James says:

I'm sure you can surmise that I never signed up for email alerts to anything from Circuit City. I merely use their website to manage my (rarely used) Circuit City card. It's good to see they still have the customer in mind.

The best part of the email is where they inform James that, in the future, he'll get advance notice about "grand openings." Isn't that sweet?

As part of their inquiry, FTC staff made undercover purchases from the sites. No one asked the clandestine buyers to provide verification of a prescription and the shipped drugs did not include doctors' instructions or dosage information, officials said.

According to MSNBC, the sites used names like "Canadian Healthcare," were run by U.S. and New Zealand citizens, were hosted in China, sourced their drugs from India, and ran credit card purchases through Cyprus and the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The world of spam is flat, indeed (although there's probably an email in my inbox that promises to prevent that).

"FTC busts 'world's largest spam operation'" [MSNBC]
(Photo: Getty Images)

Under the terms of a preliminary settlement agreement, [Timberland and e-commerce company GSI] will pay $7 million into a cash fund to reimburse those who received the messages, according to KamberEdelson LLC, one of the law firms that helped bring the suit.

To sign up for your slice of the $7 million pie—pending court approval—visit www.timberlandtextsettlement.com and register as a claimant. You have to register by Feburary 2nd, 2009.

"Timberland pays out to settle text spam lawsuit" [InfoWorld via IntoMobile]

The court noted that "were the 'Federalist Papers' just being published today via e-mail, that transmission by Publius would violate the [current Virginia] statute."

The real problem with the statute is that it's overbroad, said the court, and it can't simply be reworded. We assume this means the state legislature will have to start over, and this time limit the statute to "commercial or fraudulent e-mail, or to unprotected speech such as pornography or defamation."

This is one of those feel-bad judgments—ultimately we agree with the court that the law needs to be more specific in order to limit its power, but in the meantime this means that spam king Jeremy Jaynes, who had been sentenced to 9 years in prison in 2004 under the newly enacted law, is now free to resume spamming until a new, better worded statute can be drafted.

"Va. Supreme Court Strikes Down State's Anti-Spam Law" [Washington Post] (Thanks to Michael!)
(Photo: Getty)

Joe writes:

1. Telemarketer calls company X and says “hello my name is Jim and I was looking for the person in charge of (ex.) Computer equipment. Often the secretary will say that he or she does not know who is in charge and other times they will get a name their first time up to bat. The telemarketer (if turned down) will then try back another time with “Can I please speak with your I.T. Manager.”

2. Eventually the telemarketer will get a contact name and that is what they build off of to begin faxing. Calls will continuously come in asking more information each time. For example, if you found out Tom handles I.T. then you (the telemarketer) would call into the office and say “Hello can I please speak with Tom in I.T. (which you are generally turned down because Tom has no idea who you are) that is when you ask the secretary “ I am just trying to get Tom some information, can I have his fax number quickly.”

3. As long as the companies secretary (or anyone at the company you are trying to fax) clears it then they are free to fax as much as they want until written notice is given. Generally they will call the company using the lines above and right before hanging up say “I am trying to send Tom some information is his fax number still 123-456-7891? Once the secretary says yes, that is his fax then they legally have the green light to start faxing. All calls are recorded so when these things go to court the telemarketing firm generally will pull out the tape of the secretary giving the verbal and the case is thrown out or the other company drops their complaint.

Really? That's all it takes to cover their asses? So how do you fight it? I guess by training whoever answers the phone to never say "yes" if a stranger over the phone asks for a fax number to be confirmed and to say something different instead. Any ideas?

PREVIOUSLY: "How Do I Stop Fax Spam?"

(Photo: Getty)

First the bad news: no, there's no "Do Not Fax" list. However, you you can still file a complaint with the FCC if you're being faxed without permission.

You might also check out JunkFax.org, an advocacy site that's filled with resources to fight junk faxers. JunkFax.org will ask you to provide an email address for some services—they say they want to be able to contact you when there's legislative news in your state—but even if you don't participate in their general cause you can find a lot of useful information, including a lengthy step-by-step process to fight back.

They also suggest you turn to your phone service provider for help:

The foolproof way to actually find out who they are is to call the phone company and have them put a "call trap" on your line (see Investigation tools for more information). Then file a small claims case against "john doe" and fill out a small claims subpoena either to the sheriff or the phone company so they will tell you who is calling you. Then use Abika to find out who they really are if the phone company data didn't reveal that. Then contact them. If they don't stop, sue them.

Finally, if you're willing to spend money rather than time to fight junk faxers, you can invest in equipment or services to filter them out.

First, I received an e-mail from an unknown person; his name in the e-mail is Dr. Mike Johnson. The contents of this e-mail is an announcement of a part time job, he offered 10% of the total money after exchanging traveling cheques, and the remaining 90% was to be money transferred to him via Western Union-Money Transfer. I replied to his e-mail and gave him my personal information and address. I received American Express Traveler's Cheques totaling $2,500 a few days after my e-mail reply. Following this, I went to (redacted) Bank to cash these Traveler's Cheques. I then transferred 90% of this money to Nigeria. A week later, he delivered to me an additional $7,000 in Travelers Cheques. I followed the same process that I did the first time. The total amount money involved was $9,500, 10% ($950) I kept for my fees, $650 was used in transfer fees, and $7900 was transferred to Nigeria.

