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Due to recent unauthorized use of WebMD's name in spam emails, we've created a Frequently Asked Questions section for you about spam.

Spam Alert

It has come to our attention that a Spammer has copied WebMD templates and is sending spam emails using the WebMD name and logo. In most cases, the spam is advertising prescription drugs in order to try to sell you medication. The email looks like it is coming from your email address to your email address.

Please be assured that this email is NOT coming from WebMD. All of our emails will come to you from a WebMD email address, and any link within our newsletters or emails will link back to our site. Here are a few answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about Spam. We hope these help. To contact WebMD, you can send us an email using the Contact Us link found at the bottom of every page of our site.

What is spam?

Spam is a popular term used for unsolicited email. According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, spam is defined as "unsolicited usually commercial e-mail sent to a large number of addresses." More formal synonyms for spam include UCE (unsolicited commercial email) and UBE (unsolicited bulk email).

Is WebMD giving my email address to anyone?

WebMD does not rent, lease, or sell PII (Personally Identifiable Information) about our users or members for any reason. WebMD takes privacy and security issues very seriously. Read our Privacy Policy.

How do spammers get my email address?

It is difficult to determine exactly how spammers (people who send unsolicited email) collect email addresses because there are so many ways to do it. Popular methods include: getting email addresses from chat rooms, from Usenet postings, unsecure email lists, and "mailto" links on Web pages. Many companies and individuals who spam use "Web crawlers," or automated programs that look through (or "crawl") Web traffic or Web pages to harvest email addresses. Unfortunately, if your email address is listed on a public Web page, it is very easy for the spammers to get it.

Sometimes spammers get email addresses by mailing to common names or common words used in email addresses, for example "smith@anycollge.edu" or "accounting@commoncompany.com." They may also keep databases by known Internet domain names (like "famous-college-name.edu"). They constantly probe that domain for real email addresses. There are known viruses that will send email to all the addresses in your email program address book.

Can't my email be filtered for spam?

Yes. There are programs that can filter spam based on certain words or phrases in subject lines automatically, and usually you can control how the settings work. You should make sure you know how to set your own spam filters, how to set your "safe email" settings, and how to report spam to your ISP or email service.

Can I determine who is spamming me?

Spammers are becoming more and more sophisticated and unscrupulous in their emailing techniques, and sometimes disguise the sender information. Usually, the "to" and "from" fields will be forged, or invisible. Sometimes they can make it look like email came from you, TO you! Even the IP (Internet Protocol) addresses are faked. These techniques make it almost impossible to determine where the spam came from.

To determine the sender of an email, you can look in the header information for that email. Each email program has subtle differences in how to look in the email headers. Generally, you can start by looking for your specific email "help" files. See how to view header files.

Is it a good idea to "unsubscribe" or "reply to remove" my address from spam email?

Asking to be removed from a spam email list lets the spammer know your email address is real and may even add you to a database. We strongly urge you to not reply to any spam messages. Doing this confirms that your email address is real. The spammer that received your confirmation can do two things:

Send you more spam.
Sell your confirmed email addresses to other spammers, leading to even more spam to your address.

The best solution for combating spam still remains: Delete the mail without opening it or report it to your Internet Service Provider immediately! You can also check with your state Attorney General's office about the possibility of legal action against the spammer.

What about unsubscribing from legitimate email lists that I have subscribed to?

WebMD places unsubscribe directions in every email newsletter we send. Our goal is to give you every opportunity to unsubscribe from our email.

Most legitimate commercial email will include instructions on how to unsubscribe from their list. This is almost always done in the case where you asked to be on an email list. This email is technically solicited by you and isn't considered spam.

Did you forget that you filled out a form on a company's web site? Many people do. Or they forget to uncheck the boxes that automatically subscribe them to receive information from a site. WebMD only uses opt-in email sign-up (you have to fill in a form or place a check mark in a box) to help make it easy for you to know exactly what you are signing up for.

Always use caution when you agree to "opt-in" to a list. You may be giving a site the right to sell or trade your email address to another company. WebMD has a very strict Privacy Policy, and we do not rent, lease, or sell any personal information about our users or members. WebMD recommends that you always read a site's privacy and data use policy and understand how they will use your information before you agree to opt-in to any email lists or other data collection.

Where can I go for more information about spam?

Several other resources are useful starting points for combating the scourge of spam:

The Federal Trade Commission is a good first stop for information about spam, as well as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003). You can also File a Complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email
The Network Abuse Clearinghouse and its sister site, Spam Abuse, include a useful page on recent Internet scams.
The Consumer Privacy Guide , sponsored by the Center for Democracy and Technology, is a good site to learn how you can better protect your privacy.

How to View Header Information

The information on this page may be useful to you if you have ever received unsolicited spam email. You may be asked to either view and/or forward the full header information to your ISP or other third parties who need to find and try to stop the spammers.

The header information can be helpful in determining where a message came from and the path the email followed as it traveled from server to server, finally arriving in your inbox. You can think of the header information much like a tracker or postage meter for your email. See below to learn how to view and forward full mail headers with some of the more popular email clients and programs. If you are using an email client not listed here, please contact your specific email provider for specific directions.

MS Outlook 2007

Start MS Outlook 2007
Right click on the message and select Message Options
Header information can be found in the Internet Headers box

Open up the message
Look at the right of Options and you'll see an arrow
Click on the arrow and the Internet Header can be found in the bottom section of the Message Options box
Right click in the Internet Headers box and choose Select All.
Right click again in the Internet Headers box and choose Copy.
Paste the copied text into a new email and send to the organization requesting the header information.

MS Outlook 2003

Start MS Outlook 2003 and double click the message to open it in its own window.
Go to the View menu and select Options.
Right click in the Internet Headers box and choose Select All.
Right click again in the Internet Headers box and choose Copy.
Paste the copied text into a new email and send to the organization requesting the header information.

MS Outlook Express

Start MS Outlook Express and double click the message to open it in its own window.
Go to the File menu and select Properties.
Click the Details tab to view the header.
Right click in the Internet Headers box and choose Select All.
Right click again in the Internet Headers box and choose Copy.
Paste the copied text into a new email send to the organization requesting the header information.

Apple Mail

Start Apple Mail.
Go to the View menu and select Message and then Long Headers.
Forward the message, along with your complaints, comments, and any information you feel would be helpful to the organization requesting the header information.

Eudora

Start Eudora.
Double click on the message to view.
Click the blah blah blah button, directly above the message. This should expand the headers.
Forward the message, with your complaints, comments and any information you feel would be helpful to the organization requesting the header information.

Google Mail (Gmail)

Click on the More options command near the top of a message.
Click on the Show original command near the end of the list of command options.
Select all of the text, copy it, and paste it into an email and send to the organization requesting the header information.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Start Mozilla Thunderbird.
Go to the View menu and select Headers and then All.
Forward the message, with your complaints, comments, and any information you feel would be helpful to the organization requesting the header information.