Are you often afraid to open your e-mail inbox? Do you dread a deluge of unasked-for advertisements for bogus remedies, counterfeit prescription drugs, pornography, phony stocks, body part enlargements (or reductions), vacations you’ve “won,” “work-at-home” schemes, “free” trinkets, and other detritus? If so, then welcome to the community: you’re a victim of spam.

Who sends this stuff? Why do they send it to you? What tricks do they use to send it? What can you do about it? These are among the questions I hope to be able to answer on this site. I’m presenting what I’ve learned over several years of receiving, analyzing, and reporting spam; I make it available for the public interest, with the hopes that it may help you deal with your own stuffed inbox.