Receiving Unsolicited Email Newsletters?

Recently we've noticed a proliferation of newsletters being sent out in unsolicited fashion. The aim being, it seems, to engage your attention and divert your attention away from the fact that you didn't request to be notified about this particular topic in the first place. Regardless of whether you're interested in the topic at hand, this is a violation of your privacy rights. And, in some cases, the newsletter will lead to a malicious source, that may contain viruses and or spyware. Here's how to handle these newsletters.
First off, it's a good idea to screen all your incoming email with software that can prevent malicious email content and/or attachments from adversely affecting you. We recommend (and use ourselves) Firetrust's Mailwasher. Without a screener, we urge you to refrain from opening potentially questionable emails. This especially applies to their attachments.
Assuming you have email screening software installed that lets you view the contents of an email without opening it, you can take the following steps.
If you receive an email newsletter and don't remember requesting it, take the following steps:
Check and see what the recipient email address of the newsletter is. If it's not yours, or is sent to multiple people or "undisclosed recipients," it is most likely a spam email that may link to malicious content on the web (or contain a malicious attachment). Our advice is to delete it, and if you receive it again, file a report with us.If the recipient of the newsletter is indeed your email address, you'll want to proceed to see if the newsletter appears legitimate or not. Look at (without clicking on) the website URL source (viewable in MailWasher) and see if it links to a legitimate website. You can type the website URL in a Google search box without actually visiting the site itself to get an idea of whether the site is legitimate or not.Next, every legitimate newsletter should have an unsubscribe or remove me option, usually found in the footer of the newsletter. If your newsletter doesn't, chances are highly likely it's not legitimate. If there is an unsubscribe link, there's always the chance the unsubscribe link itself leads to a malicious source. For this reason, repeat the step above to analyze the unsubscribe source (website).If you're certain the unsubscribe website is legitimate, go ahead and follow the unsubscribe process to remove yourself. If you're uncertain, feel free to comment below and we'll analyze for you.Next, you'll want to report the sender to the newsletter provider, and make them aware that you received an unsolicited email newsletter from them. If they get enough responses, they will usually take action and close the offending account.
The DMA (Direct Marketing Association) has a Safe Harbor act, the intention of which is to prevent unsolicited newsletters. Contact information for the DMA is as follows:
Safe Harbor
Direct Marketing Association
1615 L St, NW Ste 1100
Washington, DC 20036-5624
safeharbor@the-dma.org
DMAResponsibility.org
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