What is SPAM?

Definition of Spam

Spam is unsolicited email sent in bulk. Any promotion, information or solicitation that is sent to a person via e-mail without their prior consent, where there is no pre-existing relationship between the sender and the recipient, is spam.

Examples of Spam

  • Any e-mail message that is sent to a recipient who had previously signed up to receive newsletters, product information or any other type of bulk email but later opted-out by indicating to the sender that they did not want to receive additional email, then that email is spam.
  • Any e-mail message that is sent to recipients that have had no prior association with the organization or did not agree to be e-mailed by the organization is spam.
  • Any e-mail message that is sent to a recipient without a way for a person to opt-out or request that future mailings not be sent to them, is spam.
  • Any email message that does not have a valid email address in the reply-to line is spam.
  • Any email message that contains any false or misleading information is spam.
  • Any email that says you can earn $1000s each week from home is spam.
  • Any email message that promotes an adult web site is spam, unless the recipient has specifically requested information from that web site.
  • Any message that contains "ADV:", "ADV ADLT:", or "ADV ADULT" in the subject is spam. Any message that is sent to e-mail addresses that have been harvested off of web sites, newsgroups, or other areas of the Internet is spam.

What is not Spam

  • An e-mail message is NOT spam if the recipient in anyway requested email be sent to them from the sender or the sender's organization.
  • Anytime an organization sends a bulk email message to one of its customers it is NOT spam provided that the organization offers a way for the customer to opt-out of future mailings and that the customer did not previously opt-out.
  • An e-mail message is NOT spam when sent to recipients who agreed to receive information or promotions from a partner organization (as long as there is a clear opt-out option).

 

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