How to deal with nefarious spammers?

[Typicallucas]

I have had only 2 regular email addresses in the last 10 years, and one of those is my gmail account which is 5 years old. So I have 15 email years under my belt and I have never, ever had a problem with spam until last month.

In the past when I have gotten spam I have always been able to unsubscribe from the mailing list but now... suddenly I get about 20 emails a day and they are ALL phishing. None of them have an unsubscribe button and they are all from fake email addresses.

So lame! What do you think I should do? Wait for these guys to get busted or bored? Is there some sort of recourse I should take? Or should I move on to a new email address? (I don't like the feeling of being contacted by criminals 20 times a day)

[Blackadder]

What do you mean with 'no problem with spam until now'?

It could mean you never got any spam worth mentioning, in which case you now need a spam filter.

Or it could mean your spam filter usually was able to filter the massive amounts of spam you got, (as in you didn't really get it) in which case you need a better spam filter

[Chupacabras]

Some people advise never to use the unsubscribe option in a given spam, because it helps validate your email and further spamming.

Anyway, I quit my favorite email account ever because I got about 100 pieces of trash a day. Nobody wanted to help me for money when I tried to go for it, so I just changed to another address.

[Vitnir]

I love gmail's spamfilter, once in a while something gets through but if you use the function "report spam" I think the filter learns because they go away. The spam folder is at 600+ which means 20 spam per day that I never have to look at.

[Dancing David]

Yahoo's spam filter works for me.

[wexer9]

I only get spam on my Hotmail account, and only rarely.
My Sympatico and Gmail accounts never get spam.

[Typicallucas]

Right, I'll try forwarding my main email address to my Gmail where my Outlook can pick it up.

edit: Cool I just tested it and it takes about 5 seconds for emails without attachments to make the round trip. Thanks for the ideas, guys, it was right in front of my face but I couldn't figure it out :)

[BenBurch]

Chorus
Way, hay up she rises,
Way, hay, up she rises,
Way, hay, up she rises,
Earlye in the morning!

What will we do with the drunken spammer?
What will we do with the drunken spammer?
What will we do with the drunken spammer?

Put him in the scuppers with the hose pipe on him
Put him in the scuppers with the hose pipe on him
Put him in the scuppers with the hose pipe on him
Earlye in the morning!

Hoist him aboard with a running bowline
Hoist him aboard with a running bowline
Hoist him aboard with a running bowline
Earlye in the morning!

Put him in the brig until he's sober.
Put him in the brig until he's sober.
Put him in the brig until he's sober.
Earlye in the morning!

Make him turn to at shining bright work.
Make him turn to at shining bright work.
Make him turn to at shining bright work.
Earlye in the morning!

Put him in a boat and row him over
Put him in a boat and row him over
Put him in a boat and row him over
Earlye in the morning!

Hoist him up to the topsail yardarm
Hoist him up to the topsail yardarm
Hoist him up to the topsail yardarm
Earlye in the morning!

Make him clean out all the spit-kids
Make him clean out all the spit-kids
Make him clean out all the spit-kids
Earlye in the morning!

That's what you do with a drunken spammer!
That's what you do with a drunken spammer!
That's what you do with a drunken spammer!
Earlye in the morning! (Amen.)

[Dancing David]

Thanks Ben, just as an aside, brightwork is wood.