you consider to be spam? Not all email advertising is scam advertising, but for most people, all email advertising is spam. There are huge numbers of email advertisements that are sent by legitimate organizations or people, who have a vested interest in not being labelled a spammer and who will remove you if asked.

2 - Not all scammers or unscrupulous spammers add unsubscribe links. But nearly all non-spammers add unsubscribe links.

3 - When a scammer adds an unsubscribe link it may be to try to convince you that the email is a legitimate advertisement, since (see #2) legitimate email advertisements will nearly always contain an unsubscribe link.

This is a science forum - we have to be careful about accepting common wisdom just because it's common. The common wisdom that you should never unsubscribe has not been properly vetted. I have given you simple reasons to at least suspect the common wisdom may be wrong. I can say as the owner of a long-standing email account who has taken the time to unsubscribe from his spam, that when I do nothing, I get 200+ a day, and after making a concerted effort to unsubscribe I can get that down to 10 or less a day. It stays around that level until I give someone new access to my email address. That's easy to do, and I have to go on an unsubscribe spree every few months.

There are many good reasons to believe using unsubscribe links will generate far less new spam than it removes.

 

[Borg]

This is a science forum - we have to be careful about accepting common wisdom just because it's common. The common wisdom that you should never unsubscribe has not been properly vetted. I have given you simple reasons to at least suspect the common wisdom may be wrong.

Have you vetted your claims or taken courses in web security to back them up, or is this just your opinion?

 

[rkolter]

Clearly if you read, it's my opinion that you should unsubscribe. I offer facts to dispute the unsubstantiated claim that unsubscribing causes more spam, and my own first person experience.

Web security isn't really the best certification for speaking intelligently about spam. I have 25 professional years in IT, including working for legitimate companies who send email advertising, and am certified with Microsoft Exchange and have configured spam filtering. I do have my Security+ and CEH certifications, but I don't believe they apply?

 

[Borg]

I also have Security+ and am regularly tested at work with deviously authentic looking emails looking to see if we're dumb enough to click on any of the links in the email. Anyone who does, gets to redo their training. So, I don't understand why someone with Security+ certification would be advising people to click on unsubscribe links from spammers. You of all people should know how dangerous that is.

 

[rkolter]

The question I've been focusing on from the OP was:

Does unsubscribing work? Or does that just cause them to sell my eddress to even more places?

1 - A lot of what people consider to be spam is really unsolicited email from otherwise legitimate companies. They benefit from unsubscribing you and can face penalties for treating your email address as a marketable commodity. Any legitimate business, organization or individual who uses email advertising cares about their reputation and will make an effort (although some better than others) to unsubscribe you if requested.

2 - The actual spammers - people who mass email advertising or worse, the scammers who use email to entice people into scams, don't really benefit from you unsubscribing. They may offer the unsubscribe link because legitimate companies DO offer an unsubscribe link. But if you unsubscribe, that does not make your email more valuable to them. While it does show a person is reading the email, it also shows you don't give the benefit of the doubt to spam.

Unsubscribing will reduce the amount of spam you receive.

BUT TO BORG'S POINT -
I suggested you should always unsubscribe. That's a mistake on my part. The biggest risk in unsubscribing is not that your email will be resold or you will get more spam, but that the link itself will not do what you expect it to do. I always unsubscribe. But, I also take a lot of precautions that I can't take for granted everyone else reading this takes. If "Joe User" came up and asked me if they should unsubscribe or delete and I couldn't review the email first, I'd say delete. And that's probably the advice I should give here too.