According to CNET blogger Matt Asay, spam email amounts are growing at a ridiculous rate.

Spam canAs far as the latest studies can tell:

  • since 2001 spam has gone from only 5%
  • up to “only” 70% in 2004, which is
  • still quite a bit less than today’s current numbers: 95% in 2007 (!)

Addendum: Apologies to the Windows-lovers out there — the image of the can of SPAM has a “Powered by Microsoft” sticker on it that may be too small to be legible to some… okay, maybe that’s not a sincere apology, since this Mac-user pointed it out. ;-)

There are myriad factors in how spam can proliferate, and there has always been a scramble to cover the loopholes and methods used to fill Inboxes with spam.

My own situation: only about 10-15 junk email make it to my Inboxes in a week — and that is from a combined nine email accounts that I manage.

Some of the measures I’ve taken may help you, but if the address has been “out there” so long as a valid address, it may be time to consider setting yourself up with new addresses and letting the spammed ones die out.
Recently, client Lighthouse Communities Inc. took this approach. Replacing the old username and setting up new mailboxes for the new username, while putting measures in place to not reveal the new address to spammers, has helped reduce spam immensely in recent months.
If you and/or your organization are inundated with spam, let’s explore some possible solutions. I can’t promise that we’ll be completely successful (since nearly no one can), but we’ll take steps to make sure we are implementing the latest measures proven to stem the flow of junk mail.

Have a great 2008!