Definition of Bulk Email
Email is a fast and easy way to communicate with others. It is popular for both personal and business use. Some businesses leverage the power of email to send bulk emails to their customers. Individuals often use it to stay in touch via special-interest discussion groups. It has a dark side, too, as some unscrupulous companies use it inappropriately to bombard people with unwanted sales pitches. It is even used by scammers to draw people into fraudulent transactions.
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Bulk Email
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According to the Spamhaus project, bulk email refers to any email message sent to a large list of recipients that has identical contact for each person. Typical examples of bulk email are newsletters, discussion lists and company updates. Bulk email may be sent by a commercial entity, such as a car company sending a newsletter to people who own its vehicles, or a restaurant sending out coupons or special offers. It may also be sent by an individual through a message sent by a member of a discussion group that goes to all the other members of the group.
Opting In
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Legitimate bulk email is sent to a recipient who has chosen to receive it. For example, someone who visits a certain store or restaurant frequently may fill out a form to be added to their list in order to be alerted of sales and specials. A travel agency may offer customers the opportunity to opt in to receive a newsletter listing the latest vacation deals. People with similar interests may create a discussion group.
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Unsubscribing
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Legitimate bulk email should always contain a way for recipients to opt out of future emails. Some recipients may have signed up for the mailing list inadvertently. For example, they might have signed up for a restaurant's birthday club without realizing they would also receive a newsletter. The easiest opt-out method is to allow recipients to click a link within the email that automatically unsubscribes them from future mailings.
Spam
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Spam is a form of bulk email that has not been requested by the recipient. It often contains a misleading subject line to trick recipients into opening the message. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the CAN-SPAM Act requires commercial emails to contain a valid method of unsubscribing. However, many spam messages do not offer this option. Others use "unsubscribe" requests as a way to validate email addresses so they can send further messages and sell the addresses to other spammers. According to the Secret Service, spam is also used by scammers to draw people into advance-fee fraud schemes. They offer large sums of money but ask the recipient to make a payment in order to receive it. The promised funds are never received once the payment is made.
Protection
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Protect your personal email box from filling up with bulk emails and spam by having a special email address that is only used for joining mailing lists and receiving newsletters. Keep a separate "spam" address, too, and use it when registering on questionable websites. If it starts to get too much spam, you can abandon it and start a new account without having to alert all of your legitimate contacts.
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References
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