One of the earliest types of spam came bearing adult and pornographic content.  To the current day, it remains one of the most common forms a user will find in their inbox.  Content may range from explicit dating services to enhancement products.  This type of spam is often difficult to prevent, as clicking on a single link within it will typically bring more from different senders.  Individuals spamming adult content also employ several techniques that easily penetrate a spam filter or blocker.  They often fool these applications by scrambling text in the subject field.  More often than not, these messages reach a user’s inbox with ease.

While most victims of pornographic spam may have visited an adult site or two, this is not always the criteria.  Spammers distributing this content usually acquire their lists just like any other spammer - by purchasing or trading email addresses. 

Fighting Pornographic Spam  

Upon opening an email that contains adult content, a user may actually see graphic language and also explicit visual graphics within the email itself.  These details are often accompanied by various links that redirect the recipient to other web sites advertising adult products and services.  Some email servers allow users to configure messages in a way that prevents images from being displayed.  Most of the time, the text alone is enough to determine if the email is of pornographic nature.

Aside from using special software, users can also take initiative and play a huge role in stopping pornographic spam.  This can be done by finding out the sender’s web address and making a complaint against them.  In order to find the URL, it is usually necessary to open the message.  Caution should certainly be taken here, as any spam email may contain a virus in disguise.   

The method of locating the sender’s web address depends on the format the message was delivered in.  In most instances, messages are either delivered in plain text or HTML.  Finding the web address for pornographic spam in plain text is simple, as it is usually listed in plain sight. 

Email composed in HTML format will resemble a web page with vivid graphics.  This means that the sender’s web address will be concealed in underlying code.  Finding it requires the user to perform a few tricks.  There are three simple methods that will help you track down and identify the sender:

1. Move the mouse over the link.  By doing so, the sender’s web address will be displayed at the lower left-hand corner of the web browser. 

2. You can also utilize the “View Source Code” function of the email server.  This will display the actual HTML code in a word file.  The web address can be found in between the tags: a href = ” “

3. Users of Microsoft Outlook have the ability to print out links that may not be displayed in the email. 

After finding the web address, it can be easily pasted or typed into the complaint form found on the Obscenity Crimes website (www.obscenitycrimes.org).

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