Unsolicited email - opt out required?

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DS248

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#142496 14-Mar-2014 18:17

I have received two unsolicited emails from one John Kershaw (webstream.co.nz) requesting funding for clients via Kickstarter . I do not recall any previous contact with John Kershaw and as far as I know I have never been a customer of webstream. Have no idea where he got my email address from. There is an "unsubscribe" at the bottom but I am not certain how much trust to place in that. Have always worked on the principal of not unsubscribing from unsolicited commercial emails from unknown / dubious senders.

Is this type of unsolicited email legitimate, or do I have to attempt to unsubscribe before I can complain to DIA?

First email

Hi guys, I'm unashamedly mailing every single customer and colleague I know in the belief that you will help two gutsy NZ women and their little company as they go for the big time on Kickstarter this month. Please spend two minutes with me and I'll tell you the story:

....

Second I contacted you last week about Amanda Milne and Jula Schiller's Kickstarter campaign to fund Manifest, their latest New Zealand-designed board game. Some of you lovely people have already pledged. Thank you for helping them! For the undecided, here's an update: * Over 100 backers so far - from Germany, Spain, USA, UK, Sweden, Australia, Japan, Canada, Finland and of course, New Zealand. They need more.
.....

johnr

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#1005785 14-Mar-2014 18:19

DIA

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#1005803 14-Mar-2014 18:53

You can report to the DIA.

My technology disclosure

Sideface

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#1005806 14-Mar-2014 18:55

A con.
Do not unsubscribe.
Report.

Sideface

LennonNZ

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#1005817 14-Mar-2014 19:15

There is nothing wrong about emailing lots of people but _only_ in context of the initial reason he got the email address. i.e. a business/client or whatever relationship

He says. "Hi guys, I'm unashamedly mailing every single customer and colleague I know in the belief..."

So if someone is a personal friend of his nothing wrong with emailing his friends (as they are personal emails)

But if he's had a business relation with you in the past and he emailed you about something which has nothing to do with that personal relationship then yes its spam.

I too got his email and I've had a "business relationship" with him in the past so I see his email has nothing to do with this business relationship so yes its spam (in relationship with me) and he admits in his email that what he has done is spam.

Yes report to www.antispam.govt.nz if you wish...but personally I think he has made a bad decision regarding contacting all these people and especially adding them to a mailing list .

DS248

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#1006031 15-Mar-2014 09:51

Complaint submitted. Will be interesting to see if I ever hear back from them (other than the automated response).

Buzz Bumble

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#1006046 15-Mar-2014 10:37

Possibly it's from Kickstarter if you've ever signed in there. I know one of the petition websites starts harrassing you (with an opt-out link) with other local petitions "you might want to sign", as does Facebook with "do you know" emails.

DS248

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#1006265 15-Mar-2014 16:40

1. Email was from John Kershaw, not Kickstarter
2. I have never viewed the Kickstarter website, let alone signed in there.

The only domain names in the header are webstream.co.nz, clear.net.nz, and paradise.net.nz

mattwnz

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#1006279 15-Mar-2014 17:06

You could contact the ISP that had the email sent through it, to report your concern.

A bit off topic, but does anyone know anyone who has been fined for sending spam, and what sorts of amounts do they fine. I was going through the companies that have had warnings and enforcement on the DIA website, and there are some quite well known companies on it.

nigelj

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#1006433 15-Mar-2014 20:36

mattwnz: A bit off topic, but does anyone know anyone who has been fined for sending spam, and what sorts of amounts do they fine. I was going through the companies that have had warnings and enforcement on the DIA website, and there are some quite well known companies on it.

I know ING/OnePath (now ANZ) got a rollicking from them (based on responses to my spam submissions from the DIA - I suddenly was subscribed to an unsubscribe-able mailing list that even their call centre couldn't get me off of) which resolved problems for me.

AFAIK they didn't get an official warning, but, the Anti Spam site has quite good reports about enforcement action, including on the homepage:

High Court judgement
An Auckland based marketing company has been ordered to pay $120 000 for sending spam via email and text messages – the largest penalty imposed for sending spam in New Zealand. Image Marketing Group Ltd was ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty to the Crown in respect of the civil liability events referred to in the judgement below.
* Media release: Historic fine for spam company (13 February 2014)
* High Court judgement

Additionally http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Services-Anti-Spam-Results-and-Statistics?OpenDocument and http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Services-Anti-Spam-Enforcement-Action?OpenDocument document quite a few enforcement actions, including computer seizures.

Zeon

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#1006440 15-Mar-2014 20:54

TBH, if you know the person, even in a business situation and email them about something else I wouldn't class that as spam

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LennonNZ

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#1006448 15-Mar-2014 21:45

Zeon: TBH, if you know the person, even in a business situation and email them about something else I wouldn't class that as spam

The Law says.

"A person who contends that a recipient consented to receiving a commercial electronic message has the onus of proof in relation to that matter."

So you cannot have email addresses for a certain matter (i.e. a business relationship) and use them for something else (personal matter)