SPAM / Unsolicited Electronic Mail

Spam is junk or unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE). It's mail that is bulk-mailed to people who have not requested it, differentiating it from e-mail that you get because you subscribed to some mailing list or receive as approved university correspondence. The messages may contain commercial information, wishes for luck, notices of philanthropic opportunities, humor, etc. Some of them are simply chain letters that ask you to redistribute the message to others. See www.cauce.org for more information and examples.

If you are annoyed by unsolicited e-mail and/or junk mail, you are not alone. We all wish there was some magical way to stop it, but the reality is that in a public research institution there are no easy answers.  What seem to be obvious solutions (block their address, name, IP, certain words) either do not work or have censorship concerns if done at a University-wide level.  At other levels, such as your individual mail client, "filter" rules might help.

Many spammers take advantage of poorly configured mail servers, and free e-mail accounts to hop around the Internet.  They can also forge almost all of the information in an email (address, IP, etc.) and they may not reside in the US so it might even be legal if they could be found.  It is important for reasons explained below to understand that "headers"  (they tell the route that the email took to get to you) are usually the one exception to the forging(or "spoofing") problem. Many e-mail clients hide them to prevent clutter.

If a particular e-mail appears to come from umn.edu, or causes you concern for other reasons please report it, BUT it is absolutely necessary to send along headers as explained below.  Because of the probability of spoofing of the information, all headers MUST accompany any spam complaints that you send in.  If you don't include all headers, we will have to send an e-mail back to you, requesting them before we can do anything.  Contrary to what many people think, the headers in most e-mail client programs are not forwarded with a message - They must be manually cut and pasted into another message.

There are a number of good resources for fighting this problem. Check out the following web sites:

• University of Minnesota central e-mail account tools available
• Federal Trade Commission
• spam.abuse.net
• spamcop.net

What can I do if I receive "spam"?

1. FILTER.  Set up mail filtering rules to automatically delete the mail, or move it to a separate mail folder. Filtering the mail is particularly helpful if     you are unlucky enough to receive offensive spam.
2. REPORT.  There are options for reporting spam, depending on the originating source of the e-mail. In all cases, you will need to decipher     the full header text of the e-mail to identify the source. Also a copy of the full header and  text of the e-mail must be sent with the complaint.  (Note: Forwarded e-mail does not include full header text.) Go to http://spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/19.html for instructions from Spamcop on displaying full header text. Also include correspondence regarding your spam complaint.

       Who to report the spam to:

   • Report spam originating from outside the University to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov, or spamcop.net, or to the spammer's Internet Service Provider (ISP). Because the ISP can be forged, it can be tricky to find and notify the correct ISP. A good resource on how to do this is at http://spam.abuse.net/  Do not expect a personal reply from the ISP, since the ISP may receive numerous complaints just like yours.
   • Report spam originating from within the University or that is relayed through umn.edu, to OIT at abuse@tc.umn.edu.  We will examine the message headers, and take action if we can determine the source or relay site for the message. Note: Please send the header information as text pasted into your e-mail - not as an attachment.
3. DELETE.  Delete the message. Think of it in the same context as throwing away the junk mail you receive at home.

How to display the full e-mail headers?

The instructions depend on your e-mail software. Spamcop has instructions for some of the more popular programs at http://spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/19.html

Note: Send the header information as text pasted into your e-mail - not as an attachment.

How can I look up the owner of an IP address or domain?

Spam IDentifier is a tool that can help you find the owner. Go to http://www.spamid.net/ You just enter the IP address or the domain or machine name, and it can call the appropriate registry and return the information.

How do spammers get my address?

Often, it appears as if the University is selling your e-mail address, but in reality there are many sources. E-mail spam lists are often created by scanning Usenet postings, stealing Internet mailing lists, or by searching the Web for addresses. Directories are another source of e-mail addresses. The more Internet activity you participate in, the more likely you'll end up in a spam list.