Ask Asa: When 'Unsubscribe' Means The Opposite

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- When you click on the "unsubscribe" button on an Internet offer you may be doing more than you think, and CBS 2's consumer reporter Asa Aarons found out that it may not always be in your best interest.

Whether subscribing or unsubscribing it could have a big impact on your future online experiences.

Marquise Gordon told CBS 2 that he continued to receive offers after unsubscribing.

"Some of these companies that offer me loans, I unsubscribe and I just keep getting the offers, and more, over and over again," he said.

Often, this type of thing is the result of a scammer who will do the opposite of what they claim, in this case making you a subscriber, after you unsubscribe.

Claire Rosenzweig of the New York Better Business Bureau explained how the scam works.

"What you are doing is authenticating that yours is a good e-mail, and they can take it and resell it, so you wind up with more e-mails," she said.

An e-mail address can be so valuable that sites have been set up to mimic the Federal Trade Commission's "do-not-call list," with a false "do-not-e-mail" list.

"Those that claim there is a do-not-e-mail registry, there is no such thing. They are only trying to get you to click," she said.

Experts say that when you are confronted with suspected spam, delete it, don't click it.

If there is something that you would like to ask Asa about, you can contact him here.