Gavin Posted April 4, 2006 Posted April 4, 2006 Hi, I have been getting lots of fraudulent emails just latley, sometimes upto 3 a day. They are pretending to be from the likes of Ebay, Lloyds TSB, Barclays and Egg.I don't have accounts with any of thes companies apart from Ebay. Obviously I haven't cliked the links or entered any information, all I have done is forwarded the emails on to the fraud departments of each company. The question is, how do I stop this ? I'm not brilliant with computers and the only way I can think is to delete my email account and get a new one along with a new email address. The problem with that is trying to remeber every company and person that needs my contact details to pass on the new address. Is there an easier way as I am getting pi$$ed off to say the least with being bombarded with these fake emails. HEEEEELP !! Quote
adhawkins Posted April 4, 2006 Posted April 4, 2006 As I see it, you have two choices. Ignore them, or get a decent spam filter. I get them too, my spam filters pick them up. And I get a lot more than 3 spams a day... Unfortunately, they're just a fact of life on the 'net these days. Andy Quote
Gavin Posted April 4, 2006 Author Posted April 4, 2006 Any recommendations for spam filters ? I know absolutley zero about them just have Norman firewall and anti virus that was on the PC when I brought it new, I just buy the update every year. Remember it needs to be in computer idiot terms Quote
MAT1800 Posted April 4, 2006 Posted April 4, 2006 Also might be worth setting up a Hotmail account, so you can use that address for unimportant stuff, and when you start getting too much Junk mail to that address, close it down and open another. Leaving your proper Email address for trusted communications only. Although it sounds like it might be a little late for that. Quote
adhawkins Posted April 4, 2006 Posted April 4, 2006 Any recommendations for spam filters ? I use PopFile. Works well, but needs some training initially. The big names also sell spam products (fairly sure Macafee do, and I'd be surprised if Norton / Symantec didn't have one too). Andy Quote
Stevo Posted April 4, 2006 Posted April 4, 2006 I use Gmail almost exclusivley these days and it is brilliant. I get no spam, it has massive storage space, can use it anywhere, it has a spell checker and (as you would expect) a good search facility. I also have loads of invites; if you (or anyone) want to give it a go send me an email or pm me your email address. Quote
adhawkins Posted April 4, 2006 Posted April 4, 2006 I get no spam I've started to get spam to my gmail address. I do use it to post on a couple of mailing lists though... Andy Quote
a4drk Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 The ones which worry me are from Paypal. You click the link & the url changes to some IP address. I never fill these out - even when it starts of HTTPS: paypal etc.... Quote
Blatman Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 You shouldn't even click the link. It reveals your IP address to the host... Quote
gee_fin Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 Best practice is to always type in the url manually or follow your saved bookmarks... Quote
adhawkins Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 You shouldn't even click the link. It reveals your IP address to the host... Did you mean IP address? Revealing your IP address isn't a problem. However, the links often have tracking information in them, so you're confirming that your e-mail address is valid. They then go on to sell this validated e-mail address to other spammers... That's one of the reasons why you should never reply to spam... Andy Quote
brianm Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 I had to change my email address and the provider in the process to stop the 30 or so a day I was getting. They were starting to multiply on a daily basis. My daugher linking me to a Viagra purveyor in the states as a birthday joke kicked it off. Thing is now, a fair few years later, I might just............. B. Quote
Blatman Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 You shouldn't even click the link. It reveals your IP address to the host... Did you mean IP address? Revealing your IP address isn't a problem. However, the links often have tracking information in them, so you're confirming that your e-mail address is valid. They then go on to sell this validated e-mail address to other spammers... That's one of the reasons why you should never reply to spam... Andy That's what I meant. I was trying to keep it simple... Quote
adhawkins Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 That's what I meant. I was trying to keep it simple... Makes a nice change for me to be correcting you That's what you get for wandering into my area of expertise Andy Quote
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