/computers/internet/e-mail/spam

Spam

Ever wonder how spammers got your e-mail address? There are several ways:

You gave them the address

You may have filled out a form online, or printed it on a paper form and given it to them. There are a lot of scams out there in the guise of contests. If you don't know who you're dealing with, don't give them your e-mail address.

They bought your address

Not everyone values your privacy.

Some companies regularly sell their customer lists.

You made your e-mail address public by posting on usenet

Many spammers collect e-mail addresses from usenet (also known under other names, such as Google Groups). These are particularly easy to pick up and add to their collection.

Your friend, client, or coworker made your e-mail address visible to others

You, your friend, client, or coworker got an e-mail worm/virus/trojan horse

e-mail worms can collect addresses from addressbooks, especially those in Microsoft Outlook

You put your e-mail address on a website

I know, you're wondering how people will know how to contact you if you don't have your e-mail address on your web site. There are methods you can use, such as a mailform that uses a script that hides your e-mail address. You can also minimize your exposure by banning spiders that crawl your website.

Bad boys

Below are the IP addresses of useragents which have been used to collect e-mail addresses for spam or to post spam on web forms. Please note that I am NOT using a spam filter on these addresses. Ordinarily, I use the SpamAssassin filter provided by my webhost, which I heartily recommend.

  • Japan [City: Osaka, Osaka]
  • Jordan [City: Amman, 'Amman]
  • Korea-KR
  • Korea-KR [City: ]
  • Korea-KR [City: Seoul, Kyonggi-Do]
  • Malaysia (high)
  • Mexico [City: Culiacan, Sinaloa]
  • Netherlands [City: The Hague, Zuid-Holland]
  • Romania (high)
  • Russian Federation (high) [City: Moscow, Moskva]
  • Sweden [City: ]
  • United Kingdom
  • United Kingdom [City: Nottingham, England]
  • United States
  • United States [City: Alexandria, Kentucky]
  • United States [City: Austin, Texas]
  • United States [City: Brooklyn, New York]
  • United States [City: Dallas, Texas]
  • United States [City: Durham, North Carolina]
  • United States [City: East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania]
  • United States [City: Edison, New Jersey]
  • United States [City: Elizabeth, New Jersey]
  • United States [City: Grand Blanc, Michigan]
  • United States [City: Greenville, South Carolina]
  • United States [City: Houston, Texas]
  • United States [City: Howard Beach, New York]
  • United States [City: Inglewood, California]
  • United States [City: Little Rock, Arkansas]
  • United States [City: Louisville, Kentucky]
  • United States [City: Mahwah, New Jersey]
  • United States [City: Monrovia, California]
  • United States [City: Nagano, Nagano]
  • United States [City: Oakley, California]
  • United States [City: Parsippany, New Jersey]
  • United States [City: Parsippany, New Jersey]
  • United States [City: Paterson, New Jersey]
  • United States [City: Phoenix, Arizona]
  • United States [City: Ponca City, Oklahoma]
  • United States [City: Reston, Virginia]