An Educated Email User is a Spammer’s Nightmare

So you have taken the time to research, select and install a world class anti spam solution, such as GFI MailEssentials. And 80,000 satisfied customers say it’s the best.  To enhance this solution consider implementing a continuous “anti spam” education program in your company.  Although the automated solution dramatically cuts down on the majority of spam, email users still help proliferate it.

Spammers prey on ignorance and laziness of the email user.  Email administrators must still continue to be crusaders to shorten the ignorance gap.  Spammers cannot accomplish their mission, if a person is savvy about handling incoming spam that may slip into their mail box.

Without impacting your time, there are plenty of creative ways to educate your email community.  This cuts down on spam help desk requests and improves the functionality of the company spam filter.

Suggested Anti Spam Topics to cover with email users should include:

• Don’t open email from senders you don’t know
• Don’t use your company email address for online personal shopping
• Using forms instead of publishing email addresses on the company web site
• Use Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo to create a personal email address
• Use alternate personal email address to join forums, social networks and shop online
• Don’t unsubscribe to email lists you never subscribed to previously. This helps spammers confirm valid email addresses.

Various electronic communication platforms can be leveraged to deliver a weekly “anti spam tip” to employees. You can use a mix of them.  Adding your own topics, distribute them through the following mediums:

• Post an anti spam tip on the help desk web site
• With management’s permission consider a bi-monthly broadcast voice mail to everyone
• Set the network login script to display a different anti spam tip every week
• Create an email newsletter. Then reuse the same template for issuing ongoing reminders

The key is ongoing education of new and seasoned employees, with constant reminders. Due to the focus on their daily business, people have very short memories.  Just like a commercial, providing anti spam tips helps everyone work smarter, not harder.

From a career marketing perspective, this is an excellent way to keep your name in front of people throughout the organization.  Senior management gets to know you better.  When promotions and raises come up, your name is continuously branded with your anti spam tips.