Most spam is sent by unethical hustlers, pornographers and outright scammers. Many spammers have criminal records; some attempt to dupe people into revealing their Credit Card number while "ordering" a product or service that doesn't really exist or has minimal value. Another primary purpose of spam is to dupe legitimate home businesses into purchasing an email list or spam service. In many countries, sending spam is illegal and is a sure way to ruin your business. In short, spam may work for criminals and shady businesses, but it does not work for legitimate businesses.

Never respond to a spam message; it can lead to harassment, attempts to hack your computer and attempts to steal your credit card number or identity. At a minimum, it will lead to more spam, especially if you click the infamous "Click to remove" link. For these reasons, it is important to block as much spam as possible and explain the dangers to your employees and family members.