I understood what the part-time job entailed. I thought that it was legal work. I wanted to give it a try and so replied to the e-mail. Although I did not know whether he would send me back an e-mail the first time, he delivered $2,500 in Travelers Cheques to me. I did not know whether these cheques were real or not because they looked like money. According to Dr. Mike Johnson's directions I had to sign and write a date by myself, and take the cheques to be cashed at the bank. At the bank I asked the bank officer about cashing the cheques. After the bank checked the cheques, the bank officer told me that the cheques could be changed. Then, the bank officer gave me money. The fact ensured my understanding that the job was legal. Then, as a result, I changed a second set of Travelers Cheques totaling $7,000.

On Thursday, I went to the bank office after a phone call regarding the fact that the Travelers Cheques that I had cashed had defaulted. After meeting with the bank officers, they made a phone call to the police station about this problem. After a while, the police came to the bank and we went to the police station to further investigate the matter. Then, at 4:30 a.m., the police went to my room with me and collected all information related to the case, and took some documents (transfer money application forms), some CDs and my PC.

I was very surprised when the bank officers told me that all of the cheques were counterfeit as I did not intend to give the bank fraudulent cheques or otherwise deceive. I did not know whether these were genuine or counterfeit cheques, I thought that the bank cashed them because they were real cheques. Had I known that these cheques were counterfeit, I wound have not cashed them and transferred the funds to a criminal. I think that this is a big problem because I became a victim of a criminal who convinced me to break the law.

Anytime someone wants to do a transaction with you where you're supposed to deposit a check and send part of the balance somewhere else, usually by wire transfer or Western Union, invariably it's a scam. Same thing goes for just about anything emanating out of Nigeria. You might laugh at this student's naivete because it makes you feel like a big man and wonder how anyone could fall for it, but it happens, someone will always fall for these frauds...otherwise the con artists wouldn't sit there at the internet cafe all day sending out emails.

Obviously, the real message got lost in “sales language” – the piece went way overboard, and I should not have allowed it. Therefore, it was my mistake, and I sincerely apologize.

We think this is excellent, except for one thing: he never addresses the "customer review" that came from his company's IP address. Hopefully, though, he's learned that it's risky to engage in bad behavior anonymously online (and since we don't know who left the comment, it's hard to blame Mike directly anyway).

Here's the full letter from Feazel Roofing:

Monday, June 16, 2008

To the administrator and readers of holyjuan.com and consumerist.com, and whomever else it concerns:

From our headquarters in Westerville, Feazel Roofing Company has been a leader in the roofing business in Greater Columbus for over 20 years. Great service to our clients has built this company, and keeping our entire team focused on that, everyday, will be one of the keys to our future growth and success.

Of course we provide full roof replacement services when necessary, but our company is very much focused on the service and maintenance of existing roof systems. We believe that this is a unique approach to this industry, because many contractors might try to recommend a more expensive roof replacement before it is necessary. However, we have found that with consistent maintenance and preventative care, a well-designed roof system can last much longer then expected.

In regards to the recent Blog post concerning the March 3rd direct mail marketing piece that you received, let me start by saying that I strongly agree with many of your opinions. I must admit, you’re not the only person which it upset, as I received a few other calls with the same concerns. The original marketing piece in question was designed by a 3rd party direct mail company. Fortunately, the letter was only sent as a test to a small group of individuals. While the language in this marketing piece was quite strong, the main message was supposed to be this, and these are quite verifiable facts: CertainTeed Corporation is the defendant in multiple class action lawsuits currently in process in 16 states (including Ohio), and further litigation pending in 8 other states and Canada. The lawsuits cover several different brand names of shingles manufactured since 1987, all of which have demonstrated premature curling, cracking, or de-granulation.

Here is a simple explanation of the CertainTeed Legal activity:

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/features/certainteed-shingles.html

I paid an ad agency to write the letter because I didn’t know the best way to go about educating homeowners on this issue. Obviously, the real message got lost in “sales language” – the piece went way overboard, and I should not have allowed it. Therefore, it was my mistake, and I sincerely apologize.

We do offer free preliminary estimates for all services that our company performs, including repair and replacement. However, we also charge a $179 fee for a full roof inspection. This is a more detailed and time-consuming written report, which may include pictures of any damages found, detailed measurements and multiple courses of action to remedy any concerns. We also offer this service to business partners in the Home Inspection and Real Estate industries. Our inspection pricing is very much in line with what other companies of our size charge for this service, but we always rebate the fee if any work is found during our inspection, which we do find some about half of the time.

We were offering a discounted fee of $49 for a limited time, thinking that we could perform numerous inspections in one area, saving on gas and drive time. This aspect was my idea, not the marketing company who wrote the letter.

Everything else you stated on your original Blog Post is accurate for 99% of the cases we come across with defective shingles. 100% of the CertainTeed Horizon shingles installed were defective, and are installed on thousands of homes in Central Ohio. If your shingles are defective, your home will not collapse overnight, and more often than not, water isn’t currently entering the home. However, we have had more than a handful of cases in which water has entered walls just a few years after installation, causing mold growth and other severe interior damage.

For anyone who would happen to read this who knows that they have a CertainTeed shingle installed on their home, I suggest contacting an attorney. The law firm’s website I’ve been referring homeowners to is www.halunenlaw.com but there are numerous others working on this case which can be found if you search “CertainTeed class action” in your favorite internet browser.

