In today world on internet we see many ads almost on all big and small sites targeting anti spam software and anti spam appliances. They force us to purchase and download anti spam appliance and anti spam software to get rid from spamming and spam mails.
But many of us are not aware from spamming, spam mails and what are the bad effects of all these? How to use and choose anti spam software and anti spam appliances to get rid all of these. This is necessary to know first, what is your need, before using anti spam software and anti spam appliance. So here you would get proper information about spamming, spam mail, anti spam appliance and anti spam software.
Spam mails are those mails which you get in your mail box by many marketers, banks, shopping malls etc. These mails consists many exciting offers to attract you. These are the unwanted emails which you get in mail box. Main reason for these kinds of mails is that it is the easiest and cheapest way of internet marketing. Many internet marketers collect the data of email ID’s then they send mails with various offers to these mail ID’s. Every day you get many mails in your mail box. But due to these spam mails you are not able to find and read your personal and important mails by send your relatives, friends and partners. These spam mails make you irritate and you avoid checking your mailbox. Spam mails are also known as junk mails, bulk mails, business mails and unsolicited junk e-mail.
Main drawback of these kinds of mails is that they disturb your computer’s personal information. Some of spam mails contain spyware. These spyware take your IP address and always try to change your personal information and harm your computer security. This is a very serious matter raised by the spam mails.
The unwanted commercial e-mail, known as Spam, is turning out to be an acute threat for the organizations and even individual users. In present time, spam, or the unsolicited junk e-mail, has become one of the biggest hazard intimidating the Web world, and removing this menace from the computers has become a ‘task’ in itself. As per expert researches, worldwide, the cost of spam varies from millions to billions of dollars. All the security companies and researchers are working hard to find out ways to get rid of this ever-increasing giant and integrate spam filters into popular mail systems like Microsoft Exchange Server 2000, 2003 and 2007.
www.itanetworks.com offers many anti spam software and anti spam appliance for more popular mail systems like Microsoft Exchange Server 2000, 2003 and 2007. At www.itanetworks.com you could download all the anti spam software and anti spam appliance for free trial.
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These days spamming or you could say unsolicited, unwanted, irrelevant or inappropriate mails are very common and everyone is suffering from these irritating and dangerous spam mails. But now you don’t have any reason to tolerate this because there are so many Anti Spam Appliances available in the market.

Here we are discussing how to get rid from spam & how to handle anti spam appliances which are available on online resources and also their benefits.

Anti spam appliances are the best to get spam free mail server. These anti spam appliances work in very generic way. Once you install anti spam appliances on your mail server then these appliances would never allow spam mails to enter in your mailbox. This blocking of spam mails could do according to number of criteria. These criteria could contain some specific words in the subject line, specific words in the body of the massage, few email address, mails from any particular Business field and mails from any company. Anti spam appliances follow these criteria and make a blacklist of habitual spam mail senders. Then anti spam appliances detects the mails sent by these senders and don’t allow them to enter in mailbox.

These days anti spam appliances are the essential part of computer’s security and these appliances make you sure that you receive only those mails which you want to receive. So when you go for anti spam appliance then you should remember following things:

• Anti Spam appliance should able to check who is sender of this mail, what’s the subject and the attachment also.

• Anti spam appliance should have ability to give you preview of the message as well as attachment before downloading to it. If they are useless then you could delete them and you don’t have need to download them.

• Anti spam appliance should have ability to allow your important mails safely in your mailbox.

• Anti appliance should able to monitor and filters multiple accounts.

• Anti spam appliance should be able to do monitoring and filtering automatically.

• Anti spam appliance should easy to install and need much less administrative efforts.

http://www.itanetworks.com/ has reputed name for providing anti spam appliances across the world. Thousands of users are enjoying spam free life after using ITA NETWORKS ANTI SPAM APPLIANCES.

http://www.itanetworks.com/ offers variety of anti spam appliances for individual as well as for large and medium business corporations. ITA Anti Spam Appliances provides a comprehensive solution for eliminating spam and viruses and strives to provide you better control over e-mail traffic on your mail server.

Main benefit of ITA NETWORKS ANTI SPAM APPLIANCES is that they are easy to install and need very less administrative efforts to maintain it. Even a non technical person could handle it properly.

You could take free thirty days trial of ITA NETWORKS ANTI SPAM APPLIANCES. Just visit here to Download Anti Spam Appliance.

