Reply #9: A step by step instruction for reporting Spam to the ISP

[Robbien]

HOW TO REPORT SPAMMERS

1. Use whatever means your email program has to view and copy
the headers from the spam. - In Netscape Mail, try options, show
headers, all. -In Eudora Pro (and possibly Eudora Lite), click on the
blah blah button inside the incoming message.

2. Read the headers and attempt to determine the i.s.p - from an
address which ends with .com or .net. There may be several due to
a convoluted forwarding mechanism the spammer may have used.
One may even be his domain - which is likely to be served by an
i.s.p., but will not indicate the name of the i.s.p. The address in
the received line is usually the best bet.

3. If you're not sure if an address is the spammer's domain, rather
than a legitimate i.s.p, go to
http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois
Type in the ispname.com or ispname.net (Substitute the name of
the i.s.p. for ispname above). The information you receive should
tell you the name and email address of the underlying i.s.p., and
perhaps even the addresses of the manager, president etc.

4. Send a copy of the offending spam WITH FULL HEADERS,
(and if possible, with the subject intact) to: [email protected]
(or .net). Usually, this address works. Others you can try include:
[email protected], [email protected] and also
[email protected]. The address for the administrative contact
listed in whois is also an excellent bet. Try two or three, but don't
give in to the temptation to spam everyone at the i.s.p with antispam!

5. Include at the top a brief complaint about the spammer and ask
politely that the i.s.p take effective action against this person and
spamming in general.

In most cases, you will receive a response from the ISP within
24 hours - thanking you, and letting you know that they have
terminated the spammer's account. (The primary exception is
when the spammer operates his own I.S.P. or server, but at least
you may locate the email address by which you can contact him.)