I would like to close by saying again that I apologize for allowing this type of “scare tactic marketing” to be sent from my company. However, I also want to state that we will continue to educate the marketplace on this issue. The shingle manufactures don’t send out a recall letter (like you might get from an auto manufacturer). Left unaddressed, problems may arise, and in some cases the problems can become catastrophic if not found in time.

Sincerely,
Mike Feazel, President
Feazel Roofing Company, Inc.

"Feazel Roofing takes the high road" [HolyJuan]

HolyJuan claims he sent a letter directly to the company when he first came across the junk mail, asking them to take specific steps to address the situation. Feazel Roofing never responded to him personally, which makes it clear that they faked the online response only as an act of public damage-control.

Oh, and then they insulted HolyJuan:

Feazel has been wonderful to work with and have saved me and my husband along with many others in the area a lot of money and headaches…so kudos to Feazel!

I assume most of you have nothing better to do than sit around blogging each other…very sad…wake up, get off the couch and do something constructive!

THANK YOU FEAZEL ROOFING!!

P.S. this letter and blog site will be forwarded to Mr. Feazel

"Feazel Roofing can kiss my asphalt" [HolyJuan]
"Crummy Roofing Company fakes customer comments to attack blogger" [HolyJuan]

The price of Spam is up too, with the average 12 oz. can costing about $2.62. That's an increase of 17 cents, or nearly 7 percent, from the same time last year. But it's not stopping sales, as the pork meat in a can seems like a good alternative to consumers.

Kimberly Quan, a stay-at-home mom of three who lives just outside San Francisco, has been feeding her family more Spam in the last six months as she tries to make her food budget go further.

She cooks meals like Spam fried rice and Spam sandwiches two or three times a month, up from once a month previously.

Pulling Spam from the shelf prevents last-minute grocery store trips and overspending, said Quan, 38, of Pleasanton, Calif.

"It's canned meat and it's in the cupboard and if everything else is gone from the fridge, it's there," she said.

Spam's maker, Hormel Foods Corp., reported last week that it saw strong sales of Spam in the second quarter, helping push up its profits 14 percent. According to sales information coming from Hormel, provided by The Nielsen Co., Spam sales were up 10.6 percent in the 12-week period ending May 3, compared to last year. In the last 24 weeks, sales were up nearly 9 percent.

The Austin, Minn.-based company, also known for the Jennie-O Turkey Store, has embarked on its first national advertising campaign for the 71-year-old brand in several years. They've credited the sales increase to that, along with new products like individually packaged "Spam Singles" slices. Also helping sales, executives said in an earnings conference call, was the fact that people looking to save money are skipping restaurant meals and eating more at home.

Spam Singles? According to the article Spam costs about $3.49 per lbs. Is this a good deal? Our local grocery store in Brooklyn has boneless chicken breasts on sale for $2.49 per lbs.

Another woman in the article says she's feeding her kids ramen more often:

April Smith has been changing the way she feeds her family in Broken Arrow, Okla., to keep up with rising costs. This summer the 33-year-old administrative assistant will feed her two boys, ages 11 and 8, more ramen for lunch. Normally they eat the noodle soup on Saturdays, but since ramen costs about a dime per pack, they'll get it twice a week. Smith says she'll throw in some leftover frozen vegetables to make it more nutritious.

"Since it's cheap and easy, I figure why not let them eat it twice a week instead of once a week," Smith said.

What are you doing to save money at the grocery store? Is canned meat involved?

Sales of Spam rise as consumers trim food costs [AP]
(Photo: jodsey )

Our reader writes:

Three years ago I bought a house in NJ and moved into the new development. In the beginning, my mailbox was constantly getting stuffed with flyers and the like offering services such as cleaning, nanny, and contractor work. Knowing that it is illegal to place these materials inside a mailbox without a stamp (see Section 1725 of Title 18 of the United States Code), I asked via the USPS website whom I should be contacting in order to get these to stop coming to me. The response I got back the following day was to forward the matter to my local Post Office. I did exactly that, mailing the offending flyer with a letter to the local post office asking them to enforce Section 1725 of Title 18 of the United States Code. The amount of flyers received in my mailbox has since decreased, but everytime I got one in my mailbox, I would mail it with a letter again asking them to enforce Section 1725 of Title 18.
Several weeks ago, I got a knock on the door and it was a postal worker who had indicated that they have received the letters I had been sending them all along and to please stop. She admitted that they call the business in violation of Section 1725 and ask them not to do it again, but do nothing to really enforce it. It puzzles me why they even bother to establish this and layout penalties if no one is going to enforce them.

It puzzles us too. The USPS's website (PDF) states: "Except under 2.11 [dealing with newspaper boxes attached to mailboxes], the receptacles described in 1.1 may be used only for matter bearing postage. Other than as permitted by 2.10 or 2.11, no part of a mail receptacle may be used to deliver any matter not bearing postage, including items or matter placed upon, supported by, attached to, hung from, or inserted into a mail receptacle." Note that "door slots and nonlockable bins or troughs used with apartment house mailboxes" are excluded from this prohibition, and can be loaded up with as many flyers as they can hold. Although our reader was told to contact her local post office, there's actually a specific form for these complaints on the U.S. Postal Inspection website. You can also try contacting the business directly and informing them that they are breaking the law.

