Spam e-mails are unsolicited advertising emails, often with pornographic content. Generally speaking, these e-mails are distributed via third-party computers using fake sender information. In particular, the sender and the subject line are changed frequently so that they cannot be easily identified as spam.

Generally speaking, spammers use programmes that scan websites, Usenet news posts and many other sites for e-mail addresses to populate their databases. Generally plausible and any conceivable (short) combinations of letters from large e-mail providers are also used. In addition, e-mail addresses are also traded.

Not a lot, unfortunately. If you often receive e-mails from the same sender or with the same subject name, some e-mail programs offer an inbox wizard that can delete e-mails automatically according to certain criteria. Some specialist tools that do the same job are also available online. But their success rate is sadly low and there is always a risk that you could delete e-mails you actually want (e.g. if such e-mails coincidentally have the same subject name). The best course of action is just to delete such e-mails without reading them. Warning: viruses and other malware programs are often attached to these kinds of e-mails. Therefore you should never open or run attachments from unknown senders!

They often use computers whose faulty configurations allow them to send e-mails to arbitrary numbers of recipients. This means very little can be found out about the actual identity of the sender. The international nature of the internet also makes the problem harder. Because of this difficulty and the "triviality" of the problem it is almost impossible to launch a legal prosecution.

Do not reply to the e-mail.
The sender address is often fake, which means that the complaint e-mail will not be deliverable or will be sent to an unconnected third-party. Replying to the e-mail is also inadvisable because this signals to the sender that e-mails are being read by the recipient.

Since March 2005, anyone feeling overwhelmed by annoying electronic junk adverts received by telephone, fax, text or e-mail who wishes to report it can contact the Federal Network Agency for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and rail (BNetzA). Send the faxes or spam e-mails you receive, together with a brief description of the issue and a request for the BNetzA to intervene, to fax number +49 (0) 6321 934-111 or e-mail address Rufnummernspam@BNetzA.de. However, the BNetzA will only intervene if it is a case of 'telephone numbers knowingly being used illegally'. What's more, the data subject must not have any business relationship with the sender, nor must they have previously given their consent to be contacted.