Anti-Abuse Police

It has happened. The SPAM/Fraud/Abuse cops have cordoned my ISP. And all without any provocation on my part that I am aware of. I preach the gospel of permission-based marketing and make fervent attempts to check databases before any mailings to be sure recipients wish to receive the information. And still I am blacklisted.

There is a good, but sad, reason for this. The REAL abusers and stealers of identity who set up “phishing” sites to capture unsuspecting Netizens personal/financial information in order to perpetrate BAD DEEDS.

So a whole slew of anti-spam, anti-fraud protection software has been installed tout-suite on coporate networks and individual desktops in effort to keep out the BAD GUYS. Unfortunately they often also keep out the good guys. And then you’re in for it! Responding to stern, accusatory emails about quarantine, black-lists and the like. Then you have to lobby each and every party that has put you in the stocks and proclaim your honest intentions – then pray they release you.

OR – you can never ever ever send email from that IP again. And if it happens to be your corporate, branded IP address – well, you can see how inconvenient that might be.

Moral: SPAM is still bad. Anti-SPAM programs are well-intentioned. Anti-Abuse Cops are a little like the Gestapo – they are a little too secretive about what exactly it was that slapped you into their clutches in the first place. Managing all of these variables is daily increasing the actual costs of using email as a communication outlet. Won’t be long before it is on a par with direct mail, and then you can expect to see a swing back to more print in your in -box.

I’m going off to design some postcards now.

Donna