Friday, June 22, 2012

If you already know this, I am sorry for the repetition, but I have to say it. I get too many of these darn things.

When you get an email that asks you to forward it on to 5-10 or more people, there is a 99% chance that the reason for that request is not good. Most of the time, it is an email that has been sent by a would-be spammer, who has found the perfect way to get additional email addresses. 

They are very good at making up emails that tug at your heartstrings, or call on your patriotism, support for our soldiers and/or deep friendships - so that you will want to send them on to your friends and family. You are not doing your friends and family any favors when you forward those emails, since every address to which you send it is then sent back to the spammer - and voila - he has more and more places to send his junk, in the hopes that you will click on it and buy. Or, they might be attaching tracking cookies to your computer, so that they know the types of sites you visit and thus they know how to target specific ads.

Please think twice, before you forward these types of emails! If you get one that asks (or demands) that you forward it, "keep it going around the world" or "don't be the one to let it stop",  send it as safely as possible. Wipe all the addresses off the email you get and send them as BCC - so you don't pass the addresses back to the spammer. (At least, I hope they can't get them that way!) Don't let them scare you either; nothing bad will happen if you simply delete that email.




21 comments:

Lynn said...

I just never forward "forwards" - my friends and family finally got that I won't do it, so I don't get them anymore. Now they sort of have facebook as an outlet for that kind of thing. :)

Pat said...

I always delete.
Game waiting for you Judy.

Arkansas Patti said...

Thanks Judy, wish everyone would read this. I never forward those and like Lynn, my F&F have learned and I rarely get them anymore.

Fireblossom said...

I followed my friend Lynn's link to this blog. Hi! I never forward those things, just because I find the vast majority of them annoying. Who has time? (Although, I admit, I do look at the animal ones, but I still don't forward them.) Nice to know I've been unknowingly foiling spammers!

(And the idea that not forwarding them will bring bad, or good, luck is insane.)

Dianne said...

I rarely even open fwds let alone pass them on
you're absolutely right

LL Cool Joe said...

I've never received an email that I've had to forward on!

Betty said...

I fearlessly delete the ones I receive. I am woman. Hear me roar. lol

Joy Des Jardins said...

I totally agree with you Judy...these e-mails are coming out of the woodwork....and I NEVER pass them on for the very same reasons you mention. Often they carry virus and malware problems as well....which you know something about, right? Besides...they are really annoying for the most part.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

"Copy & Psste" is the BEST way to avoid all that, if you really feel you must send something on. I don't trust deleting the addresses...I think they are STILL available somehow, if one knows how to do that. BUT, if you Copy the body of the email only---you are not taking the chance that you still ,ight be passing on all kinds of addresses---ESPECIALLY to the Spammer.

In all honesty....I do not like to even open Forwards....!

Anonymous said...

Judy--Like many of your other commentors, it is my policy when faced with an email that says I must forward it (and many even demand that I include the person who sent the email to me!) it gets deleted without a second thought - usually without being read if I see what it is first.
Facebook gets the same thing from me. Even when a charity asks that I vote for it, I ignore the whole thing - and I hide all of the games that show up in friends' postings.
There is enough air pollution, ground pollution, water pollution, and email pollution that I feel no need to contribute.
Cop Car

Peter said...

Hi Judy, I've just had a short ramble back into the past with your new/old blog it was fun.
As you have suggested I never fwd those bleeding heart posts on and even though it has cost me about 20 million dollars so far I don't claim all the lottery winnings or get my commission for helping wealthy widows or crooked government officials with their investment proposals I still feel good about it.

MaR said...

Very well said!!I don't even read them: I don't want to have the feeling something terrible is going to happen to me!

Grannymar said...

I forgot to add this blog to my RSS when you moved back here. blame the haze from my fall. I have now played catch-up and see you have been busy.

Back in the days of snail mail, all chain letters were put on the fire. Today the chain emails go to the bin or if I really want to share it, the address lists are cleared and then forwarded by Bcc.

Gilly said...

I have a friend who sends me hilarious emails which have me rolling in the aisles (if I had any aisles in my office!) Occasionally I will forward these to my daughter or sister.

But she also sends me sloppy sentimental ones that have been sent to her, and these I never send on, just delete, regardless of the fact I will die friendless!

Granny Annie said...

The absolute worst are the ones that say "If you don't forward this then you don't love God". As if an Almighty Creator of All can only exist through forwarded emails. LOL

Gilly said...

I never forward emails like that, asking for eternal friendship/whatever. Even if they come from a good friend, I just delete them!

Granny Annie said...

I have a couple of friends who are such fanatic forwarders that they will forward things back to me that I sent to them adding other friends email addresses. On other forwards they never delete the previous names. When I ask them to do so and send them information like you have provided here, they send it back to me in a forward with a million names added to it!!!

Anonymous said...

Good advice! My email provider's spam detector is quite good. I rarely, if ever, get such stuff.
Cop Car

Ginnie said...

I couldn't agree more, Judy. I'm actually surprised at some of the people I know who get sucked into doing this. They are quickly learning not to send them to me.

Carolyn said...

Thanks for posting this Judy. I don't like those emails & rarely ever fwd them.

I started a new blog which will replace The Ginger Quill. Stop by :-)

http://stonesoupvillage.blogspot.com/

joared said...

I never forward emails no matter who it says is sending them to me, or how important they say the topic is. I don't send any to others asking them to forward.