spamREF is nothing to do with referees even though the graphic above is of one! spamREF is actually a concatenation of SPAM and HREF(an HTML tag indicating that the user can click in a link to be taken to a web address) as it occurred to the founder that the easiest way to track SPAM would be via the web sites that the recipient is encouraged to visit.

The work already being done by SURBL - SPAM URI Realtime Blocklists and The Spamhaus Project amongst others has allowed the world to configure their mail servers to check the sender and content of the message. spamREF is just a further extension of that, putting the control in the hands of the end user.

Please consider making a donation to SURBL or Spamhaus if spamREF is configured to make use of their services (SURBL is used by default).