For more information about anti spam appliances visit http://www.itanetworks.com/

Unless you live in a cave –and one without a computer at that– you’re very familiar with the huge time waster that sifting through mountains of email spam can be. And while spam is a huge annoyance for employees and end users everywhere, the real costs for businesses are in time and money and they’re increasing every day. As costs rise, IT people (at SMEs in particular) are desperate for ways to deal with it effectively.
It’s estimated that 100 billion spam emails fly back and forth, dirtying up the internet every day. A lot of these emails end up on in business email boxes, and employees are forced to spend their mornings sifting through mountainous piles of spam. All of which is time they’re spending not working.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Spam Filters
Installing anti-spam filters is really the only effective way to deal with day-to-day spam within a company. These filters work to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, allowing the good emails through and tossing the junk in the trash. They do this by combining several different types of technology and updating almost constantly. And while the highest quality spam filters do provide relief, sifting out about 98% of a company’s spam, they’re still imperfect.
Why? Unfortunately, spam filters occasionally have trouble telling what is wheat and what is chaff (to stretch an already-tired metaphor), and toss some important emails out along with the junk. And while they don’t occur that often, ‘false positives’ can still become a problem for business owners.
One solution to the problem of false positive is adjusting the sensitivity of the company’s spam filters. The way this works is simple: the higher the sensitivity, the more spam is caught. But the higher the sensitivity, the more valid emails will be taken out with the trash. Increasing the sensitivity of spam filters can cost companies a heck of a lot more money than too much spam after all, customers don’t like it when their emails go ignored.
The Direct and Indirect Cost of Anti-Spam Filters
Even one little missed email can get a company in deep water. A law company based out of Colorado, for example, missed an email containing some important information about a court date and ended up missing an important day in court. The cost? They were required to pay all of the fees for the opposing counsel.
How did this happen? To combat spam, the company’s IT department had turned up the sensitivity of their email filters. Apparently, the United States District sounded pretty spammy to these super hyper filters, and it costed this company thousands of dollars in fees. Ouch.
While this is a nice and obvious example of how false positives can lose a company money, in most cases it’s simply not that cut and dried. Most monetary losses aren’t direct; they come from a loss of business and credibility. When an email from a client is gobbled up by the spam filter and a big business deal falls through because the client feels ignored, it takes a lot of work and public relations to get that client back. And sometimes it never happens.
In addition to directly losing a company money, false positives can affect productivity just as much as an overload of spam can. If employees are used to seeing a lot of their important emails get junked, they will have to spend valuable time sifting through their spam folder for genuine emails. How much can that cost? More than you’d think. According to Ferris Research, recovering a genuine email from a spam folder costs an average of $3.50 of that employee’s time. Especially if you don’t experience many false positives, it may not seem like much but in a company of 500 people who have to fish out two emails from their spam folder a month, it adds up to $42,000. Does that sound like an itty-bitty expense to you?
It doesn’t to most other business owners, either. And to reduce the number of false positives –and the amount of business lost– many businesses don’t use any anti-spam filters at all. And while it’s hard to judge them for wanting to prevent a loss of business, going without a spam filter opens them up to all sorts of problems. Taking care of spam is just too important.
Striking a Balance
But how do you deal with spam and reduce false positives at the same time? The best method is to set aside all mail marked as spam into a special folder so that users will have access to it, and can check it often. While this may seem time-consuming, with good anti-spam software it really doesn’t have to be. The better the software is at recognizing obvious spam, the fewer emails will end up in the junk folder.
As spam filters improve, so do spammers. Because of this, spam filters will probably never be 100% effective– the ones that will delete every piece of spam will generally delete a few important emails along with it. And the ones that let all the important stuff though will also let in a bit of junk. But using a good, well-configured anti spam software and integrating it with your email server can really reduce the amount of spam that end users receive, as well as the rate of false positives you experience.

Do you receive lots of junk email messages from people you don’t know? It’s no surprise if you do. As more people use email, marketers are increasingly using email messages to pitch their products and services. Some consumers find unsolicited commercial email – also known as “spam” – annoying and time consuming; others have lost money to bogus offers that arrived in their email in-box.

Chamber of Commerce.com has information about the Federal Trade Commission’s recent law enforcement actions against deceptive commercial email and spammers’ responsibilities under the CAN-SPAM law. In the “For Consumers” section, you’ll find tips on how to reduce the amount of spam email in your in-box.

