Everyone has received humorous or thought-provoking e-mails which they want to share with their friends or family. The normal process is to click the Forward button, load five, ten, fifteen or more names into the To: box and press Send.
By the time the e-mail gets forwarded through several sets of recipients, all of the e-mail addresses embedded throughout the message could be exposed to hundreds or even thousands of strangers spread all over the globe. Unfortunately, some of those strangers may be in the bulk, or spam, e-mail business and they will treasure the gold mine of new and valid e-mail addresses they can harvest.
Of course, spammers have many methods of acquiring e-mail addresses but, by taking the following precautions, it is possible to send group messages with confidence that nobody's e-mail address will be exposed to potential spam.
Cut and Paste to Remove E-mail Addresses
Open a new message window, copy or cut the message text and paste it into the new e-mail. Another option is to press the Forward button and delete everything in the e-mail except for the actual message text. Either process will eliminate any addresses which may have become embedded inside the e-mail.
Use Blind Carbon Copy to Hide E-mail Addresses
Use the Blind Carbon Copy feature when entering group e-mail addresses. Everyone receiving the e-mail will see only their address and the sender's but nobody else’s.
The blind carbon copy is usually labeled as Bcc: on the new e-mail window but many e-mail packages do not show that line by default. The method of accessing the box varies depending on the software.
- In Outlook Express click on “View -> All Headers” to reveal the Bcc: field.
- Outlook users may click the To: button to produce a new window with the Bcc: box displayed.
- For Gmail users, an Add Bcc: button is visible.
- Yahoo! Mail users can select the Show Bcc: button.
- AOL and Juno do not have a Bcc: box; however, the blind carbon copy function may be replicated by entering recipients’ addresses in the Cc: box and surrounding them with parentheses.
If the method for entering blind carbon copies in the software package is not apparent, search the Help index for more information.
Send E-mails to Undisclosed Recipient
Many Internet service providers require an entry in the To: box, or the e-mail will be rejected as spam. To avoid this, the sender may enter their own e-mail address in the box or might type the text “Undisclosed Recipient <senderaddress>", replacing senderaddress between the braces with their e-mail address.
For those who tend to send frequent group messages, creating an entry named Undisclosed Recipient into the Address book with their e-mail address attached will save time.
Request E-mail Privacy
Finally, ask acquaintances to assist in protecting e-mail addresses by adding a standard statement at the bottom of personal e-mails such as this suggestion from the Washington State Office of the Attorney General:
Note: To protect my privacy, please do not expose my e-mail address to others. If you're sending e-mail to a group of people that includes me, please put my e-mail address on the Bcc: line only.
Remember, by removing embedded e-mail addresses and using the blind carbon copy field, everyone's e-mail addresses can be protected from unnecessary exposure and the risk of being harvested by spammers.
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