Can Spam

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) established requirements for those who send commercial email, spelling out penalties for spammers and giving consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.

The effectiveness and enforcement of the law is a topic of debate. But it is useful to know what the law requires and prohibits. Here's a rundown of the law's main provisions:

• It bans false or misleading header information.
• It prohibits deceptive subject lines.
• It requires that commercial email give recipients an opt-out method.
• It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender's valid physical postal address.

Reporting Spam to the FTC

To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, you can visit ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.