Spam

Unsolicited and Unwanted Online Communication

Spam messages are prevalent online. The potential for unwanted online communication to become an annoyance, similar to offline junk mail, to online users was first identified in a 1975 Request for Comment (RFC) document. The RFC (#706) suggested it may be useful to have the ability to reject any junk mail received on the relatively small ARPA Network. As the Internet’s reach expanded, the diversity and prevalence of unwanted messages increased as well. The term spam came to generally describe unwanted communication messages that target a mass audience and are likely to be perceived as annoying by receivers. As spam messages are often considered annoying, spam relates to other forms of unsolicited communication like offline junk mail and telemarketer phone calls. However, in addition to creating annoyance for message receivers, spam messages also represent a potential threat to Internet user privacy. For that reason, scholarly research and discussion of spam primarily focuses on legal (e.g., the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation) or technological (e.g., the use of statistical learning to generate spam “filters”) aspects of controlling spam.

Spam message content often advertises goods and services. One reason for spam’s prevalence online is that using online spam messages to advertise allows for widespread message circulation with little to no cost. The cost-effective nature of mass messaging online, as well as the anonymity offered by the Internet, often leads to messages [Page 1653]containing fraudulent claims and scams. Spam messages may request the message receiver’s personal information under the guise of providing a service. For that reason, many spam messages are also considered “phishing” attempts. Phishing is a term used to describe messages that appear from a legitimate person or organization that are deliberate misrepresentations executed in order to gain access to message receivers’ personal information, such as credit card or bank account numbers. For example, many e-mail users have received an e-mail from an alleged Nigerian Prince. The messages explain that, due to an inability to access his own account, the “Prince” requests the message receiver’s bank account information in order to complete a money transfer. The e-mails then explain that in exchange for the message receiver’s relatively small upfront contribution, which will be used to establish a new account, the “Prince” will share a large sum of money with the message receiver once he gains access to the funds. For Internet users unfamiliar with the notion of spam, and new to the online environment, phishing messages may initially seem appealing. Agencies such as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) offer services for reporting spam messages. Those who receive a spam message can report the message, including specifics of the content, to assist in preventing the message from further circulating the Internet.

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