Customer Mail Receptacles [USPS]
File a Complaint [United States Postal Inspection Service] (PDF)
Postage Unpaid On Deposited Mail Matter [United States Code]
(Photo: Jenna Belle)

Over the past few days, I've been having a real problem with 1-800 PetMeds. The odd thing is, it's not over an order that I placed, it's with their e-mails. A while back, my mother started ordering heartworm pills from 1-800 PetMeds, because they were about $10 cheaper than the vets. Because of ordering them online, and forgetting to uncheck an e-mail subscriber list box, she got e-mails about special offers and such. No big deal there, until this week.

On Wednesday, we had to put our dog (named Mandy) down. On Friday, my mother was checking her e-mail and had an e-mail from 1-800 PetMeds with the subject "Take Mandy [our dog] on a picnic this Memorial Day Weekend!" 2 days after we put Mandy down, this e-mail comes. It was enough to get my mother worked up into tears. I had her log into her e-mail, and I clicked the unsubscribe link at the bottom, so we wouldn't get any more e-mails from them - we just don't need that.

Saturday, she checks her e-mail again, and a second message: "Is Mandy dealing with Spring allergies?" Again, my mother broke into tears. I was furious. I clicked unsubscribe to NOT get their e-mails anymore. So I set up a filter to automatically delete 1-800 PetMeds e-mails. I had to be specific on the filter, so I put a ban on from 1-800 P* (wildcard) and 1-800 PetMeds.

Sunday, yet ANOTHER e-mail: "Summer showers are around the corner, make sure Mandy is dressed properly!" This time, my mother didn't break down into tears, but this has gone too far. The from in the e-mail: Your PetMed Alert. I blocked that, but who knows when the next e-mail is going to come?

I called them and spoke with a representative on the phone. She looked up the account information and verified that we were NOT taken off the mailing list. I asked her to do so, and she said it would take 7-10 days to remove us from the mailing list. That seems like s bit much, but if it will stop the e-mails from coming, it will be worth it.

I've never had this problem trying to get rid of e-mails that I don't want before. It's not like these are spam, these are notices from a company that we bought something from again.

I hope that the woman on the phone removing the e-mail address from the list is enough to stop them from coming. Otherwise, I'm not sure what other options I have with 1-800 PetMeds.

We're sorry to hear about your loss, Brian. According to the CAN-SPAM act of 2003, the law allows 10 business days for businesses to comply with opt-out requests. Hopefully, the spam emails will stop sooner rather than later.

1800 PetMeds Problem [Consumerist Forums]
The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers [FTC]
(Photo: Getty)

Why can't people set up filters to turn off unwanted spam text messages, especially when they're sent by unknown parties to a phone number that's never been (knowingly) listed by the owner? Maybe it's because Verizon gets to charge you 20 cents per message, suggests this reader who can't figure out why her grandfather's mobile number suddenly became a spam magnet after switching to a new Verizon phone.

Dear Consumerist,

My family and I wanted to relay a recent experience we had with the phone company Verizon. Over the last couple of months my grandfather's phone started receiving e-mail and web-based spam text messages. His phone is part of our family's plan, and he never put his phone number on the internet (for this reason) nor does he know how to send or receive text messages. Mind you this was a brand new phone with the same number, which had not received any sort of messages like these before the new phone. Just for clarification, he did not release his number before the new phone either.

We discovered on our phone bill that we were being charged for these spam text message at $.20 a text (up from the $.10 price just a few months ago). My mother spent several hours on separate days inquiring on how to turn off just the computer generated text messages. Even as the primary on the account, she was unable to turn them off. The salesmen in a local Verizon store stated that you could only turn off ALL text messages, not just web-based ones, which she knew to be untrue. She contacted the customer service at 611 and spent the many hours with tech support trying to accomplish this task. 611 was only able to help my mother when she had the phone in question on hand after registering an online account (at vtext.com) with Verizon for that specific phone (we had to make a new account for each phone) and provided the last four digits of her social security number. We had to repeat this process for each phone, which meant that phones had to travel from over an hour away so that we could do this for my grandfather's and grandmother's phones.

Our concern here is that Verizon is making big money off spam and this feature is nearly impossible to disable, even on the master account. The customer service has only occasionally reversed these charges. Somebody needs to step in (perhaps the FCC) and force Verizon to make disabling this feature far easier—-like offering an uncomplicated, free option to opt out.

Long story short, Verizon should not be allowed to make money off spam.

Sincerely,

A frustrated Verizon customer
(Note: this is the name my mother provided when talking with customer support)

We agree, and we think it would be fairly easy (but less profitable, which is why it won't happen) to implement a policy that allows CSRs to automatically credit, no-questions-asked, any charges for text messages sent by companies, known spam IP addresses, or unlisted numbers. The number of jerks who would game the policy to get a few free text messages each month would be far outweighed by the goodwill earned from customers who will no longer feel Verizon's taking advantage of them with sms spam.

(Photo: *nomad*)

If such a list became popular, would it reduce the ad model of the web to the blind shotgun blasts of TV advertising? That would suck—personally, if I'm going to see an ad, I want it to be about something that interests me. I don't like the idea of a third-party harvesting my data and packaging it with other users' data to profit from it, but I do think targeted advertising is an improvement over traditional advertising. Besides, how would such a list work with the rapidly evolving technologies used for data tracking? NebuAd's deep-packet-sniffing collects lots of detailed info but doesn't connect it directly to an ISP customer's account—would that be permissible?

