Yahoo! E-Groups - has reset everyone's preferences to allow for unsolicited e-mail spam, tel. calls

# 9 for April 1, 2002

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on March 31, 2002:

From: Kelly Marsh [Email User]

RE: Yahoo! E-Groups - has reset everyone's preferences to allow for unsolicited e-mail spam, tel. calls

Yahoo! E-Groups has reset everyone's preferences to allow for unsolicited e-mail spam and telemarketer's calling your house. I couldn't understand why I was getting TONS of spam and telemarketers calling my house all of a sudden. Then I received an e-mail from an e-group with the following information: Sometime recently our beloved Yahoogroups - in what may well be yetanother attempt to drum up cash - has apparently reset EVERYONE's email,mail and telephone marketing preferences to "Yes" for everything. Unless that's what you want - a flow of spam by mail, email and phone, here's how to fix it:

- go to http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups

- click on Account Info (upper right)

- log in with your Yahoo

account/password

- in mid-page, click on "Edit your

marketing preferences"

- Check out all the stuff they've made

as "YES" options, including email, and,

way down at the bottom US Mail and Via

Phone.

-Be sure to click on the SAVE CHANGES

box at bottom to savethese settings. I looked into my account and sure enough Yahoo had not only decided that I wanted every kind of spam offered they also gave out my phone number and mailing address! I can't believe this is legal.