Spam —all of us have received it. Although not all spam emails and text messages are illegal, almost all of it is a nuisance. Consumers and the Attorney General can use Washington’s anti-spam law to stop unwanted spam emails and text messages.
Washington's anti-spam law makes it illegal in Washington to send an unsolicited commercial email IF the email is sent:
- To a Washington email address; or
- From a computer located in Washington.
AND using:
- False information identifying the point of origin of the message or that hides the true origin of the sender;
- Any false or misleading information in the subject line; or
- A third party's email address (domain name) without permission.
The law only applies when a sender knows or has reason to know the email is being sent to Washington.
How does a sender find out if an email address is located in Washington?
- The sender checks with the domain name registrant (usually the Internet Service Provider) before sending the email;
- If the information is available, the sender is deemed to know the address is in Washington; or
- Even if the sender fails to inquire about the information, as long as it's available, the sender is deemed to know.
What is misleading information?
Although spam may be very obnoxious or frustrating to receive, unless it violates one of the elements of Washington’s anti-spam law, it is not illegal in this state. Generally, a subject line is considered misleading if it has a tendency or capacity to deceive consumers. It need not actually deceive or harm consumers and there need not be intent to deceive for a consumer to receive statutory damages.
How do I know if information is false or misleading?
Carefully examine the sender’s information and ask yourself these questions:
- Does the email address resemble a legitimate domain name but contain slight variations in spelling or formatting?
- Fake email domains use typos or common spelling errors, like “goolge.com” instead of “google.com”.
- Fake email domains may also use numbers, letters, or characters to a legitimate domain name, such as “netflix@netflix1234.com”.
- Does the sender’s name not match with the email address? For example, the name displayed in the “from” field (e.g., “Microsoft”) might not match the email address (e.g., a public domain like @gmail.com)
Carefully examine the subject line of the email message and ask yourself these questions:
- Does it accurately describe what is contained in the email? For example, does a subject line describing "important news about your taxes" contain a message with information about a get-rich-quick scheme?
- Does the subject line create a false sense of urgency?
- Does it misrepresent the identity of the sender of the message?
Washington's anti-spam law ALSO makes it illegal in Washington to send an unsolicited commercial electronic text message if the message is sent:
- To a telephone number assigned to a Washington resident for a cellular telephone; and
- From a person conducting business in Washington state.
But not if:
- The message is sent by the subscriber’s cellphone carrier, unless the subscriber has indicated he or she is not willing to receive further commercial text messages from the cellphone carrier; or
- The recipient has clearly and affirmatively consented in advance to receive the commercial electronic text messages from the sender.