If you did not ask to receive these emails (aka spam), how did they get to you? Well, spammers get their email addresses from list brokers. The list brokers harvest email address from the internet via newsgroup postings, websites, chat rooms, or online service's membership directories.

How can I keep the spam in the can? The most effective way is to create a new email account and never ever use it or tell anyone about it, but that is not very practical. So, the second option is to use your email address wisely. Do not post your email address on the web under any circumstances. That is the easiest way for a list harvester to grab your email address. If you have a website and would like your customers and prospects to be able to contact you from the site, you should use an email form.

If you sign up for any services online that require an email address, you can sign up for and use a free email from Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, Gmail, etc. This will prevent any promotional emails from cluttering your more valuable work email address.