[Blessings2You]

So, do spammers think that if they send you 700 emails exactly the same that say "work at home" or "credit alert" or "buy cialis cheap", that you're going to, like, say "They've put a lot of effort into this, maybe I'll click on it just this once"?

[mrsD]

From what I have learned working here, spammers make a few cents for each proven posting. Their workers may live in terrible squalid conditions and eeek out a living of sorts where they are, but even then they are potentially dangerous IMO.

Now, I live in an area that is very upscale and we had one of the most notorious spammer kings ever. He is now in jail. But he ran an empire not too far from where I live! Paying his minions to post wherever they could.

Just delete them, and without opening them. Some can be very very toxic.

[SallyC]

Well, there must be enough brainless suckers out there clicking on, otherwise it wouldn't be happening.

[Lady]

They take hold of your contact list and email them all and leave a nasty computer virus bug behind. Do not open any, even if from a friend or family member, with an odd subject matter. If you don't know them, block without opening and then delete them and put in trash can.

Or just delete and trash them. I have friends who just got that bad one that fried their computers by freezing them. They steal your account numbers. They can mimic a real websitse like Microsoft and get in under your virus protection. It's a costly mistake to open them. Just saying..

[kicker]

Spammers can be very evil. Delate them.

[mrsD]

I delete stuff all the time! The hijacked ones from friends willl typically have no title. I never click on an untitled mail.

Also attachments! Don't open those either.

When we got back from vacation, I had a notice from Yahoo, that someone requested our password! They notify you using your emergency info, and when I got that I changed my password immediately and changed the special security questions/answers they use! It still gives me the willies.

[Kitty]

Not too long ago someone or something sent out emails from my email address to everyone in my address book. It was an advertisement for ED medication! It contained a link to a website where you could purchase the medication cheaply instead of getting a prescription. Ughh......... I contacted my email provider and had to change my password. I also sent an email to all in my address book that it was not me sending that previous email (I got some questions about that ). How do they get this information? I have antivirus protection and I don't visit questionable sites. It's scary how vulnerable we are!

[wkikta]

That is what the Delete Key is for. Yahoo is pretty good at filtering out the Spam. Spam is usually sent by a Computer, not a Person. There could be a Person in charge, but the Computer does all the Work, that is how they send Millions of Messages.

[Jomar]

One way they get your email address is if a friend forwards one of your emails to someone else, without removing your e- addy & info.....then if it gets fwd'd again... and on and on.....

All those "forward this to x amount of people" and everyone doing it without thinking about it!!
- all those email addys showing, easy enough to collect them.

my parents get tons of Fwds from friends & relatives- jokes, political, charity, sad stories ....but I convinced them not to fwd any of those types of things.

I also set the filters in their Thunderbird email program to block the really bad stuff, so they don't even see it. It also has spam assassin or spam pal that you can activate in the account settings section.

[NeuroNixed Craig]

What makes me crazy is when someone is sending out a "broadcast" email to forward a joke to all of his friends and actually LISTS everyone's email address in the "TO:" rather the hide the people in the "BCC:" What a great way to spread active addresses out there.

Facebook is having a terrible time with hackers and spammers with all of their new upgrades. To me they have become a joke. It is no longer fun to be there because of too much information hitting me at the same time.

Two days ago something hit Facebook and my Norton Security Suite shut down my computer blocking my personal profile page AND the facebook.com home page. I had to complete an entire cleaning and sweep of my computer before Norton unlocked facebook. I use System Mechanic and the messed up Registry and Memory was amazing.

Fighting spammers on a personal level requires very little education and a great deal of common sense. The motto, "Don't know it, Don't click it," should be on everyone's mind constantly. Why people keep clicking links is beyond me.

You brought out some very good points on this thread and I greatly appreciate it.