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 Please read all the information below. Print out today's worksheet and complete it. It will be due tommorrow.  

YOU'VE GOT MAIL: HOW TO DEAL WITH UNWANTED EMAIL

Do you receive lots of junk email messages from people you don't know? It's no surprise if you do. As more people use email, marketers are increasingly using email messages to pitch their products and services. Some consumers find unsolicited commercial email - also known as "spam" - annoying and time consuming; others have lost money to bogus offers that arrived in their email in-box.

Typically, an email spammer buys a list of email addresses from a list broker, who compiles it by "harvesting" addresses from the Internet. If your email address appears in a newsgroup posting, on a website, in a chat room, or in an online service's membership directory, it may find its way onto these lists. The marketer then uses special software that can send hundreds of thousands — even millions — of email messages to the addresses at the click of a mouse.

HOW CAN I REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF UNWANTED EMAIL?

• Try not to display your email address in public. 
• Check the privacy policy when you submit your address to a website. See if it allows the company to sell your address.
• Read and understand the entire form before you transmit personal information through a website.
• Decide if you want to use two email addresses — one for personal messages and one for newsgroups and chat rooms. 
• Use a unique email address. Your choice of email addresses may affect the amount of spam you receive. Spammers use "dictionary attacks" to sort through possible name combinations at large ISPs or email services, hoping to find a valid address. Thus, a common name such as jdoe may get more spam than a more unique name like jd51x02oe.
• Use an email filter.

WHAT CAN I DO WITH SPAM IN MY IN BOX?

Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Send a copy of unwanted or deceptive messages to spam@uce.gov. The FTC uses the unsolicited emails stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive spam email.

 How Can I Avoid Spam Scams?

Here are some of the most common scam offers likely to arrive by email:

• Chain letters. Chain letters that involve money or valuable items and promise big returns are illegal. If you start one or send one on, you are breaking the law. Chances are you will receive little or no money back on your "investment." Despite the claims, a chain letter will never make you rich. For more information on chain emails, check out www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt075.shtm.
• Work-At-Home Schemes. Not all work at home opportunities deliver on their promises. Many ads omit the fact that you may have to work many hours without pay. Or they don't disclose all the costs you will have to pay.
• Weight Loss Claims. Programs or products that promote easy or effortless long term weight loss don't work. Taking off weight, and keeping it off, requires exercise and permanent changes in your diet.
• Credit Repair Offers. Ignore offers to erase accurate negative information from your credit record. There's no legal way to do that.
• Advance Fee Loan Scams. Be wary of promises to provide a loan for a fee, regardless of your past credit history. Remember, legitimate banks don't issue credit cards without first checking your credit.

ASSIGNMENT:

Part One:

Print out the worksheets below by clicking on the link. They are due tommorrow.