In our efforts to protect our clients from spam, we’ve learned that one of the most effective ways to come out on top is to limit spammers’ audience. By ensuring that as few of their messages as possible end up in front of others, we’re working to make the spammers’ trade less worthwhile for them.
Spam: More than Just an Annoyance
There are plenty of reasons to complain about spam:
- It takes up space in your company’s email inboxes (and, therefore, on your servers).
- The time that it takes for employees to identify and dispose of spam detracts from productivity.
- The pushy nature of spam is irritating.
- The false information contained in spam messages could mislead the recipient.
For the most part, the above amount to irritation or annoyance. However, there are very real dangers associated with spam as well. More on that below.
The Danger of Spam
Some spam is unquestionably dangerous to handle. For example, phishing scams are designed to steal personal information, ultimately allowing someone else to gain access to your login and password information for a variety of online accounts. Likewise, some scams are designed specifically with the intent to defraud the recipient, coaxing them into sending ‘payment’ or even a donation to a duplicitous cause.
With that in mind, the irritation of spam can quickly escalate into an outright risk. Recipients of spammy content could inadvertently hand over the password to their online bank account. Or they might transfer a large sum of money to pay an outstanding bill – only to discover that they’ve actually sent the funds to an unknown third party.
Anyone who has ever fallen victim to a scam like this will attest to the real risks involved with even opening a spam email message. It’s not something to take lightly.
The Knock-on-100-Doors Principle
Spam operates on the ‘knock on 100 doors’ principle. You’ve heard this adage before: You have to knock on 100 doors to make one sale. In other words, success is a product of relentless solicitation.
Knocking on 100 doors is not a bad thing, so long as the salesperson is selling a legitimate product or service. But when they’re hawking malicious software, a phishing scam or some other malicious product, the situation changes. Indeed, these people shouldn’t even be allowed to knock on doors in the first place.
The problem, of course, is devising a means of regulating the flow of spam across the Internet. Until this becomes practical, the only way for organisations and private citizens to protect themselves is with an effective spam filter.
Making Spam Less Profitable
By filtering spam out of email out of your inbox, you’re effectively limiting the spammer’s audience. They can knock on as many doors as they want, but so long as the ‘knock’ isn’t heard, their efforts are ultimately in vain.
MailCleaner is actively involved in the fight against spam. We prevent spammers from getting an audience with their would-be victims, complicating their efforts and helping to make spam a less-worthwhile endeavour for those hoping to exploit and defraud others.