Tips to avoid spam and other abuses

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Avoiding spam and junk mail

To avoid spam, you must first make sure you’re really getting spammed—and not receiving emails for which you “opted in.” An “Opt In” email is sent when you have given permission to an organization or individual to solicit you with messages containing advertisements, newsletters, etc.

If you think you’re the victim of a spam, here are a few easy-to-follow tips to help you avoid unwanted email:

• When you receive junk mail, do not respond (if you do, you’re telling the spammer that your email address is valid).
• Do not use your personal email address on web sites or online forums.
• Create an alternative (temporary) email address (using Hotmail or Gmail) for all non-personal purposes (for instance, when you join a newsgroup, post a reply, subscribe before downloading a program, post a comment on a blog or spend time in chat rooms). In other words, never post or write your personal email address on publicly viewed web sites.
• If you must include your email address in a message (in a forum or blog, for example), distort it to the point that human users will understand it but robots (spam engines) will not, giving instructions to “rebuild” the address. For instance, if your address is john.doe@sympatico.ca or john.doe@bell.et, type _john_ dot _doe_ at _sympatico_ dot _ca_ (remove all “_”; replace dot by “.” and “at” by @).
• Subscribe only to essential—and moderated—discussion lists.
• Set up your junk mail & spam filters now.
• For advanced spam filtering, use MSN Premium.

Reporting spammers

You can help us improve our Anti-Spam Controls by reporting unsolicited mail and spam.
To learn more, read our Reporting spam to Bell Internet page in the Email section.

More on managing email

• For more information on controlling spam, read our online assistance section, Email security & spam-fighting solutions.
• If you are a victim of, mail bombing, harassing email or domain blocks, be sure to visit our Other email abuses section.

• For more tips on preventing spam, visit the site StopSpamHere.ca

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