If you get spam email that you think is deceptive, forward it to spam@uce.gov. The FTC uses the spam stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive email.

E-mail spam is not just unwanted-it can be offensive. Pornographic spam provokes many consumer complaints. Decrease the number of spam e-mails you receive by making it difficult for spammers to get and use your e-mail address.

You’ve Got Spam: How to “Can” Unwanted Email

Do you receive lots of junk email messages from people you don’t know? It’s no surprise if you do. As more people use email, marketers are increasingly using email messages to pitch their products and services. Some consumers find unsolicited commercial email – also known as “spam” – annoying and time consuming; others have lost money to bogus offers that arrived in their email in-box.

Typically, an email spammer buys a list of email addresses from a list broker, who compiles it by “harvesting” addresses from the Internet. If your email address appears in a newsgroup posting, on a website, in a chat room, or in an online service’s membership directory, it may find its way onto these lists. The marketer then uses special software that can send hundreds of thousands – even millions – of email messages to the addresses at the click of a mouse.

How Can I Reduce the Amount of Spam that I Receive?

Try not to display your email address in public. That includes newsgroup postings, chat rooms, websites or in an online service’s membership directory. You may want to opt out of member directories for your online services; spammers may use them to harvest addresses.

Check the privacy policy when you submit your address to a website. See if it allows the company to sell your address. You may want to opt out of this provision, if possible, or not submit your address at all to websites that won’t protect it.

Read and understand the entire form before you transmit personal information through a website. Some websites allow you to opt out of receiving email from their “partners” – but you may have to uncheck a preselected box if you want to opt out .

Decide if you want to use two email addresses – one for personal messages and one for newsgroups and chat rooms. You also might consider using a disposable email address service that creates a separate email address that forwards to your permanent account. If one of the disposable addresses begins to receive spam, you can shut it off without affecting your permanent address.

Use a unique email address. Your choice of email addresses may affect the amount of spam you receive. Spammers use “dictionary attacks” to sort through possible name combinations at large ISPs or email services, hoping to find a valid address. Thus, a common name such as jdoe may get more spam than a more unique name like jd51×02oe. Of course, there is a downside – it’s harder to remember an unusual email address.

Use an email filter. Check your email account to see if it provides a tool to filter out potential spam or a way to channel spam into a bulk email folder. You might want to consider these options when you’re choosing which Internet Service Provider (ISP) to use.

What Can I Do With the Spam in my In-Box?

Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Send a copy of unwanted or deceptive messages to spam@uce.gov. The FTC uses the unsolicited emails stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive spam email.

Let the FTC know if a “remove me” request is not honored. If you want to complain about a removal link that doesn’t work or not being able to unsubcribe from a list, you can fill out the FTC’s online complaint form at www.ftc.gov. Your complaint will be added to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database and made available to hundreds of law enforcement and consumer protection agencies.

Whenever you complain about spam, it’s important to include the full email header. The information in the header makes it possible for consumer protection agencies to follow up on your complaint.

Send a copy of the spam to your ISP’s abuse desk. Often the email address is abuse@yourispname.com or postmaster@yourispname.com. By doing this, you can let the ISP know about the spam problem on their system and help them to stop it in the future. Make sure to include a copy of the spam, along with the full email header. At the top of the message, state that you’re complaining about being spammed.

Complain to the sender’s ISP. Most ISPs want to cut off spammers who abuse their system. Again, make sure to include a copy of the message and header information and state that you’re complaining about spam.

How Can I Avoid Spam Scams?

The FTC suggests that you treat commercial email solicitations the same way you would treat an unsolicited telemarketing sales call. Don’t believe promises from strangers. Greet money making opportunities that arrive at your in box with skepticism. Most of the time, these are old fashioned scams delivered via the newest technology.

Here are some of the most common scam offers likely to arrive by email:

Ready to Pop Your Top Over “Pop Up Spam?” Here’s How to Make it Stop

Are you interrupted by a stream of “pop up” messages that stop you from using your home computer until you close them?

Are you tired of seeing one message invariably morph into more – even when you’re not using your Web browser?

Are you frustrated by the fact that many pop up spammers are advertising software to block the exact type of messages they’re sending? It’s a high-tech variation on a classic scam: Pop up spammers want your money to fix the very problem they created.