Being a smart consumer is deeply relevant to this issue. Ultimately, the individual consumer has to understand the basics of online advertising before choosing to engage in any online behavior. Telemarketing, and to a lesser extent junk mail, take public info that by necessity has to be public (telephone numbers and addresses, for example), then exploits that info to contact you without your permission. When you're online, however, you're leaving a data trail behind you like heat exhaust, and anyone who knows how to read it can gain information on you. But you can also learn to reduce that data trail, or cloak it, or even disguise it as a different data trail. It's an arms race, but then everything in the information age is.

When companies try to take control of your data trail from you—like what Facebook did with its Beacon program—then we have a real problem; suddenly your self-protection schemes no longer work and you're left open to privacy loss. So far the public has reacted swiftly and decisively against such overreaching stunts.

My hope is that the public side of the market remains a more efficient way of dealing with company misbehavior—and that Average Web User X gets over his technophobia (or more likely plain disinterest) and learns the basics of online privacy if he values his part in the demographic data pool so much.

"Privacy Advocates: Consumer Education Isn't Enough" [PC World]

RELATED
"UK advertising-tech fight shows complexity of privacy battle" [Associated Press]
(Photo: Getty)

The LA Times traces how the process works through one accidental member's experience:

West L.A. resident Elaine Schmidt experienced Reunion.com's aggressive marketing for herself when she received an e-mail the other day that appeared to be from a longtime acquaintance.
 
It said: "Hi, I looked for you on Reunion.com, the largest people search service — but you weren't there." The e-mail instructed her to click on a link to see who else has been searching for her.
 
Curious to see if her acquaintance had left a message, Schmidt, 44, clicked on the link and found herself at Reunion.com's site, where she was prompted to register so she could see who'd been searching for her.

In Schmidt's case, the e-mail that prompted her to open her address book to the company appeared to come from Vera Eck, a Santa Monica psychotherapist whom Schmidt has known for a while.
 
"I wasn't searching for her," Eck told me.
 
Just an hour or so before Schmidt received her e-mail, Eck, 46, said she received a message from what appeared to be the father of one of the kids in her son's Cub Scout pack. Curious to know why he was searching for her, she registered at Reunion.com to see if her acquaintance had left a message.
 
Eck provided access to her Gmail address book as part of the registration process. And so it goes.

Justin even complained to the FCC, but got back a form response asking him to just complain some more. So now he's asking the Consumerist readership for advice. How do you get Condé Nast to stop spamming? As he writes at the end, what he wants to know is how to "get them to stop, in accordance with the law, not just sidestep the problem."

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy pretty close to where I am, I was once subscribed to Cargo Magazine, kind of a mens version of Vogue. Had a lot of gadgets, nice clothes, basically the Gawker empire, but in print.
 
Sadly, they canceled the magazine about 2 years into publication, and remaining issues on subscriptions were switched to GQ magazine. After my subscription ended, I didn't renew, but every now and then, would receive an email from them about offerings, ect. Just basic spam.
 
Attached is an email dated October 11, 2007, stating that I do not wish to receive ANY emails from ANY CondeNast Publication. Since then, I have received 16! emails from them, in direct violation of their own privacy policy. I have forwarded the email to their privacy administrator, have requested for them to stop sending me emails, everything short of an EECB. This isn't some Nigerian guy trying to make my penis larger or send me money, this is a company here, in the United States, that I know should be held accountable.
 
So I called them out in violation of CANSPAM, and sent my confirmation of removal, and copies of the emails sent. I've used the FTC website, forwarded the emails directly, filled out forms, but to no avail. Here is the response from the FTC:

March 24, 2008 Justin XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX, FL XXXXXX Re: FTC Ref. No. XXXXXX   Dear Justin XXX:   Thank you for contacting the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") regarding your receipt of unwanted unsolicited commercial email (commonly referred to as "UCE" or "spam").   The strong public outcry against spam prompted Congress to pass the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 ("CAN-SPAM" or the "CAN-SPAM Act"). The CAN-SPAM Act does not prohibit the sending of commercial email, it merely sets forth requirements for sending commercial email. CAN-SPAM gives consumers the right to ask companies to stop sending them commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial email messages, and lays out penalties for the people who send violative messages. The law's requirements, which took effect on January 1, 2004, cover email whose primary purpose is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service, including content on a Web site operated for a commercial purpose.   The FTC asks that you send a copy of any unwanted or deceptive email messages to spam@uce.gov. (Please be sure to include the full email header when forwarding your spam - it is the header information that makes it possible for consumer protection agencies to follow up on your complaint.) The FTC uses the spam stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive spam email. In addition, be sure to let the FTC know if a "remove me" request is not honored. If you want to complain about a removal link that doesn't work or not being able to unsubscribe from a list, you can fill out the FTC's online complaint form at www.ftc.gov. Your complaint will be added to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel database and made available to hundreds of law enforcement and consumer protection agencies.   Unfortunately, right now, there is no way to stop receiving spam, just as there is no way to stop receiving junk mail at your home. But there are steps you can take to help minimize the amount of spam you receive. Enclosed please find a FTC Consumer Alert with tips on what you can do to help reduce the amount of spam you receive.   I hope you find the above information helpful in addressing this issue.   Sincerely yours, Consumer Response Center

Big help that was, considering that this is their jurisdiction. They aren't even "taking it seriously". Violation of CANSPAM is an $11,000 fine, so 16 emails can add up pretty quickly.
 
