Patent ID: 7113977

Claim:
A method of blocking electronic mail delivery, comprising: receiving email blocking instructions directed to an electronic mail (email) service provider to block delivery of email messages to an email receiver, the email blocking instructions describing aspects of an undesirable email; receiving an email message addressed to the receiver at an email server operated by the email service provider; at the email server, searching a database for the email blocking instructions received from the email receiver; at the email server, parsing the email message addressed to the email receiver for information associated with the email blocking instructions; and if the email message addressed to the email receiver contains information associated with the email blocking instructions from the email receiver, blocking at the email server, according to the email blocking instructions directed to the electronic mail service provider, delivery of the email message addressed to the email receiver from delivery to the email receiver, and providing from the email server, according to the email blocking instructions directed to the electronic mail service provider, a return email message to a sender of the blocked email message alerting the sender of the blocked email message to send no future email messages to an email address of the email receiver, the return email message indicating one of that the blocked email message is undeliverable because the email address of the email receiver is inoperable and that the sender should send no further email messages to the email address of the email receiver.