SPAM Detector tool - info

[lolagoetz]

We have some updated information about the spam dectector tool, from our email product manager:

What does SPAM DETECTOR tool do?

Your ability to communicate with family or friends can be hindered by unsolicited email or "spam".  If you have your SPAM Detector ON, it will sift and catch unsolicited emails sent to your email account and either present them in the SPAM Detector folder or delete them. (Note: You can adjust your SPAM Detector settings in the  Settings/Email Settings tab within Message Center.)

Furthermore, if there are emails you deem as SPAM, you can “Mark as SPAM” by selecting the email from your email inbox list view and select SPAM icon from top menu bar. It will put the email in your SPAM Detector folder and send an email to the VZ Abuse team and third party vendor to evaluate. If it is deemed SPAM, SPAM Detector definitions/rules will be updated.

Please note that  marking email as SPAM does not add the email to the Blocked Senders list. Furthermore, SPAMMERs rarely use the same email address more than once to send SPAM.

[Justin46]

Becky,

Good info, thanks for providing. I have been using the Verizon incoming SPAM filter for two or three years now, works very well, catches probably 99% of the SPAM, of which I generally get 20-40/day. And I have added several filters of my own to catch some stuff I legitimately get but don't really care about seeing, at least on a regular basis. So overall, I am happy with the incoming filter.

However, I think a much bigger area of concern is Verizon's outgoing SPAM filter. I have seen numerous reports here and at other forums of Verizon's mail servers refusing to send emails, rejecting them as SPAM (falsely according to the posts, who knows?). I have only experienced that twice myself, and it took quite a bit of experimenting to figure out how to circumvent your filter treating my outgoing email as SPAM. In my case, I send a fair number of Word and PowerPoint files as PDF attachments. I use MS Office 2007 with the free add-on from MS to save files as PDFs. Twice after doing that the Verizon SPAM filter rejected my outgoing emails as SPAM. The first time it happened I spent a lot of time changing things, in both the email and the attached file, trying to figure out what was causing the issue. Eventually I re-created the PDF using the PDF Creator tool, and bingo, exactly the same email, exactly the same PDF content, but created with a different PDF tool, and the email went just fine. For the second time, I knew what to do, fixed it immediately, same method. Hundreds of other emails with PDF attachments created in Office have gone through just fine. I have no clue what MS sometimes puts into a PDF created from Office, but the Verizon filter sure doesn't like it.

IMHO Verizon really needs to do some work on the outgoing filters. And a detailed description from Verizon on how the outgoing SPAM filters work, including maybe a list of the common items that trip the filter, would be a great addition here (hint, hint).

__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
QIP6416-P1, IMG 1.8, Build 02.54
Keller, TX 76248

[lolagoetz]

Justin,

Thanks for the feedback. I'll send along to the product manager and see what I can find out for you.

BeckyS

[jessm78]

I'm new here and am experiencing problems with the SpamDetector in Webmail. In my case, however, legitimate emails I'm receiving are being marked as spam by Verizon. I've gone to the SpamDetector folder and marked them "not spam." However, this keeps happening and has been getting worse over the past few days. I've even added the email addressed/domain names of the emails to the "safe list", thinking maybe that will solve the problem. It has not. This is getting very frustrating. I use Webmail at work and Outlook at home for sending/receiving emails. This past weekend I failed to receive a few emails at home that I was expecting. When I logged into Webmail yesterday, there they all were in my SpamDetector folder.

Any assistance at all would be greatly appreciated.

[lolagoetz]

I'll see what I can find out for you.

[jessm78]

Thank you so much!

[robtoby]

The outgoing emails I spoke about in a related post that are getting rejected as spam (and yes, they SHOULD NOT BE) DO NOT have any attachments, so that's a red herring.

[JubiLee2]

>... It will put the email in your SPAM Detector folder and send an email to the VZ Abuse team and third party vendor to evaluate.

Who is the third party vendor?

[lolagoetz]

I'm sorry, I don't have that information at this time.

[lrrichey]

I am having problems with my email. messages from my brother go in two places one in the inbox and one in the SPAM box. I have added my brothers email to Safe List and it does not fix it.

Any ideas about what to do to fix it?

Thanks

[cduffer2]

Great TOOOOOOOL verizon....go verizon!

[fishingeddie]

Have there been any changes to the Spam Detector tool recently? I am noticing much more spam ending up in my inbox in the last week.

[tns]

1. spamers are always trying new things to get around various spam blocking
2. You may have visited some site or sent some email to someone.  Your email address may then have been harvested and sent to other spammers

[catsanctuary17]

It's great that the spam detector tool sends a notification to verizon so it can assess the address and evaluate it but what about the end user??!!!!  I get the same emails over and over and marking as spam does not send them to my spam folder next time they come in.  Ideally if I mark something as spam it should delete it!  I presume at some point I failed to uncheck a box that automatically gives permission to receive 3rd party email which is why I seem to be getting the same spam over and over.  I want to get rid of it,   Marking it as spam each time it comes into my main inbox is fruitless.

