NEW YORK, June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Unwanted e-mail messages can be more than a nuisance. Many contain viruses or may be scams known as phishing in which the sender attempts to obtain vital personal and financial information from the recipient.

But there are many ways of fighting spam.

For example, Verizon announced Thursday (June 7) an agreement with Goodmail, an e-mail certification service that will help customers later this summer in their battle against the dangers contained in spam. The service will place a recognizable mark or flag on e-mail from certified commercial and nonprofit volume senders. This symbol tells Verizon e-mail users that the message is recognized by Goodmail as being from a legitimate source. [Note: A companion news release provides further details about the Goodmail service.]

Other tools available to help Verizon customers to fight spam include: -- Verizon Spam Detector -- A feature available to users of Verizon's e-mail service that identifies suspected spam and either eliminates it before it reaches the mailbox or routes it to a folder designated by the user for spam messages. -- Blocked Sender List -- A Verizon e-mail feature that allows the user to designate specific senders or e-mail domains, and messages from those sources are automatically blocked. -- Sub-accounts -- Enables users to establish e-mail sub-accounts or addresses for online transactions and keep their real e-mail address private. This will help keep spam from showing up in their real e-mail folders. Verizon also advises consumers to take these additional actions: -- Use Additional Filters -- Both Outlook Express and Netscape(R) Messenger give users the ability to filter incoming e-mail so that it can be placed in special folders, throw away unwanted junk mail, or even send an automatic response to certain senders. -- Guard E-Mail Address -- Be careful about disclosing e-mail addresses. Spammers use programs that search chat rooms, Internet sites, newsgroups and other online sites where e-mail addresses can be found and use that information to compile their mailing lists. -- Disguise Your Address -- When including your e-mail address in online profiles or on a personal Web site, disguise your e-mail address by writing it in plain English, such as "Alice at Verizon dot net." That way, your address is still intelligible to people but not e-mail gathering software. -- Shopping Sites -- Beware of pre-checked boxes when registering for online services or shopping. These typically indicate you will accept e-mail from that organization. Uncheck those boxes if you prefer not to receive such messages. -- Report Spam -- If you are using a spam filter but continue to receive unwanted e-mails, report the messages to your Internet service provider (ISP). Verizon customers can do this by sending the messages as attachments to spamdetector.notcaught@verizon.net

Further information about these tools and tips is available at http://www.verizon.net/spam or by contacting your Internet service provider.

Verizon Communications Inc. , headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 60.7 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com/.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

CONTACT: Cliff Lee of Verizon, +1-518-396-1095,
clifford.p.lee@verizon.com

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/
http://www.verizon.net/spam

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