A question about Spam

[Blackmail]

If you set up an email address and you only email your friends and don't post the address anywhere, can you still get spam?

How do the spammers get your address?

Thanks

[Head Wreck]

how do spammers get your email?

by you giving them it

by you giving another person it and they pass it on for cash (read user agreements people)

by programs scanning websites and extracting anything that looks like an email address

[The_Dark]

You forget one... Unsubscribing... this is how the deal works...

Say I decide to become a spammer. I need real email addresses to actually make money. So, I pick an ISP and fire up my spam software/server. It generates random email addresses and sends each an email. It sends out thousands of email that just bounce back... as the address is not real. The rest go to peoples addresses. Now... what I am really hoping for here is a Dumbass without a Clue. We will call this person DC for short. DC notices the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. DC clicks it... and I remove that address from my spam list... but they have confirmed that this is in fact a real email address.

I then Add it to my "To Sell" list. Once this has happened enough times.. I take my list of confirmed real email addresses and sell them on the market. A confirmed email address is worth a pretty penny to a spammer... a list of 1000 is worth a hell of a lot more.

[JaneDead]

i signed up for an email account once on hotmail, using a "real" name though not "my" name and within hours i had a LOT of spam. and i had not signed up for anything or done anything with the address. all i did was get the account, then the spam started rolling in.

now with my other accounts, i have never had a problem. ever. and if i start to have one i know one of you did it.