Opting Out Increases Spam?

J. L. Tympanum writes "I used to ignore spam but recently I have been using the opt-out feature. Now I get more spam than ever, especially of the Nigerian scam (and related) types. The latter has gone from almost none to several a day. Was I a fool for opting out? Is my email address being harvested when I opt out? Has anybody had similar experience?"

Comments

Confirms the spam is being read by someone

[986151]

I've no data on the subject so take with a pinch of salt, but I remember being told a few years ago that responding in any way (even opting out) just confirms that the spam is not only being delivered, but being read, and that this may just lead to more spam being sent to your address. As I said, I don't know how true it is, but it makes sense to me.

Never opt out, never load images

[jmorris42]

The trick is to avoid confirming your mailbox is active. Opting out means you saw the spam so they will of course send you more. The second thing is to make sure your mail client doesn't disclose your presence. Ensure it asks before sending a reception confirmation and finally under no circumstances allow your mail client to pull ANYTHING from the network without your permission. Otherwise those cute/porn pictures in all that spam are confirming your presence by the unique urls embedded in each spam.

This is a slashdot article?!?!

[steppin_razor_LA]

Really? It has been common knowledge for a LONG time that you shouldn't do this. I know this = troll, but really.... Next article: I opened up an .exe attachment that a friend sent me and got a virus. Should I have done that?

Re:Yes

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes