spam detector not working?

[moosie3]

i mark messages as spam, and have been doing so for several weeks now, becausee my phone and tablet don't seem to have filters. i continue to receive messages that have been marked as spam--over and over. please help! i know my way around computers, so i don't think it's me! but you never know! thanks.

[somegirl]

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@moosie wrote:

i mark messages as spam, and have been doing so for several weeks now, becausee my phone and tablet don't seem to have filters. i continue to receive messages that have been marked as spam--over and over. please help! i know my way around computers, so i don't think it's me! but you never know! thanks.

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You will probably have to log into Verizon webmail and set up filters and/or add them to your blocked senders list. Also verify that the Spam Detector is turned on.

[moosie3]

not to be snarky, but of course the spam detector is on. i assume that it would have some effect, and then you resort to blocking, etc. i'd have to block nearly everything that comes in manually. that's a lot of trouble--the spam detector does it easily if it is working!

[velvetjandr]

I am having the same problem.  I have even gone into my McAfee program where I can block spam messages from Sender and they are still coming through.  I don't get it either.

[Straggler]

I too have been having a very frustrating time the last few months with repeated SPAM.  I've been using DSL from Verizon for over 7 years and the SPAM filters worked extremely well, with an occasional legitimate email shuttled into SPAM.  Now, it seems that legitimate email never ends up in SPAM but SPAM ends up in my email many times per day.  I download my email to Mozilla Thunderbird, so when I see SPAM I log into Verizon webmail to mark it as such.  Some times the email has already been removed to the SPAM folder based on - I'm guessing here - the reports from other users.  But the SPAM keeps coming and coming.

Fix the damned thing!!  You've obviously loosened up the settings to prevent false positives, which were fairly rare before, but have seriously reduced it effectiveness.

I am not happy about this at all and may have to go on a rampage, verbal of course, to get things going.

Straggler

[Hubrisnxs]

the way that I understand the spam button to work, is that it sends a flag to verizon's spam program, and it gets logged, and when X amount of people do something similiar it then begins rejecting it by adding a rule.  so it doesn't immediately begin blocking that message.   So you have to hit spam to report it, and then you have to acutally block the sender using the rules that were mentioned earlier.

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SPAM Detector tool - incoming only

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.

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Also here are some best practices for email, I like to remind people because they often do not remember, and something might click that works for you, where you weren't aware of it earlier.

1. You should start reporting the spam with a spam button in the webmail client
2. Forward spam emails that were not caught to spamdetector.notcaught@verizon.net
3. Set your e-mail filter. An e-mail filter and spam blocking software are absolutely critical. Set these security measures to update automatically to ensure that you are protected from the latest threats.
4. NEVER reply to spam. Replying to spam, even to "unsubscribe," could set you up for more spam.
5. Protect your e-mail address and instant message ID. If you must post this information online, set up two identities, one for real use and one for online activities.
6. Be wary of e-mail attachments. Change the settings on your e-mail program so that images and attachments are not opened automatically. Only open attachments from users known to you.
7. Watch out for phishing scams. Don't click on links in e-mails or instant messages unless the sender is known to you. Instead, open a separate web browser and visit the site directly.
8. Create smart and strong passwords. Use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
9. Never enter your personal information in a pop-up window. You may not be able to tell when a scammer has hijacked a seemingly legitimate site.
10. Don't fill out online surveys, or register for contests or fan clubs. These may be fronts for spammers trying to collect your e-mail address

[Straggler]

You are partially correct.  Missed SPAM should, I repeat should, set a flag and prevent it from recurring.  This is now only working on a very limited basis.  Sometimes I get the same SPAM the very next day.  That should not happen! 

Let me repeat, I have 7 years experience with Verizon.  The problems started a few months ago.  I have not changed my settings and they are set correctly.  This is rudimentary information and the problem lies with Verizon's Spam filters being not aggressive enough.  As I said previously, occasionally the "Old" SPAM Filter - the working one - would falsely mark a good email as SPAM so I would occasionally check the webmail Spam folder to correct any mistakes.  I would much rather do this than have to go in every single day to mark multiple messages as Spam only to have them reappear.

