Can I Take Legal Action?

In some countries and certain U.S. states there are laws in place that prohibit spamming or certain types of email abuse. There are also laws in place that prohibit extreme email abuses in USA and Canada as a whole.

If you believe that you may be able to initiate legal action against a spammer, you should first attempt to get restitution from them. To do this, track down the spammer's postal address so that you can send a demand letter and if necessary, serve legal process upon them. There are a number of tools available to help you in this regard:

• the Reverse Directory
• the Reverse Yellow Pages
• the Reverse White Pages
• Google has both residential and business listings
• If the spammer is using a US Post Office Box, use this PDF form to request the real address used to attain the PO Box.

When you send the demand letter, ensure that you request a return receipt. If there is no response from the spammer, then at least you have made the first step towards legal action.

For information on your rights, the laws regarding spam in your area, and prior spam-related cases, consult the links below:

• SpamCon Foundation an extremely useful site detailing spam rights, and legislation governing both spam recipients and internet marketers.
• SpamLaws.com a directory of the spam laws that have been passed in the US, Canada, Europe, and other countries.
• Industry Canada's Principles and Guides
• Privacy Commissioner of Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act