Yesterday I received an email via an onsite contact form on one of my sites. I replied to the person and I told them I didn't have interest in their product.

6 hours later, I get an email inviting me to one of their web seminars (using my name and email address), when I complained they cited that they use a CRM tool. And that my name and email address was added in it because they thought I was a potential customer.

They took my details out of their database, but it's amazing how easy it would be to have your personal details stored by a wide range of companies.

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my sites :

irish poker / irish jobs / seo faq / advertise jobs free / green card / skiing

Its worse when the DB your details are in gets sold on to other companies and I'm not talking about the average webmaster trying to make a few quid. Professional data mining companies make a fortune selling on contact details as potential leads. I've bought into a few in the past that would cost a couple of grand upwards.

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I can usually tell if they've got my email address legitimately or not by the "to" address they abuse

The conversations can be quite amusing!

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Hmm,
It very much depends on how they source the email address / personal details. A contact form is pretty much an open door, particularily if you respond. With an awful lot of spam marketers (maybe not the right term for what I'm discribing, but it was accidently done by a friend) - basically "send to all" which may include an automatically added email address when recieved from you to their outlook express etc.

Anyway off the point, The Data Protection Act 1988 will basically protect you if you are no a corporate body, or part thereof. i.e. if you are a sole trader you must be removed from any emailing list or it is in breach of the act. Recently a .com domain of mine got a friendly POSTED letter from a certain American registry firm. it was the second year it happened in a row, I emailed off to them and threated to report it to the commissioner and plaster it accross Irish airwaves (my friend has a topical talk show on a Dublin radio station). The companies CEO quickly apologised but I recommended him not to try it on a set list of 4 other websites I cassually look after and if I recieved one letter from them, I would be reporting them, making them in breach of the DPA 1988.

Thats my rant over Hope it clarifies anything for the future. (I have a feeling I told that story somewhere before?)

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The "outlook" excuse is one that I always find amusing ...

One lot actually admitted to buying lists to me the other day!

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Haha,
I've always been pretty hardline... providing they weren't Irish if they had mine I'd probably report. But again I'm not corporate, just a rougue tied down by endless freelance contracts from a firm

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