Keep
Your Email Address Unlisted: There
Is No "National Do Not Email Registry"
Have you heard radio advertisements or seen
a Web site or email that claims to offer
a "national do not email registry?"
Don't believe the hype, according to Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) attorneys who are
experts at fighting spam email.
Recently, the FTC reported that a national
do not email registry would not be effective
at this time for a number of reasons, including
the high risk that it would result in more
in-box clutter because illegal spammers
would use the registry as a "do spam"
list. The FTC advises consumers not to submit
their email addresses to any organization
that claims to be creating a do not spam
list.
If you have already submitted
your email address to a "national do
not email registry" that promises to
reduce the amount of spam you receive, you
may be the victim of a scam. The FTC is
concerned that some sites could be part
of a high-tech scam to trick consumers into
disclosing their email address or other
sensitive personal information. The site
may be a ruse to collect valid email addresses
to sell to spammers. The result could be
even more spam for consumers who sign up
for the "registry." Or, it may
be even worse - some scammers have collected
information through bogus Web sites that
mimic those of legitimate organizations,
and then use the information to commit identity
theft.
Should you get an unsolicited
email claiming to represent a "do not
email registry," an organization to
stop spam, or even the FTC itself, forward
it to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.
If you believe you have been scammed, file
your complaint at www.ftc.gov,
then visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft
to learn how to minimize your risk of damage
from identity theft.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive
and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information
to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a
complaint or to get free
information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov
or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The
FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related
complaints into
Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil
and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.