Without our knowledge, some spammers launch e-mail campaigns that look like messages sent by ProRef.com

We, as well as other respected names, are the victims of spammers who are forging/faking/spoofing our email addresses. It is totally beyond our control, and we regret very much that we cannot stop it.

We have nothing to do with such spam, which is a misrepresentation of our good name.

We do not send, and have never sent, spam email of any sort.
In fact, we strongly oppose the act of "spamming" or sending unsolicited commercial email (UCE).

ProRef does have an email program by which we notify customers of new and featured products. Our email program is "opt in" and you can be removed from the list at any time by emailing remove@proref.com.

If you have received such spam email we are sorry, but emphasize that it was nothing to do with us and was beyond our control.

What is E-mail Spoofing? (Faking or Forging)

"E-mail Spoofing" is the latest nasty trend in spam, it is the practice used by many spammers to falsify the header information in their e-mail advertisements. By changing the header information someone can make the email appear to come from whoever they choose.

Hackers are now routinely stealing the e-mail or Web site identities of many people on the Web, and using them to send millions of pieces of junk advertising or offending e-mails.

The average person on the Internet doesn't yet understand what's happening here, and many legitimate companies are obviously being victimized.

How You Can Help - Handling Spam Spoofers

If you ever receive such spam-mails that look like messages sent by ProRef.com, please do this:

1. Report spoofed ProRef.com e-mails to us at

spoofing-report@proref.com

Send the original spoofed e-mail as an attachment. (See the "send" menu of your e-mail program). Sending the e-mail as an attachment is the best way to preserve the "header information," which makes it easier for us to trace the true origin of the forgery.

OR

If you cannot send the forged e-mail as an attachment, forward the e-mail, and include as much of the header information as you are able to maintain.

The headers we need are well labeled and look something like this:
X-Sender: someone@domain.com
X-Sender-IP: [10.1.2.3]
X-Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2003 20:12:06 +0000 (UTC)
X-Recipient: you@domain.com
X-OUID: 1

To find the header information, configure your e-mail program to show All Headers (this varies from program to program).
For Internet Explorer you can do this:
- right-click the unopened e-mail in your inbox,
- and then click "Options" to open the window that includes "Internet Headers."

To track the actual sender of a particular message, we need this "extended headers" information.

If you simply forward an e-mail message to someone, these headers will be lost, so whenever you are reporting spam be sure to cut-and-paste the message header from the spam message and send it in the body copy of your e-mail message.

Please understand that we will not be able to respond to all of the e-mail reports we receive.

2. Never respond to requests for personal information that may be contained in the forged e-mail.

Thank you for your help and understanding,

ProRef Publishing Services Inc.