Spam Overload

[stevesurrey]

I know Spam is a problem for everyone but I am starting to wonder how effective reporting Spam to TT is. The volume of Spam one particular address of mine gets has been increasing rapidly over the past month or two culminating in over 50 received in past 24 hours. I report all of them using the 'Mark As Spam' option.

Looking back over the past month I can see I've received over 20 emails from a 'John Sartoris' using a variety of addresses, all presumably spoofed. However the name is the same as is the content (about an entry in WHo's Who America), although the Subject line uses 3 or 4 different variants. I know I am largely ignorant of IT (except as an end user) but would have thought these particular emails were easy enough to spot.

[Gondola]

Hi Steve

Do you need help with blocking spam?

Q. I'm blocking spam senders. So why does the same spam reappear the next day and the day after that?

A. Blocking email senders is good for any sender that isn't sending spam. A spammer will regularly change the sending email address and use various tricks to fool the recipient about the From: address that trying to block spam sender addresses is a waste of your time.

Q. Why does TalkTalk claim to block spam?

A. TalkTalk customers using TalkTalk Mail webmail can select email(s) to Mark as Spam. Don't use this feature in place of unsubscribing from mailing lists. Do Mark as Spam the unsolicited spam mail messages. This alerts the Cloudmark filters to use the example to help fingerprint typical spam content. Don't expect an immediate block of spam because to trigger the filters needs input from other sources to minimise false positives. When mail is detected as unauthenticated or having a spam fingerprint then it is blocked.

Q. Why am I getting spam and what can I do?

A. Spammers and scammers have discovered your email address. From here on it's a relentless fight to avoid spam and phishing scams that fool you into revealing personal data.

To completely avoid the unsolicited mail you can use a filter rule to accept mail into the Inbox from wanted senders only. This rule does need to be updated as you accept new contacts.

Or you can migrate your contacts to use a new talktalk.net address for a mailbox created in your MyAccount. Delete the old email address and mailbox when your contacts are all using the new mailbox.

[OCE_Ady]

Hi both, I too think way too much spam is making it through. I had to fight too hard to block obvious spam from bitcoin. I am told that cloudmark etc is there to block the mail and I know that TT pay a substantial amount to cloudmark to have the service and I am told we block hundreds of millions of mails every day. Something must still not be right though for us all to still receive so much. 

I've raised this with the team again and will let you know the outcome. 

Ady

[stevesurrey]

Thanks @OCE_Ady be interesting to hear their response. I think we all accept a certain level of spam is a fact of life, but as there have been several threads recently about it suggests to me that the level of spam is out of control.

[Gondola]

...and the last experience of Cloudmark using a more aggressive spam control algorithm got people complaining that their wanted mail had been rejected as spam. It's a fine balance between detecting real spam and rejecting potential spam detected as a false positive.

If you know any senders still not using secure mail with SSL/TLS (TLS1.2 as a minimum) encryption for outgoing mail then do encourage them to upgrade to secure mail sending.

[td123]

A few days back @granpaof2 posted in the Your Ideas section the following:

In the last few months, I have been learning how to use the filter rules to block the garbage emails we all receive. It occurred to me that a video of how to do this would be of use, as a visual representation often helps along with the written description.

and I added:

Great idea, and if this is not possible then how about a new topic post along the lines of  "Setting spam filters for dummies" with some explanatory screencaps and text and then set it as a "sticky" on top of the board. There are several posts like this in replies from such as Gondola and  OCE_Ady but they are buried within topics and in any case they slip down the board over time of course. If it was set as a sticky then forum users might spot it and not have to post the usual " Getting flooded with spam, how do I stop this rubbish? " and if anyone did ask the question staff could just refer them to the sticky rather than spending time repeating the same answer.

[granpaof2]

Hi td123,

How about putting the "sticky" in BOLD TYPE and CAPITALS then people might just see it?

Grampo

[OCE_Ady]

Hi stevesurrey, I've had some limited interim responses but no confirmation of any issues or changes to improve matters. As Gondola said the last time we tightened up on spam everyone complained that they should be able to choose for themselves and it wasn't for TalkTalk to choose. It did generate quite a bit of upset. 

Ady

[stevesurrey]

OK @OCE_Ady thanks for the feedback. I appreciate there is a fine line between too much and too little spam filtering. I only raised the issue as I was getting much more than normal and similar threads were appearing with increasing frequency. And you too acknowledged your own problem with bitcoin

[OCE_Ady]

I wasn't saying we won't work on it, we already are. We've just to be careful how far we go. 

Ady

[Mike Sant]

Like another contributor I am fed up to the back teeth with receiving Bitcoin spam emails together with CBD and Cannabis Oil. I report them as Spam and send them to TalkTalk but they keep on coming. Why can they not simply block any email referring to the above topics?

[OCE_Ady]

Hi Mike Sant, unfortunately many people want mail about CBD oil as they use it and the same goes for Bitcoin. I share you frustration on this it took me quite a while to get Bitcoin blocked properly but using the filters it was possible. 

Ady

[stevesurrey]

---

@OCE_Ady wrote:

I wasn't saying we won't work on it, we already are. We've just to be careful how far we go. 

Ady

---

Hi @OCE_Ady . I don't know whether the email admins have done anything but I am pleased to report that in last week my spam count has almost dried up. For past 3 or 4 months I was getting 15-20 daily, but in past week I have had just 5 in total. I hope I haven't jinxed things now!

[OCE_Ady]

Hi stevesurrey, i was told some changes were coming, but haven't had confirmation that they've been made yet. 

Ady