And do not tell me I need to set up blocking.  If you have ever tried that yourself then you would know that it will only block "legitimate" emails which you have decided you no longer want to see.  Usually, unsubscribing from legitimate email is the preferred method. 

[Hubrisnxs]

I think you and I are in a similiar situation, I was with vz dsl since it came out in my neighborhood, I have seen many different vz modems and routers come in and out of my house, the thing that is a little different, is our understanding of how the spam detector works.  The way the online wording is, reinforces that you marking it spam, does not mean it will not come in the next day.  It's how verizon wants it.  Good bad or ugly, it's how it's set up.    when X amount of people do something similiar it then begins rejecting it by adding a rule.  but it doesn't immediately begin blocking that message.   

If you want a stricter spam filter, then you should either share that idea, and get some votes or purchase a better one.  They even have free ones, so a purchase isn't even neccessary, but the way vz's spam detector is set up, isn't to block the message immediately after you click spam, that's never been my experience with it in the past. 

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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.

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[Straggler]

Hubrisnxs:  I want to amend my last comment to add:  1.  I do appreciate your efforts and am a little heated over this issue.

2.  My main complaint is that Verizon used to have extremely good SPAM filtering.  It really was excellent in my opinion.

3.  Verizon's filtering in the last few months has been terrible.  Really, it truly is now terrible.  That means they have weakened the filtering thereby eliminating the few false positives that use to occur but at the expense of now passing five to ten SPAM emails per day on to me.  Clearly they have made a deliberate choice here and the results are lots of SPAM getting through.

4.  I have been using computers since the 70's (getting a little long in the tooth here), have a degree in Comp. Sci. (long time ago), have been online since the early 80's waaay before the WEB,  now retired but fix computers, trouble shoot, upgrade, debug, etc.  You get the picture.  I've been around and have dealt with SPAM since the beginning.  I have used and am now again using my own SPAM filtering, but that is no replacement for a robust corporate SPAM filter.  They can spend tens of thousands for a solution. 

Enough for now.  Thanks for your input.

[tns2]

The spam detector service is from another company that Verizon partners with.  IT HAS NOT CHANGED.  Some have loved it others hated it.  Always depends on enough new spams to be identified that a rule can be written to prevent it by that service.

The spammers are just more eventive and keep finding new ways to avoide detection.

[Straggler]

Let me add one specific instance of the failure on this SPAM detector.

At 10:38 AM today the SPAM filter caught appropriately: From: now approved, Subject: Account Deposit: 06/22/12.  GOOD!

Then at 11:43 AM, the SPAM filter missed this: ...............  From: now approved, Subject: Account Deposit: 06/22/12.  VERY BAD!!!

I did nothing about the first one as it was properly classified.  Verizon then passed the exact same email as valid about an hour later, again with no input from me.

So, tell me, oh wise one, what went wrong?  Maybe, just maybe, Verizon's SPAM filter really sucks?

[Hubrisnxs]

That's a good example, hopefully you had a chance to forward that to spamdetector.notcaught@verizon.net

[rickman1]

Has anyone considered, especially when taking into context all of the many, many things Verizon has done to anger it's customers for the sake of their pockets, that Verizon spam is not going to EVER work well because Verizon is making money allowing the spam to go through? Is there ANYONE out there who IS totally staisfied with Verizon and it's customer "policies"?

[AanoyedNY]

I have been at this same issue for a very long time. Even asked for help, then was told it was escalated, but same clowns kept calling to access my computer after already seeing what was happening.

I've had DSL since it started and they changed something because it used to work exceptionally well.

I need a spam filter for Verizon because they don't have the guts to admit they had a hole in their security, our email accounts were compromised.

[BlueStreak1967]

I have exactly the opposite situation.  For several months (at least 3 or 4) the spam filtered out to the spam folder has nearly disappeared.  It went from 20-30 per day to maybe 2 or 3.  As a direct consequence, the "false alarm rate" (incorrectly filtered good email) is occasionally 100%.  I have seen/heard nothing anywhere about this - including on these forums.

Did the bad guys finally see the light?  Doubtful.  Is the spam being blocked by VZ mail server?  If so, how much "good" email is also being blocked?

Very puzzling.