Persistent and annoying, pop up spam also is a signal that your home computer is open to hackers. They could use this vulnerability to take over your computer and install new programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts that give them full access to your machine.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, you can block unwanted pop up messages and better protect your computer from hackers. It’s as simple as turning off the Microsoft Windows feature that allows pop up messages, or installing and running a firewall. The advantage of a firewall is that it prevents other types of unauthorized access to your computer, beyond pop up spam. Neither approach will stop pop up advertisements sent to your browser by a Web page you are visiting.

Disabling Windows Messenger Service

Pop up spammers are exploiting a feature of the Microsoft Windows operating systems known as Messenger Service. Despite the name, Windows Messenger Service doesn’t have anything to do with instant messaging. It is designed to provide users on a local- or wide-area computer network with messages from the network administrator. For example, a company’s network administrator might send a message to all its users that the company’s network will be shutting down in five minutes. If your home computer is connected only to the Internet, you may not have any practical uses for Windows Messenger Service. If your computer is on a business or home network, however, shutting off Messenger Service might not be the best approach. Your network should be protected by a firewall.

Disabling the messenger service will prevent the possibility of pop up spam. To disable the messenger service:

Installing and Running a Firewall

Another way to cut off pop up spam is to run a firewall – software or hardware designed to block hackers from accessing your computer and getting into your programs and files.

A firewall is different from anti-virus protection: Anti-virus software scans incoming communications and files for troublesome files; a firewall helps make you invisible on the Internet and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It’s especially important to run a firewall if you have high-speed Internet access through a cable modem or a DSL (digital subscriber line) connection.

Some recently released operating system software (including Windows XP) comes with a built-in firewall. Because it may be shipped in the “off” mode, check your online “Help” feature for specifics on turning it on and setting it up properly. If your operating system doesn’t include a firewall, you can install separate firewall software that runs in the background while you use your computer and surf the Internet. Several free firewall software programs are available on the Internet. (You can find one by typing “free firewall” into your favorite search engine.) Or you can buy a hardware firewall – an external device that includes firewall software. Like anti-virus software, a firewall needs to be updated regularly to stay effective.

If you want to complain about a deceptive pop up spam message, use the FTC’s online complaint form at www.ftc.gov. Your complaint will be added to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database and made available to hundreds of law enforcement and consumer protection agencies. Be sure your complaint includes the name of the company or Web site advertised in the pop up spam.

How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing’ Scam

Spam and Telemarketing

“We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your account. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity.”

“During our regular verification of accounts, we couldn’t verify your information. Please click here to update and verify your information.”

Have you received email with a similar message? It’s a scam called “phishing” – and it involves Internet fraudsters who send spam or pop-up messages to lure personal information (credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive information) from unsuspecting victims.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, phishers send an email or pop-up message that claims to be from a business or organization that you may deal with – for example, an Internet service provider (ISP), bank, online payment service, or even a government agency. The message may ask you to “update,” “validate,” or “confirm” your account information. Some phishing emails threaten a dire consequence if you don’t respond. The messages direct you to a website that looks just like a legitimate organization’s site. But it isn’t. It’s a bogus site whose sole purpose is to trick you into divulging your personal information so the operators can steal your identity and run up bills or commit crimes in your name.

The FTC suggests these tips to help you avoid getting hooked by a phishing scam: If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. And don’t click on the link in the message, either. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company’s correct Web address yourself. In any case, don’t cut and paste the link from the message into your Internet browser – phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but that actually send you to a different site.

Unwanted Text Messages and E-Mail on Wireless Phones and Other Mobile Devices

Many consumers find unsolicited e-mail – also known as “spam” – annoying and time-consuming. In addition, unwanted messages sent to wireless phones and other devices can be intrusive and costly. In 2003, Congress enacted the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act to curb spam. As required by the Act, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules that prohibit sending unwanted commercial e-mail messages to wireless devices without prior permission. This ban took effect in March 2005. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adopted detailed rules that restrict sending unwanted commercial e-mail messages to computers.

FCC’s CAN-SPAM Rules

The FCC’s ban on sending unwanted e-mail messages to wireless devices applies to all “commercial messages.” The CAN-SPAM Act defines commercial messages as those for which the primary purpose is to advertise or promote a commercial product or service. The FCC’s ban does not cover “transactional or relationship” messages, or notices to facilitate a transaction you have already agreed to. These messages would include statements about an existing account or warranty information about a product you’ve purchased. The FCC’s ban also does not cover non-commercial messages, such as messages about candidates for public office.

