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Spammer using my domain name. Is there anything I can do about it ? — Parallax Forums

Spammer using my domain name. Is there anything I can do about it ?

BeanBean Posts: 8,129
edited 2007-08-18 07:02 in General Discussion
Some idiot spammer is using xxxx(at)hittconsulting.com and I'm getting killed with rejected mail messages.
The "xxxx" is different on all of them (just made up stuff).
Is there anything I can do about this ?
Is there anywhere·to report this abuse ? And will they really do anything to help the situation ?

Bean.
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www.hittconsulting.com
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Comments

  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2007-08-17 19:13
    Hello Bean,

    Hopefully some of the info on this page might help...

    http://spamlinks.net/prevent-secure-backscatter.htm
  • PLJackPLJack Posts: 398
    edited 2007-08-17 22:50
    If you own your domain you might be able to configure your email server to reject email not setup for that account.
    In other words the email accounts that you set up for your domain would be the only ones allowed through.
    Thats up to your domain configuration tools. Mine is cPanel. There is an option to collect all email. Its used to catch mistyped email addresses and is almost always the default configuration. Just turn it off.

    EDIT: Just wondering if that would work on a bounced email from another server. Should work. cPanel has been around for some years. They must have some tool for this. I know that trying to use filters on this issue will just make your life miserable.

    If the spam emails only offer products from a few companies, you could send them a legal looking document threatening to take legal action if they do not stop their current "media campaign". Throw the word "blog" in there as well. No company wants that kind of publicity.

    Thats all I got.
    Good luck, its not an easy problem to resolve.

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    Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
    It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.

    Post Edited (PLJack) : 8/17/2007 10:58:56 PM GMT
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2007-08-18 00:36
    PLJack said...
    If the spam emails only offer products from a few companies, you could send them a legal looking document threatening to take legal action if they do not stop their current "media campaign". Throw the word "blog" in there as well. No company wants that kind of publicity.
    I wouldn't recommend that. The kinds of companies that advertise this way are likely hosted offshore and don't really care about legal documents — or even bad publicity, for that matter. And by emailing them anything, you'd only be providing them with yet another address to spam.

    -Phil
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2007-08-18 02:55
    I'm mainly just worried about getting my domain name blacklisted. That happened at my work and we had a heck of a time getting it straightened out.

    Bean.

    Post Edited By Moderator (Chris Savage (Parallax)) : 8/19/2007 4:52:13 PM GMT
  • metron9metron9 Posts: 1,100
    edited 2007-08-18 03:18
    One thing I have never understood about email spam. When you try and send an email back to the sender it bounces. The easy solution I have always contemplated was for a server receiving an email from another server simply ping that server for a valid email address. Why is it so darn complicated, filters etc.. just test to see if an email can be sent back to the sender. That is the same logic I use to screen unwanted phone calls. I look at the phone number on the display when it comes in. If it is a blocked, out of area or some other number (us government, xyz collection agency etc...) I just dont answer it. Actually I bought a call screener that all I do is add the numbers (or lack of numbers) to the do not ring and I never have to be bothered again by them. Another benifit to that logic is a spammer that sends a million emails gets a million pings, and it allows you and another 10 million recipients to send a hundred emails, let's see how they deal with a billion emails coming back at them.

    The auto response emails now could just check for a valid email address, what's the problem? I don't get it.

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  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2007-08-18 07:02
    The only thing you CAN do I'm afraid, is to examine the mail headers and try to trace it back to the machine that sent the spam.
    It won't be the spammers PC, but you may be able to track it to a poorly configured mail-server or a hijacked PC.
    Then contact either the company that owns the mailserver, or the ISP the PC is connected to and explain what is happening.

    Unless the machine is in Eastern Europe, Asia, or certain US broadband domains, they may take action.
    Here in Europe many of the larger ISPs have a 'no nonsense' policy and will kill the customers' net access until they've cleaned up their PC...

    I know it won't amount to much, but every PC or upen relay that gets shut down is one less the spammers can use.
    (I have about 15 confirmed 'kills' so far this year. That is, 15 or so where the ISP has acknowledged the problem and confirmed that 'they're taking steps'. None of those are in the USA, though... )

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