No, spam (or junk mail) is not inevitable!
While it's important to be cautious and not share your email address indiscriminately on the internet, you're never completely safe from this pollution of unsolicited emails.
These emails often contain unsubscribe links, but the effectiveness of such a measure remains to be seen. So, it's time to rebel and play the tattletale! Yeah, I know, it's not pretty… but it's cathartic!
The time for revenge has come… so I warn you right away, it’s a painstaking job. Your contribution will be just a drop in the ocean of spam! But that’s okay, the process is important and involves Signal Spam.
What is Signal Spam?
Signal Spam is a non-profit association that brings together professionals from the email industry to fight against abuse of messaging and communication systems worldwide.
But to fight effectively, Signal Spam needs you... yes, because it is you, by reporting the spam you receive in your mailbox, who will contribute to the eradication (we can always dream) of this vermin. Because, if some spams do not present any risk and are just a nuisance, some can be dangerous and are real threats for people less suspicious than you (recovery of personal data, viruses, scams...).
To use Signal Spam, nothing could be simpler. Just go to www.signal-spam.fr and create an account. You can also choose whether or not to use the unsubscribe assistance service when you report unsolicited messages from advertisers who are members of the association… very convenient!
Then, as soon as you receive an unsolicited email (dangerous or not) you simply need to report it by copying the message and its header into the form provided.
The website offers a explanation page Regarding the method for properly retrieving all the information they need to process the spam you send, this will depend on your email system (Free, SFR, Gmail, Orange, Outlook, etc.). Signal Spam even offers plugins for Outlook, Thunderbird, and Windows Live Mail.
Extensions for simpler reporting
To save you the tedious task of copying and pasting, Signal Spam now offers extensions for the main browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera) and for your favorite email clients (Apple Mail, Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.), as well as a iOS application.
Once the module is installed, report a message with a single click: Open the spam folder or select it in your webmail, then click on the Signal Spam icon located in the browser toolbar.The service automatically retrieves the full header and forwards the complaint; a significant time saver for submitting multiple reports – just remember to repeat this action regularly in order to continuously populate the association's database.
What happens to the reports sent to Report Spam ?
When you click on the module icon or submit a form, the email is:
- Automatically classified
The message and its headers are processed by the same anti-spam engine used by the main French webmail providers (Orange, Free, SFR, La Poste). This determines whether it is a "classic" spam email, a phishing attempt, malware, etc. - Transmitted to the relevant parties
Depending on the nature of the message, the report is routed to:- the member access providers and webmails, to improve their filters;
- the affiliated advertisers, so that they remove your address from their lists;
- public authorities (CNIL, National Police, Gendarmerie, DGCCRF, ANSSI) when an offence or fraud is suspected.
- Integrated with feedback loops
The collected IP addresses, sending domains, and malicious URLs are fed into blacklists shared with browsers, antivirus software, and email services. For phishing attacks, the URL can be blocked nationwide within minutes. - Aggregates for statistical monitoring
The anonymized data is used to publish a quarterly barometer that measures the evolution spam campaigns and guides awareness campaigns. - Kept under the control of the CNIL
The National Commission for Information Technology and Freedoms officially mandates the association to receive these reports; only information strictly necessary for investigations or for improving filters is kept, within the limits set by the regulations.
In short, your reports don't go to waste: they strengthen ISPs' spam filters, trigger investigations when fraud is proven, and feed into widely shared blocklists. The more internet users participate, the more effective the system becomes.
Once reported, you can even track the processing of your spam!
In short, Signal Spam is a citizen tool to fight against spam. By helping this association to better understand the phenomenon of spam in France, you will participate in cleaning up the web and you will contribute to improving spam detection tools…
