Ask HN: Report company sending out marketing emails without unsubscribe link? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Report company sending out marketing emails without unsubscribe link?

11 pointscloogshicer7 comments

A VC backed company (I don't want to name them because they don't deserve the exposure) is sending out emails without an unsubscribe link that are clearly marketing.

Support tells me "they're part of onboarding" so you can't unsub.

Any way to report them somehow as spam?

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If you use webmail (e.g. gmail) you can mark it as spam and it'll ding their score. If they're using mailchimp et al you can report the spam to them though you might have to dig through their site to find the report address.

> Support tells me "they're part of onboarding" so you can't unsub.

So stupid.

I work on email systems all day. EVEN IF you have a valid reason to send someone an email, they can still file a spam complaint and that's much worse than just an unsubscribe.

I have a response template I always send with the unsubscribe and FTC report, goes like this —- The law governing unsolicited emails and sms varies depending on the jurisdiction, but there are few general principles and regulations that are prevalent: The CAN-SPAM Act requires commercial email senders to abide by several rules in order to ensure transparency and accountability. The main purpose of this law is to protect consumers from receiving unsolicited, deceptive, or misleading messages. These rules include the following: 1. Prohibition of misleading or deceptive subject lines: The law forbids the use of false or misleading information in the subject line of an email, aiming to provide recipients with accurate and clear information about the content of the message. 2. Inclusion of valid physical address: Every commercial email must include a valid physical postal address of the sender. This address should clearly identify the location of the sender. 3. Opt-out mechanism: Commercial emails must provide recipients with a clear and noticeable option to opt-out or unsubscribe from receiving future emails. Once a recipient has opted out, senders must honor the request and immediately stop sending commercial emails to that recipient. 4. Prompt processing of opt-out requests: Senders are required to process opt-out requests promptly, typically within 10 business days. It is illegal to charge any fee or require any personal information beyond an email address for processing the opt-out request. 5. Prohibition of harvested email addresses and telepohone numbers: It is illegal to use automated methods to collect email addresses from websites or online platforms without permission. The Act also prohibits the use of harvested email addresses to send unsolicited commercial emails. 6. Clear identification of emails as advertisements: Commercial emails must be clearly identified as advertisements. This can be achieved by including a noticeable label or disclaimer in the message. The CAN-SPAM Act grants the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the authority to enforce these regulations and outlines penalties for non-compliance. Violators may face penalties of up to $42,530 per "each email sent" violating the Act. We've taken the liberty of forwarding and notify the FTC of your unsolicited message. This is your first and last cease and desist notice to stop sending unsolicited emails immediately; failure to comply will result in legal action pursuing the fullest legal remedies. Have a pleasant and law-abiding day.

Whois the domains in their MX records and forward the offending messages to abuse@emailhostdomain.com. They typically inmediately remove you and get the sender to fix their messages.

In the US, see here: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov

Click "mark as spam" if you are using something like gmail, outlook, etc.

Report them to whoever is providing the email delivery for them.

Are these purely transactional emails, purely promotional emails, or some sort of mix?

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