eMail Spam and the CAN-SPAM Act

Written by Gail on 28 November 2008

Internet newbies may not be familiar with the CAN-SPAM Act that was put into law January 1, 2003. Its purpose is to provide guidelines for website owners and businesses who use eMail to promote their products and services. This law makes it mandatory for eMailers to provide a way for the recipient to ask them to stop sending eMails and to use only valid information in the subject line and in the body of the eMails that are sent.

Why am I writing about this? Surely everyone is familiar with it – right? Well, evidently not because I get complaints from new subscribers and customers about the number of eMails they received requiring confirmation.

The CAN-SPAM Act requires that we use a double opt-in whenever someone gives out their eMail address. Even though a person has requested or subscribed through an eMail capture page, we are required to make sure the owner of the eMail address is the person that requested the information. Anyone could have used their eMail address – therefore, we send them a link to confirm their request. If we do not receive confirmation, we cannot send anything to them.

How can you tell the spammers from valid businesses?

That’s easy:

Spammers send you eMails that you did not request
Spammers do not ask you to confirm your request for information
Spammers mislead you into opening their eMail
Spammers don’t give you a way to stop receiving eMails from them
Spammers don’t use a valid physical postal address in their eMails

Any time you sign up for an offer on the Internet, expect to receive a confirmation eMail. Once you confirm that it is from a website or person you know, it is OK to click on the confirmation link. After clicking on the link, you will receive the information you requested.

Over the last year, I started seeing an increase in the number of people who sign up for information, but never confirm their request. Recently, I have added a “Print this Page” button so they can print the instructions I display after a visitor has signed up for something. I provide them with the eMail address the confirmation will be sent from so they don’t miss it.

In addition, I tell them to look in their junk/spam folder if they don’t find the confirmation in their eMail inbox. Recently I became aware that some eMail providers automatically delete eMails they consider spam and therefore don’t provide you with a junk/spam folder.

Before you open an eMail from someone you don’t know, stop and think if you recently requested information. If not, it’s best to just delete it!

Link to this page