I tried to block the address, which again is a feature hard to navigate.  Instead of having the option to do it when the email is in the mailbox, preferably when it is closed because spam should not be opened, you have to navigate hither and yon, leave the mailbox and what you're doing, find the block address feature, then the only way it gives you the option to block is by either typing the address in manually or selecting it from contacts.

Hello!!!  First of all spam should not be opened.

Second, why in god's name would you add a spam address to contacts?  Just reply SEND VIRUS HERE.  YOU ARE IN MY CONTACTS SO I CONSIDER YOU A FRIEND.

Type each spam email address in manually or copy/paste it?  What?  Time consuming, still have to open the email and just another example of how verizon makes you navigate around and around to try to do something only to discover the option doesn't exist.

It's great that marking as spam helps verizon evaluate email addresses at some point in the future (who knows when because I have not seen any change), but what about the customer's needs at this immediate time?

---

@BeckyS_VZ wrote:

We have some updated information about the spam dectector tool, from our email product manager:

What does SPAM DETECTOR tool do?

Your ability to communicate with family or friends can be hindered by unsolicited email or "spam".  If you have your SPAM Detector ON, it will sift and catch unsolicited emails sent to your email account and either present them in the SPAM Detector folder or delete them. (Note: You can adjust your SPAM Detector settings in the  Settings/Email Settings tab within Message Center.)

Furthermore, if there are emails you deem as SPAM, you can “Mark as SPAM” by selecting the email from your email inbox list view and select SPAM icon from top menu bar. It will put the email in your SPAM Detector folder and send an email to the VZ Abuse team and third party vendor to evaluate. If it is deemed SPAM, SPAM Detector definitions/rules will be updated.

Please note that  marking email as SPAM does not add the email to the Blocked Senders list. Furthermore, SPAMMERs rarely use the same email address more than once to send SPAM.

---

[David42]

I agree with another customer- Your outgoing SPAM filter is a problem. I just tried to send my wife (in the next room) and updated IE bookmark file. It was stopped. I even renamed it a couple of different ways. Still blocked. This has happened just too many times to me. Am very unhappy. Further when I clicked on the link in the Verizon notification the website was apparently busy the first couple of attempts. It is also a little confusing as to when should be sent to "spamfaq". Do I just forward the original message or just the message itself?

[JasonD52]

I agree that the spam filtering system is very poor.  I get 50+ spam e-mails daily in my inbox, often from the same sender every day.  I mark them as spam, send them to the spam detector, etc. it makes no diference and they're back the next day.  Each day I get 1, maybe 2, messages correctly identified as spam.

I called tech support about it and they told me the system is working fine.   Tech supports only suggestion was to add the spammers domain to the blocked email list.  Yeah, like I'm going to go through that tedious process a few dozen times a day.  

Sorry, Verizon, but your email spam protection stinks.

[mjs82]

the outgoing spam filter  SUCKS....

I have had to send email to the spamfilter several times in the last few weeks  just to send a reply to en email  that I have been corresponding to on a regualr basis.  talking about a severl paragraphs of correspondence here,  not just one liners with lots of links ect..  and the problem is never resolved in the 30-60 minutes as pommised on the web page...

I'd love to know  what triggers the outgoing spam filter to get flagged and hold up an out going email.

I did find  that if I send the same email through webmail,  it goes right through..  no having to wait more than a hour to get it "approved" by mom and dad.

to bad that cable companies  have monopolies on the areas they service...  moved 3 miles last year  and had to give up comcast, change emails addy, learn new channels  and I end up with verizon....

[nicksodano]

I understand that your SPAM tool does not gaurantee that an email will get blocked.  You make specific reference to the fact that spammers often change the address, using it only once.  But why not block the suffix part of the email?  As you will see in these spam addresses... the end of it is always thesame.

slinked.paver@aplastic325.moieties342.bevan682.tussock974.holyokeitenighttripping.info

sonnetises.additions@homologisation591.mosaically710.Syrianise356.undergrads368.holyokeitenighttripp...

scorns.interiorised@phenomenal600.valuably295.exenterating110.beacon317.holyokeitenighttripping.info

electrotyper.stressing@kludged659.pubertal188.blued520.fenestella725.holyokeitenighttripping.info

kaleidoscopical.exempt@artifice769.oligosaccharides859.teach10.defusing579.holyokeitenighttripping.i...

That would work.  They could always change the end too, but thats another story.

One other thing... since these emails are always WAY longer than legitimate emails, why not give ME an option to block ALL emails longer than say,  35 characters? If it turns out that I have a legitimate emailer with a longer address, I can place them in "safe addresses", right?

[p2tt12]

why is verizons email filter tota;lly useless.  i have also a yahoo email account. i get on average one spam that gets thru each day.  onverizon i get 25-40 spams that get thru each day.  when i send to spamdector.not caught it does nothing but send me an annoying confirmation  more spam.

[BWhite1]

Happy New Year to All

I want to block email addresses  . It looks like its not possible . Is this true ?

                            Bill

[sdw97]

I set my account to recive only mail from my contact list...but all I get is spam