Spam (Somewhat) Begone

An earlier post this month on blog spam detailed how I've been reporting spammers to Google as spam, malware or phishing. Recently, I reported some as harassment since they had left repeated spam comments. That seemed like harassment to me.

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Have Blog Spam Comments Gone?

Not completely, but there has been a marked reduction in the amount of blog spam that has been posting in comments compared to previously. In the past couple of weeks, I've received a few sporadic spam comments, none for online cricket betting as before. 

So, maybe, going through this process has been having an effect. I know that many bloggers moderate their comments and so reported they received little to no spam. While that seems a more time-consuming process, this is strictly a personal view since this process works for many bloggers. I will continue filing reports to Google.

Blog spam is just one issue. So many people, we know complain about receiving unwanted phone calls for so many things (auto warranties, credit cards, insurance). They also lament about the amount of junk mail.

Phone Call Spam
We have both cell phones and a residential or "house" phone. Today, most people only have a cell number given out to family, friends, medical providers and anyone else who needs your phone number. 

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While both Patrick and myself own and use cell phones, our numbers are only shared with family and friends and, when necessary, to others such as when we are traveling away from home. Otherwise, the "house" number is given out. It has proven effective in not having folks send us text messages, including medical offices. I always know when I have an appointment and thankfully have few of these, so do not need both phone and text reminders.

There's a lot of articles on how to deal with phone spam. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has one as well, How to Block Unwanted Calls on both a cell phone and/or land line, regardless if you are already registered on the National Do Not Call Registry. The article explains the difference between Call Blocking and Call Labeling.

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Junk Mail, Everyone?

Our postal mail, when we receive any, gone are the days when mailboxes contained real mail (remember post cards, letters and cards?), contains hardly any junk mail. 

Why? Because when and if we receive mail in the form of requests for donations, unwanted catalogs, etc. After we moved into this apartment, we would get unsolicited catalogs addressed to the former resident.Then, and now, I call any number that's included and politely request that no future mailings be sent.  The usual response is that the mailings could take a few months to stop. I again politely reply that they will be recycled until they stop. Wonder of wonders, it never takes that long. I've stressed that politeness is always a keyword. Customer service folks who answer calls should never be shouted at or abused. Far too often, I suspect they are on the receiving end of nasty calls. There's no excuse for this abuse.

Once again, the FTC has an online article on How to Stop Junk Mail explaining how to get less mail from marketing companies and also credit card and insurance companies. Real Simple magazine also had a good article on How to Stop Junk Mail for Good in Less Than in less than 5 Minutes.

Mail asking for donations to worthy organizations is a big problem for many. I follow the same procedure as for unwanted catalogs and call the organization to request our name/address be removed from the solicitation list and also not be sold to another organization. It's working for us; we get virtually no unsolicited donation requests, really. Our donations are limited to local organizations with exceptions for donations to relief organizations that provide assistance for natural disasters and, most recently, the LA fires.

These are always done in the form of a check (remember those) not by credit card. A letter is included specifying that the monies be used for whatever purpose necessary and no acknowledgement or receipt is required or requested (we do not itemize for taxes). The letter further requests our names and address are not to be provided to any other organization as we make our own choices. Adhering to these requests assures that the organization remains on our donation list. We haven't yet removed one we've selected.

Also, you can cross off your mailing address on a check. I do this on all donation checks. As advised by our local bank, a check can still be legally cashed — we've never had one returned. 

Do These Things Work?

Yes, they do at least for us and possibly for others. Unwanted catalogs usually stop after one call. Local organizations do not send additional solicitations during the year and we do not get solicitations from other local organizations. 

The information in the post is based on my personal experiences. Yes, it can take a bit of effort up front, but the results have been worth it. You may have other methods that work for you as there are countless articles, websites, YouTube videos available providing info on how to stop/lessen unwanted spam from calls, texts, email and mail.