A new law, proposed by Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers, may keep unwanted e-mail solicitations such as chain letters or get-rich-quick schemes from crowding your inbox.
The “anti-spam” law will be submitted to the state Legislature in January, and will have an “opt-out” style of enforcement, which means if consumers don’t want to receive spam, they must register with the state in order to put an end to it.
“People do have the right to send unsolicited e-mail, but at some point people should have the same right to say they don’t want it,” said Kevin Neely, spokesman for the Oregon attorney general.
The law was proposed after the attorney general office received thousands of complaints about spam from users. Neely said the reason users must register with the state
to have spam stopped is because some people actually want spam.
According to the Department of Justice Web site, the most common types of spam are chain letters, work-at-home schemes, weight loss scams, adult entertainment sites and “advance fee” scams, which often ask for users’ bank account numbers in return for the promise of huge paybacks at a later time.
ResNet Administrator Norm Myers said when he gets complaints about spam, it is usually about users receiving pornographic material. He said he approves of the new law because if users wanted to receive a certain advertisement for something, they could do so by adding themselves to that list.
Myers, himself, said he gets annoyed when he ends up with pornographic advertisements after entering drawings to win prizes for certain sporting events.
“Just because I like sports, it doesn’t mean I like (porn),” Myers said.
Some users may have spam filters available through their e-mail provider, and although these can reduce the amount of junk mail a user receives, it may not eliminate receiving spam altogether. Myers said he has a filter on his computer, but he still receives about 10 pieces of spam per day.
The Department of Justice Web site offers some tips on how to reduce the amount of spam users receive. The most effective way to keep e-mail addresses private is by not subscribing to listservs or entering chat rooms. Also, if users read the private policies of Web sites, they may be able to discern whether or not their e-mail address will be kept private.
Some users keep two different
e-mail accounts — one for personal use which is not given out, and one they use to subscribe to certain features available on the Internet.
If users receive an e-mail scam, they may forward it to the Department of Justice consumer hotline or the Federal Trade Commission.