The FCC’s ban covers messages sent to cell phones and pagers, if the message uses an Internet address that includes an Internet domain name (usually the part of the address after the individual or electronic mailbox name and the “@” symbol). The FCC’s ban does not cover “short messages,” typically sent from one mobile phone to another, that do not use an Internet address. Also, the FCC’s ban does not cover e-mail messages that you have forwarded from your computer to your wireless device (but the FTC’s rules may restrict such messages).

TCPA and CAN-SPAM

The CAN-SPAM Act supplements some consumer protections already put into place by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Under the TCPA the FCC established the National Do-Not-Call Registry. This Registry lists telephone numbers that telemarketers are prohibited from calling unless they have an established business relationship with the called party or are otherwise exempt. FCC rules prohibit sending unwanted text messages to your wireless phone number if they are sent using an autodialer, or if you have placed that number on the National Do-Not-Call Registry.

Even if you have placed your wireless phone number on the National Do-Not-Call Registry, the TCPA does not protect you from receiving commercial messages sent to that number if:

For more information on the TCPA and Do-Not-Call Registry, visit http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/tcpa.html.

Express Prior Authorization

Under the FCC’s rules, commercial e-mail messages may only be sent to your wireless device via the Internet if you have provided your “express prior authorization.” Commercial e-mail senders may request that you provide this authorization orally or in writing (e-mail or letter). They must tell you the name of the entity that will be sending the messages and, if different, the name of the entity advertising products or services. All commercial e-mail messages sent to you after you’ve given your authorization must allow you to revoke your authorization, or “opt out” of receiving future messages. You must be allowed to opt out the same way you “opted in,” including by dialing a short code. Senders have 10 days to honor requests to opt out.

Wireless Domain Name List

To help enforce its ban, the FCC required all wireless service providers to provide all Internet domain names used to transmit electronic messages to wireless devices. The FCC published this list on its Web site at www.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/DomainNameDownload.html. Senders are prohibited from sending commercial e-mail messages to any Internet domain name on this list without the recipient’s express prior authorization. Senders have 30 days from the date the domain name is posted on the FCC site to stop sending unauthorized commercial e-mail to Internet addresses containing the domain name. Wireless service providers must add new domain names to the FCC’s list within 30 days of activating them.

FTC Rules/FCC Enforcement

The FCC can enforce the FTC’s restrictions on any commercial e-mail message sent to a non-wireless device, such as a desktop computer, if:

The FTC’s rules require:

State Anti-Spam Laws

The CAN-SPAM Act is intended to preempt – or replace – state anti-spam laws, but states are allowed to enforce the parts of the CAN-SPAM Act restricting non-wireless SPAM. Also state laws prohibiting fraudulent or deceptive acts and computer crimes remain in effect. What to Do If You Receive an Unwanted Commercial Message on Your Cell Phone

You may file a complaint with the FCC if you receive:

You may file a complaint with the FCC by e-mail (fccinfo@fcc.gov); the Internet (www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html); telephone 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice; or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; or mail: Federal Communications Commission Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Consumer Inquiries and Complaint Division 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, DC 20554.

Include the following in your complaint:

What Should You Do About Commercial E-Mail You Receive on Non-Wireless Devices, Such as Your Computer at Home?

For commercial e-mail you receive on your non-wireless devices, you may file a complaint with the FTC. To file a complaint with the FTC or to get free information on e-mail issues in general, visit www.ftc.gov/spam or call 1-877-382-4357 voice; or 1-866-653-4261 TTY.

What Can I Do to Prevent SPAM to My Wireless Device in Particular and SPAM in General

You can reduce the amount of SPAM you receive by doing the following:

Nigerian advance-fee fraud has been around for decades, but now seems to have reached epidemic proportions: Some consumers have told the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) they are receiving dozens of offers a day from supposed Nigerians politely promising big profits in exchange for help moving large sums of money out of their country. And apparently, many compassionate consumers are continuing to fall for the convincing sob stories, the unfailingly polite language, and the unequivocal promises of money. These advance-fee solicitations are scams. And according to the FTC, the scam artists are playing each and every consumer for a fool. Here’s the play book:

Claiming to be Nigerian officials, businesspeople or the surviving spouses of former government honchos, con artists offer to transfer millions of dollars into your bank account in exchange for a small fee. If you respond to the initial offer, you may receive “official looking” documents. Typically, you’re then asked to provide blank letterhead and your bank account numbers, as well as some money to cover transaction and transfer costs and attorney’s fees.

