Stop Sending Me Forwards!!!

[gubyw1]

I would just like you to know Wx247, that I have not in the past, nor do I now, nor will I likely in the future, have any remote desire to send you a forward. I sincerely hope that this post gets lost in the mountain of posts already present, submitted by the denizens of this board, a small fraction of the 6.725 billion that inhabit this planet.

[Miss Mary]

LOL!!!

You can add me to your list - I don't like them either! But to each his own, I guess.....

[wx247]

Okay, well I didn't get as many replies as I would have thought. Here is one:

Gary,

That email was hilarious. So much so that I forwarded it on to everyone in my address book. (Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?) I am still waiting on my Powerball numbers. They better not have put them in the neighbors mailbox.

Love,
Lori

[bvigal]

one thing about e-mails that are forwarded is the first originator can be trying to harvest e-mails or anyone of the other hundreds that are receiving them with everyones e-mail that it has been forwarded to attached behind the scenes. I finally sent out an e-mail that if it is that important or funny, please do a copy and paste to those they wish to see it as well as send them out individually as we never know to whom the other person may be sending them out to. Ever noticed that after you recieve some of these forwards you suddenly start receiving more spam in your mail box?

This is a REALLY good point!!! Your "friends" should not divulge your email address to others you don't know. If you get an email forward and can see others it went to, and if 10 of those people forward to 10 more, and them to 10 more, 1000 people have your email address in a short time, just sitting on their computer. Do you know the computing habits of those 1000 people? Of course not! It only takes one of them with a trojan busy harvesting email addresses to pick up yours from their computer and sell it on one of those "17 million good email addresses" packages!

What kind of friend would invade your privacy, risk your identity, and generally cause you a nuisance? I inform friends in no uncertain terms to use blind copy, and if they can't, then I forbid them using my email address in forwards to multiple recipients.

Another thing many don't realize, lots of these cute, touching, or funny emails are originated by criminals intent upon identity theft. Addresses are harvested from cache in computers along the internet way. All their search software has to do is look for the subject line string (behind the "FWD")to match the email scam they started for the specific purpose of harvesting good addresses. They likely will also get your full name, which can then be searched for additional information. You may then get a phishing scheme sent to you, and if you click on link that looks like it's really from Ebay, or your credit card, you may give them what they need to begin an identity theft.

So, the only safe way to forward something to more than one person at once:
1. use blind copy
2. change the subject line