So, my question, to your and the readers of the Consumerist, is how to make them stop sending me emails. I know it's just easier to automatically have them be deleted, mark them as spam, ect., but the importance is to get them to stop, in accordance with the law, not just sidestep the problem.

I registered my Peachtree accounting software, and started receiving e-mails from them. I unsubscribed, and thought I was done. Today, a few weeks later, I received this e-mail: Please re-confirm your opt-out status...

Dear Valued Peachtree by Sage Customer:

Our records indicate that [redacted] may have been inadvertantly [sic] opted out of e-mail communications.

If you did request to be removed, please click here to re-confirm your opt-out status.

At Sage Software, we want to make sure that you have access to the latest tools and resources you need to effectively manage your business and get the most from your Peachtree software. If you would like to receive Product Updates, The Peachtree Insider eNewsletter, and email-only promotions, then no further action is required.

Sincerely,

Pat Carson
Peachtree Customer Division

Over the last 12-24 months, I've been annoyed with about 3-4 mailings a week from Chase for various add-on services and useless products. Already a customer of theirs, I did not appreciate this onslaught of advertising. Here's a quick opt-out website in which you can cancel all direct marketing letters from Chase... dnmoptions.chase.com.

BitDefender Finds Spammers are Leveraging Google Applications [via The Raw Feed]

My last decent sized company had a "food@company" email. They opted into everyone deals and menu emails and when we wanted to order something we hit that email and searched for what we wanted. Worked out so well I set the same thing up for myself with gmail.

(Photo: jason.kaechler)

Here are the two biggest problems Tim sees with Pizza Hut's "no choice" strategy:

First, it completely eliminated all of the value mentioned above that could have been created by an online order. Since we called in [and abandoned our online order], conversion costs increased, Pizza Hut will never have the opportunity to add our email address to their marketing lists (via a check or a non-uncheck), they will never have the chance to up sell or cross sell to us in an automated fashion, they have completely obliterated any loyalty we had and they provided an utterly terrible customer experience. Moreover, their customer retention and market share numbers just dwindled by a body count of two (my friend and I).

Second, the strategy that Pizza Hut is utilizing makes me wonder if most users don't notice what they're getting themselves into and if this is what Pizza Hut is shooting for. Well known practice in eCommerce is to force a customer to agree to a sites general terms of use in order to transact on that site. Sometimes, at the same time a user is agreeing to the Terms of Use, a second, optional, opportunity is provided that allows the the customer to opt-in to advertising. If only one option is given, it is by and large a Terms of Use agreement. Therefore, if a customer only sees one option, and doesn't read the details, they assume that they are agreeing to a sites Terms of Use, and that no option to opt-in to advertising exists, let alone that they are opting in if they agree to the Terms of Use.

For those who initially opted-in to receive future offers or promotional materials or to allow the sharing of Personal Information with third parties may subsequently opt-out as follows:

For email communications: (a) send an e-mail to webmaster@pizzahut.com or (b) if you are a registered user, deselect the option on your accounts profile page under "My Account" on Our website;

For text message communications, (a) send an email to webmaster@pizzahut.com and include the appropriate mobile telephone number(s), (b) send a "STOP" text message to "749488" or (c) if you are a registered user, deselect the option on your accounts profile page under "My Account" on Our website.

"That's Freaking Spam-tastic: PizzaHut.com Requires Customers to Opt-In to Advertising When Ordering Online" [PlumberSurplus]

From ForestEthics' press release:

ForestEthics is urging Americans to sign a petition at www.DoNotMail.org demanding a national registry that will finally offer citizens control over the unsolicited coupons, credit cards, catalogs and advertisements that fill their mailboxes on a daily basis.

The production of the 100 billion pieces of junk mail that Americans annually receive requires more than 100 million trees, while producing as much global warming emissions as 3.7 million cars.

Junk mail distributed in the United States currently accounts for 30% of all the mail delivered in the world, though 44% of it goes to landfills unopened.

Polls consistently show that between 80 and 90% of respondents dislike junk mail and are eager to find a mechanism that will address their frustration and concerns about the problem.

Vermont State Representative Christopher Pearson, who is sponsoring Do Not Mail legislation in Vermont, added, "If our experience in Vermont is any indication, Americans are eager to assert their right to protect their privacy, their right to stop needless waste, and their support for a Do Not Mail Registry."

DoNotMail.org

RELATED
"Stop getting junk mail" [DoNotMail.org]
"Phone numbers and websites to opt out of junk mail" [DoNotMail.org]

CODE ROYAL is the first jewel brand worldwide that combines a costly engraved white agate with a rose golden frame (massive) in 18 carat. White is the color of purity and innocence, of the unbroken light and the absolute truth. What accentuates the color white in a more beautiful way than the deeply symbolic agate gemstone?

Since ancient times, people have cherished this gemstone, ascribing protectional power to it. Agate has a reputation of not only giving protection and security, but also of assisting the process of concentrating on the essential and of preventing depressions.

Complementary to this powerful element, rose gold symbolizes the fire of life and love. Its warm shine suits the color of skin.

The "White Collection" by CODE ROYAL offers over 2'500 combinations containing 50 engraving designs and 5 signet ring types. Moreover, the exclusive service meets any individual customer wishes with engraving family crests and initials by expert hand.

