I have been getting e-mail about once a week saying I won some lottery or will get some inheritance...?

Once the spammers have your email address, there isn't really anything you can do to stop the messages. However, what you can do is filter out the messages so they don't land in your inbox.

If you are using an email client on your computer (Thunderbird, Outlook, etc) then the first thing you want to do is turn on spam filtering with your anti-virus software (assuming you have it). It will normally have a variety of settings and some allow you to whitelist or blacklist specific addresses.

The next step is to use the junk mail controls on your email client (if they exist). You will probably have to spend time "training" the filters to recognize what is junk and what is legit, but it will get better with time. Just make sure you aren't deleting the messages filtered as junk too quickly or you will wind up deleting some messages you want - especially at first.

The third step is to set up message filters to delete any messages with common subjects. For example, any message that contains words like "viagra", I have automatically sent to my trash folder so I never see them.

If you are using a web based email like Yahoo, GMail, or Hotmail, you want to make sure you report spam messages as this will help the service better filter junk mail.

And there are several precautions to take to help avoid getting more junk mail.

1. NEVER use the unsubscribe link in an email message unless it's from a trusted source. All this does is verify your email address for the spammers and ensure you get even more junk mail.

2. Have a second email address that you use for general purposes - such as signing up for web services. It's very difficult to know which ones are trust worthy and which are not. Save your personal address just for communicating with family and friends and trusted sources.

3. When creating an email address, use something difficult to randomly generate. If you do something like joeblow.soccerguy@gmail.com, it's going to be much more difficult to randomly hit than joeblow@ or soccerguy@.

4. When you receive those messages that have been sent on from friend after friend, never use the forward or reply to all functions. Instead, address the message to yourself and then BCC everyone else. This makes sure all those email addresses don't become the text of the message. Encourage your friends and family to do the same.

You can help bring the scammers to justice, by forwarding the mail you received [along with your comments] to :

http://www.fraudwatchinternational.com/

http://www.scambusters.com/

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/

http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/

These organisations are specialists in tracking and tracing cyber-criminals, and reporting them to the police of the concerned country.

Then you could mark the mail as 'Spam', which will automatically be recorded in the Yahoo! database - and all future mails from that e-ID to your mailbox will be automatically blocked. So, you'll have no need to change your e-mail address.

But, unless the cyber-criminal scammers are placed behind bars, nothing can prevent them from assuming a new e-ID, and sending out a fresh batch of similar hoax messages !

If you're on Yahoo then you can flag these emails as spam. Otherwise, you will just have to delete them. I get them too but never open them in case there may be a virus included in the email.

Good luck!

Its probaly an Email Scam from Nigeria or Poland. They are huge. Really interesting. Some of these spammers/hackers in Nigeria are making alot of money.

The only thing you can really do is mark them as spam. Or you can set your email to only allow people who are on your address book to send stuff.

it happens to all of us easy way is to delete those mails or there is some setting on your email account through which u can send these mail to junk box

this also happens if we click on extra offers while creating the account do not open these as they contain virus

Go into your mail account and block those specific addresses. Just as you would block other people you don't want to hear from.

when you open your in box and you get that type of message you do not open it instead delte it because if you open it that they have you in their sights so delete it from your mail, or set up a bodgey email adress and tell them to send to that mail address.

Just delete them. If you change your email address, they will find you again.

This has happened 2 me so....you can put them as spam or you can email them and say "Stop" or something like that.

Hope maybe i helped!