You may even be encouraged to travel to Nigeria or a border country to complete the transaction. Sometimes, the fraudsters will produce trunks of dyed or stamped money to verify their claims. Inevitably, though, emergencies come up, requiring more of your money and delaying the “transfer” of funds to your account; in the end, there aren’t any profits for you to share, and the scam artist has vanished with your money.

If You Receive an Offer

If you’re tempted to respond to an offer, the FTC suggests you stop and ask yourself two important questions: Why would a perfect stranger pick you – also a perfect stranger – to share a fortune with, and why would you share your personal or business information, including your bank account numbers or your company letterhead, with someone you don’t know? And the U.S. Department of State cautions against traveling to the destination mentioned in the letters. According to State Department reports, people who have responded to these “advance-fee” solicitations have been beaten, subjected to threats and extortion, and in some cases, murdered.

If you receive an offer via email from someone claiming to need your help getting money out of Nigeria – or any other country, for that matter – forward it to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.

If you have lost money to one of these schemes, call your local Secret Service field office. Local field offices are listed in the Blue Pages of your telephone directory.

For More Information

More information about Nigerian Advance-Fee Loan scams is available from the U.S. Secret Service (www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml) and the U.S. Department of State (www.state.gov/www/regions/africa/naffpub.pdf).

Email boxes are filling up with more offers for business opportunities than any other kind of unsolicited commercial email. That’s a problem, according to the Federal Trade Commission, because many of these offers are scams.

In response to requests from consumers, the FTC asked email users to forward their unsolicited commercial email to the agency for an inside look at the bulk email business. FTC staff found that more often than not, bulk email offers appeared to be fraudulent, and if pursued, could have ripped-off unsuspecting consumers to the tune of billions of dollars.

The Dirty Dozen:12 Scams Most Likely to Arrive Via Bulk Email

Here are 12 scams that are most likely to arrive in consumers’ email boxes. The “dirty dozen” are:

These business opportunities make it sound easy to start a business that will bring lots of income without much work or cash outlay. The solicitations trumpet unbelievable earnings claims of $140 a day, $1,000 a day, or more, and claim that the business doesn’t involve selling, meetings, or personal contact with others, or that someone else will do all the work. Many business opportunity solicitations claim to offer a way to make money in an Internet-related business. Short on details but long on promises, these messages usually offer a telephone number to call for more information. In many cases, you’ll be told to leave your name and telephone number so that a salesperson can call you back with the sales pitch.

The scam: Many of these are illegal pyramid schemes masquerading as legitimate opportunities to earn money.

Bulk email solicitations offer to sell you lists of email addresses, by the millions, to which you can send your own bulk solicitations. Some offer software that automates the sending of email messages to thousands or millions of recipients. Others offer the service of sending bulk email solicitations on your behalf. Some of these offers say, or imply, that you can make a lot of money using this marketing method.

The problem: Sending bulk email violates the terms of service of most Internet service providers. If you use one of the automated email programs, your ISP may shut you down. In addition, inserting a false return address into your solicitations, as some of the automated programs allow you to do, may land you in legal hot water with the owner of the address’s domain name. Several states have laws regulating the sending of unsolicited commercial email, which you may unwittingly violate by sending bulk email. Few legitimate businesses, if any, engage in bulk email marketing for fear of offending potential customers.

You’re asked to send a small amount of money ($5 to $20) to each of four or five names on a list, replace one of the names on the list with your own, and then forward the revised message via bulk email. The letter may claim that the scheme is legal, that it’s been reviewed or approved by the government; or it may refer to sections of U.S. law that legitimize the scheme. Don’t believe it.

The scam: Chain letters-traditional or high-tech-are almost always illegal, and nearly all of the people who participate in them lose their money. The fact that a “product” such as a report on how to make money fast, a mailing list, or a recipe may be changing hands in the transaction does not change the legality of these schemes.

Envelope-stuffing solicitations promise steady income for minimal labor-for example, you’ll earn $2 each time you fold a brochure and seal it in an envelope. Craft assembly work schemes often require an investment of hundreds of dollars in equipment or supplies, and many hours of your time producing goods for a company that has promised to buy them.

