Missouri Anti-Spam Laws

Missouri has taken steps to help fight the unsolicited junk mail that plagues anyone in Missouri with email. Spam is any "unsolicited commercial electronic mail whose main purpose is to advertise or promote a commercial product or service." It is NOT spam if you already have, on your own, talked or written to the person or business sending you the email in the last two years, the business is licensed by Missouri to conduct business and is trying to set up an appointment, or the business is a bank or credit union. However, even these businesses fall under the anti-spam law if they don't stop sending you junk mail after you have asked that they stop spamming you. It is also considered spam in Missouri if the email does not clearly state that it is an advertisement, has any false statements in it, does not give a real address of the company, does not clearly state how to stop future spam from the company, or is child pornography.

Do not reply to any spam that is not from a business you know. Once they know that the email address they bought from another spammer or hacker is valid, it will only generate more spam. Instead, file a complaint. Contact the Attorney General's Office Consumer Protection Division. The easiest way is through their web site. It has a form you can fill out on-line. If your complaint leads to a conviction, your complaint may cost these pains up to $5,000 per violation.

Although the Missouri Attorney General will investigate spammers, he is a legal representative of the state, not you, in the fight to stop spam. He can not act as your attorney or give you legal advice. Nor can he go after your internet provider or other utility that was used by the spammer to get the email to you. Help fight spam, complain.