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Email Harvesting - technical definition

An automated process whereby a robot program searches Web pages or Internet destinations for email addresses and collects the addresses into a database. These collections can be sold to spammers or unethical bulk mailers to enable them to send their materials to unsuspecting targets. Many U.S. state laws now forbid email harvesting, and the CANSPAM Act was passed in the United States in 2003.

See Also: CAN-SPAM Act of 2003; Internet; Spam; Spammers; Spamming/Scrolling.

MarketingSherpa, Inc. The Ultimate Email Glossary: 180 Common Terms Defined. [Online, 2004.] MarketingSherpa, Inc. Website. http://www.marketingsherpa.com/ sample.cfm?contentID=2776.
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