Customers can also choose their signet rings of the "White Collection" in alternative materials such as silver 925, yellow gold 585 or palladium white gold.

"White Collection" signet rings are an absolute must-have for men and women in summer 2008.

D E T A I L S

- "White Collection" prices: silver rings from € 229.- ; golden rings from € 769.-

- Silver 925; yellow, rose and white gold in 585 and 750

- Family crests and initials engraved by expert hand

CODE ROYAL PROVIDES MORE THAN 20.000 VARIATIONS

CODE ROYAL unites the timeless craft of the goldsmith with Jet-Set design using materials of the highest quality.

With more than 20,000 possible combinations, every CODE ROYAL signet ring is handpicked and individually made, and is therefore unique.

100% handmade in Germany - Only finest materials such as sterling silver, yellow, rose and white gold (each in 14 and 18 karat) are used for CODE ROYAL. The expensive agate is exclusively used to adorn these jewels. Each signet ring is made by specialists in seven work steps.

CODE ROYAL IS A REVOLUTION - VIA INTERNET ONLY

Another special feature of CODE ROYAL is the way of distribution. The signet sings can only be purchased on the internet under www.CODE-ROYAL.com. Customers can easily get a detailed three dimensional impression and compose their own personalized signet sing. Even individual initials engraving can be practically chosen online.

from: Registration OptOut < shopper@jcpenneyeservices.com> to: ******@gmail.com, date: Dec 12, 2007 10:36 AM subject: Email Unsubscribe Confirmation mailed-by: jcpenneyeservices.com

While registering as a shopper with jcpenney.com, you chose not to receive our promotional Email. This is being sent to confirm that ******@ gmail.com will not receive Email from jcpenney.com.

The decision to receive Email is personal and can be influenced for a variety of reasons. In an attempt to better understand and respond to our customers, we would appreciate it if you would answer a short survey on this topic.

To participate in the survey, click here.
Your responses, and your email address, will remain private and will help us to continue to build a better shopping experience for you, and a stronger relationship with our customers.

jcpenney.com has always believed in using only permission-based Email marketing. If, in the future, you decide that you would like to begin receiving our promotional Email you can subscribe at jcpenney.com.

Thank you for your participation, and thank you for shopping with us.

(Thanks to Scott!)

According to the register, for once this doesn't appear to be a fraud-based crime:

The company [Fidelity] is unaware of any identity theft or fraudulent financial activity resulting from the theft. Rather, it believes the stolen records were used for marketing purposes.

"IT pro admits stealing 8.4M consumer records" [Channel Register]
(Photo: Getty)

Google won't disclose numbers, but the company says that spam attempts, as a percentage of e-mail that's transmitted through its Gmail system, have waned over the last year. That could indicate that some spammers have gotten discouraged and have stopped trying to get through Google's spam filters.

All we know is that gmail's spam filter is so good that we have no concept of how much spam is truly out there, and that's the way it should be.

Spammers Giving Up? Google Thinks So [Wired via BoingBoing]
(Photo:Marike79)

The e-mail says it is from "frauddep@ftc.gov" and has the FTC's government seal. Recipients should forward the e-mail to spam@uce.gov, an FTC spam database used in investigations.

The idea is that stupid people will click it, then hear a voice telling them to buy XYZ stock, and do it.

Ars Technica says:

The files are given innocuous-sounding names like elvis.mp3, oursong.mp3, smashingpumpkins.mp3, or coolringtone.mp3. The payload is disappointing: a voice recording touting the virtues of some corporate stock; in other words, it's pump-and-dump stock spam in a new format. It's also a dumb idea. The overlap of those gullible enough to click on MP3 files of unknown provenance and those willing and able to invest in a stock that they've never heard of is certainly minute. It's bound to be more of an annoyance than anything else and seems unlikely to result in the desired stock purchases.

55 percent of e-mail bandwidth [Ars Technica]
(Photo:Getty)

UPDATE: Cascade Toboggan responds.

Dana! If you read this, please understand that no sane person will mistake Michal's custom email address—"cascadetoboggan@mydomain.com"—with yours, which ends with cascadetoboggan.com. We know that being a small business owner is a challenge, but going after legit customers isn't going to help. You could have asked Michal to use some other unique identifier in his shipping and email addresses, so that you'd sleep better and he'd still be able to track spam leaks. (And this is what we suggest to Michal and other readers in the future too, if only to avoid raising any red flags at companies that do sell their info.)

The only other reasons we can see for canceling the order, even after talking to the customer about it, is you're just a hot-headed guy who doesn't like to be confronted by an angry customer, or you indeed sell your database to other companies and don't like the idea of someone tagging your data to track it later.

In our previous incarnation as a web developer, we were consistently amazed by the willful ignorance of clients regarding the web. It's certainly okay to not know about a new(ish) technology—but wouldn't you want to ask questions and try to learn more about how everything works? ("No," said our clients 90% of the time.) Having a Ted Stevens-like understanding of the Internet is only amusing when it's a national lawmaker.

An account of the experience (Thanks to Michal!)
(Photo: Getty)

CASCADE TOBOGGAN'S RESPONSE:

To Whom It May Concern: I can certainly appreciate your role as consumer advocate. So many times consumers are treated unfairly by companies (usually large ones) and have no recourse. However, I believe it benefits all to get both sides of the story before making judgments or decisions concerning correct behavior.