The scam: You’ll pay a small fee to get started in the envelope-stuffing business. Then, you’ll learn that the email sender never had real employment to offer. Instead, you’ll get instructions on how to send the same envelope-stuffing ad in your own bulk emailings. If you earn any money, it will be from others who fall for the scheme you’re perpetuating. And after spending the money and putting in the time on the craft assembly work, you are likely to find promoters who refuse to pay you, claiming that your work isn’t up to their “quality standards.”

Pills that let you lose weight without exercising or changing your diet, herbal formulas that liquefy your fat cells so that they are absorbed by your body, and cures for impotence and hair loss are among the scams flooding email boxes.

The scam: These gimmicks don’t work. The fact is that successful weight loss requires a reduction in calories and an increase in physical activity. Beware of case histories from “cured” consumers claiming amazing results; testimonials from “famous” medical experts you’ve never heard of; claims that the product is available from only one source or for a limited time; and ads that use phrases like “scientific breakthrough,” “miraculous cure,” “exclusive product,” “secret formula,” and “ancient ingredient.”

The trendiest get-rich-quick schemes offer unlimited profits exchanging money on world currency markets; newsletters describing a variety of easy-money opportunities; the perfect sales letter; and the secret to making $4,000 in one day.

The scam: If these systems worked, wouldn’t everyone be using them? The thought of easy money may be appealing, but success generally requires hard work.

Some email messages offer valuable goods-for example, computers, other electronic items, and long-distance phone cards-for free. You’re asked to pay a fee to join a club, then told that to earn the offered goods, you have to bring in a certain number of participants. You’re paying for the right to earn income by recruiting other participants, but your payoff is in goods, not money.

The scam: Most of these messages are covering up pyramid schemes, operations that inevitably collapse. Almost all of the payoff goes to the promoters and little or none to consumers who pay to participate.

Investment schemes promise outrageously high rates of return with no risk. One version seeks investors to help form an offshore bank. Others are vague about the nature of the investment, stressing the rates of return. Many are Ponzi schemes, in which early investors are paid off with money contributed by later investors. This makes the early investors believe that the system actually works, and encourages them to invest even more.

Promoters of fraudulent investments often operate a particular scam for a short time, quickly spend the money they take in, then close down before they can be detected. Often, they reopen under another name, selling another investment scam. In their sales pitch, they’ll say that they have high-level financial connections; that they’re privy to inside information; that they’ll guarantee the investment; or that they’ll buy back the investment after a certain time. To close the deal, they often serve up phony statistics, misrepresent the significance of a current event, or stress the unique quality of their offering-anything to deter you from verifying their story.

The scam: Ponzi schemes eventually collapse because there isn’t enough money coming in to continue simulating earnings. Other schemes are a good investment for the promoters, but no for participants.

For a small sum of money, you can buy a kit to assemble a cable descrambler that supposedly allows you to receive cable television transmissions without paying any subscription fee.

The scam: The device that you build probably won’t work. Most of the cable TV systems in the U.S. use technology that these devices can’t crack. What’s more, even if it worked, stealing service from a cable television company is illegal.

Some email messages offer home-equity loans that don’t require equity in your home, as well as solicitations for guaranteed, unsecured credit cards, regardless of your credit history. Usually, these are said to be offered by offshore banks. Sometimes they are combined with pyramid schemes, which offer you an opportunity to make money by attracting new participants to the scheme.

The scams: The home equity loans turn out to be useless lists of lenders who will turn you down if you don’t meet their qualifications. The promised credit cards never come through, and the pyramid money-making schemes always collapse.

Credit repair scams offer to erase accurate negative information from your credit file so you can qualify for a credit card, auto loan, home mortgage, or a job.

The scam: The scam artists who promote these services can’t deliver. Only time, a deliberate effort, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your credit. The companies that advertise credit repair services appeal to consumers with poor credit histories. Not only can’t they provide you with a clean credit record, but they also may be encouraging you to violate federal law. If you follow their advice by lying on a loan or credit application, misrepresenting your Social Security number, or getting an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses, you will be committing fraud.

Electronic certificates congratulating you on “winning” a fabulous vacation for a very attractive price are among the scams arriving in your email. Some say you have been “specially selected” for this opportunity.

The scam: Most unsolicited commercial email goes to thousands or millions of recipients at a time. Often, the cruise ship you’re booked on may look more like a tug boat. The hotel accommodations likely are shabby, and you may be required to pay more for an upgrade. Scheduling the vacation at the time you want it also may require an additional fee.

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.