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anyone else being spammed?


Alan McLean
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Hi, serious request

 

I am getting loads of inappropriate spam emails to my gmail address for the usual pharmaceutical stuff recently. Spam filter and they all go to my junk folder but still need deleted.

 

My non-gmail account is fine.

 

I have a Mac and never had this before in 20 years, the rubbish was always stopped before it even got to me.

 

1.  Anyone else having this?

 

2. Do any techy folk know how I can stop the flood? I don't want to cancel my gmail address.

 

Thanks

 

Alan

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Alan,

 

(sorry for the lengthy response - but you did ask  :) )

 

It could be that you have registered for something on the internet using your Gmail account and this has unfortunately been picked up by a spammer (they trawl the Web for email addresses to spam). Using a MAC has no bearing on your Gmail account being spammed, but may have a bearing on how spam email is handled.

Your email account is web based and therefore a target for spammers regardless of how you access it, PC, MAC, Phone etc. If your email address has been targeted, then you can set up filters and whitelists to prevent the spam hitting your inbox. These need trained to recognise legitimate email so this can take some fiddling to set up.

 

This link discusses setting up filters and whitelists in Gmail http://lifehacker.com/when-gmails-filters-arent-enough-how-to-tackle-spam-513920584.

 

Furthermore, Google, like all providers, sometimes alter their spam detection algorithm to combat the changing tactics of spammers. This then requires your spam filters to be re-trained to detect spam and to differentiate it from legitimate email. Also, if you try to unsubscribe from a spam type email there's a good chance you will just be letting the spammer know you have a "live" email address, thus opening yourself up to increased amounts of spam. Only unsubscribe from legitimate mailing lists. 

 

Do you use a mail client to pull email onto your MAC, such as AppleMail, Airmail, Outlook or Powermail? If so, then I recommend a program called Spamsieve http://c-command.com/spamsieve/. It's free to trial and only costs $30 USD to purchase. 

 

The author of this article describes Spamsieve as indispensable http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/rethinking-the-never-unsubscribe-rule-for-spam/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0.

 

I will PM you my mobile number should you need any assistance. Feel free to call. 

 

Cheers

Allan

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