You all tear your hair out in frustration every time you see your inbox crammed full of spam again. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself where you get so much spam? This isn't to suggest that spam is your fault but... if everybody hates spam so much then... why is there so much of it?

There's a simple answer folks. Spam is an industry. There exists an entire infrastructure to support it and be supported by it. From the guys who design the email address harvesting software to the spammers who put together their mailshots to you right through to the ISPs and webhosts who make wads of cash for allowing the spam to pass through their mail servers. Spam is a living, breathing entity - make no mistake about it.

As with any business the spam industry needs customers. Those customers are you - you're their target market. Every time you click on a hyperlink in a spam email you potentially make money for these guys. If you actually click through and make a purchase you're making their job truly worthwhile. To remove spam we need to put a cease and desist order on ourselves. Stop opening the emails (spammers know when you do), stop clicking on the links (they know when you do this too) and most definitely do not, do not, do not buy anything, call any numbers or fill in any application forms that you receive via a spam email.

Defeating spam once and for all means boycotting it. The smartest spam blocker or most private email filtering system can never hit a spammer as hard as one thing - take away their source of revenue. Hit them where it hurts them most - in their wallet. No cash = no business = no spammers.

Could it really be that simple? If we ignore them will they go away?

Niall Roche is the content author and owner of http://www.spam-site.com which reviews spam blocker software.