First and foremost, we sent Mr. Bryc an e-mail immediately after he placed his order that was both cordial and requested he stop the practice of using our company name as both a ship to address and as an e-mail handle. I understand the rational for this, but there are certainly better methods of tracking the sale of information. I cannot say why Mr. Bryce did not receive our e-mail, everyone else does.

We do not sell any of our customers information, or give it away. We state this in our privacy policy on the web.

After not hearing from Mr. Bryc following my original e-mail, we assumed that he had elected to take his business elsewhere. Several days later, he sent an e-mail (this was Friday), then another on Saturday. When I returned to the office on Monday, I promptly called him to apologize for not sending his order. I also asked him if he received the e-mail I sent on the day of his order. He denied receiving this, although he has received every e-mail I have sent him since? I then asked him about his use of our name. He explained to me why he used this technique. I empathized with his desire to track people that engage in this practice, but suggested there were ways that this could be done without using someone's legal trademark. I requested that he stop using this method and asked for his assurance that he would not use our name further. He told me that he would not be doing business with us in the future, but would not agree to not use our trade name.

At this time I did agree to send him the product he ordered, but would not send it to Cascade Toboggan at the Seattle address he specified. Several minutes afterward when I had a moment to reflect on the conversation, I made the decision that Mr. Bryc was not the kind of customer that we wanted to be involved with. His tone and in my opinion, his intent was inflammatory. I sent him a very cordial e-mail indicating that after further consideration we were invoking our right as a company to decline to do business with him.

I've owned this company for nearly 10 years, and the company has been in business for over 45 years. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Bryc is the first customer we have declined to do business with. That should tell you something. We don't make hot headed decisions regarding business practices.

I too am a ski patroller, and have been for many years. My company has also donated many, many thousands of dollars to the National Ski Patrol, various Search and Rescue organizations and the National Avalanche School. I'm sure if you polled our many thousands of customers, you would be hard pressed to find a handful that have had a negative experience with our company. I would hazard a guess that the opposite is true of Mr. Bryc.

Sincerely,

Dana A. Jordan

Cascade Toboggan Rescue Equipment Company

Kilbride and Schaffer began spamming in 2003, sending out millions of spam messages advertising hard-core porn sites. The messages contained graphic images that were visible to whoever opened the e-mail. Later in 2003, the two men began using servers in Amsterdam to make messages they were sending from Phoenix appear to be coming from outside the United States.

On June 25, a federal jury in Phoenix convicted the two men of sending spam messages with forged headers and domain names, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, and obscenity charges.

Our favorite moment: when Halleran asks, "If I cancel my account with you guys, will that stop the mailing?", and the man on the other end just sighs in angry exasperation.

(Thanks to Taryn!)

"Off The List" [YouTube]

From Reuters:

The SEC earlier this year launched an initiative to cut the profit potential for stock-touting spam, and said on Thursday that spam-related complaints to its online complaint center have been cut in half.

The agency also noted that recent reports indicate a significant drop in the stock market spam getting to e-mail inboxes.

"Because of our aggressive enforcement efforts, there has been a reported 30 percent drop in financial spam, and that means fewer investors are getting ripped off," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox in a statement.

The Symantec Internet Security Threat Report released on Sept. 17 said the decrease "is due to a decline in spam touting penny stocks that was triggered by actions taken by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which limited the profitability of this type of spam by suspending trading of the stocks that are touted."

US SEC says its anti-spam efforts cutting fraud [SEC]
(Photo:MovieScreenshots)

Ameritrade has known about the problem at least since late May when two of its customers sued the brokerage in federal court because they were receiving unwanted e-mail ads on accounts used only for Ameritrade.

The data on Ameritrade's servers may have been vulnerable for an extended period of time dating back at least to last October, according to the lawsuit filed by lawyer Scott A. Kamber. The company said Friday the problem had recently been fixed.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit had wanted the court to order Ameritrade to tell its customers about the data problem, but Ameritrade issued its release before a hearing could be held. The plaintiffs are also seeking damages and are trying to qualify as a class-action lawsuit.

"They preferred putting out a press release with their own language in it rather than have the court order them to put out a release with our language," Kamber said.

Ameritrade officials did not immediately respond to a message left Friday afternoon with questions about the lawsuit.

Earlier in the day, Ameritrade spokeswoman Kim Hillyer said the company discovered the breach in its system during a routine review of complaints about e-mail ads.

"As soon as we found the issue and were able to stop it, we made plans to notify clients," Hillyer said.

"On April 14, 2007, I signed up for an AmeriTrade account using an e-mail address consisting of 16 random alphanumeric characters, which I never gave to anyone else. On May 15, I started receiving pump-and-dump stock spams sent to that e-mail address.

I was hardly the first person to discover that this happens. Almost all of the top hits in a Google search for "ameritrade spam" (search without the quotes) are from people with the same story: they used a unique address for each service that they sign up with, so they could tell if any company ever leaked their address to a spammer, and the address they gave to AmeriTrade started getting stock spam. "

TD Ameritrade says contact info stolen [Yahoo!]
Is AmeriTrade tied to pump-and-dump stock scams? [BoingBoing]
(Photo:Getty)

PREVIOUSLY: TD Ameritrade Hacked, Customer Data Compromised