We have talked before about junk e-mail often called spam but it seems to be getting worse. The junk mail in our other mail box seems to be getting bigger, too. More and more letters are asking for more and more money. What is going on?

In the last couple of weeks we have received several opportunities to check our credit score as well as offers to send us new credit cards. Another offer from The Debt Elimination Experts tells me that they can help if we are feeling crushed by card balances.

(We are not. Now and then we get phone calls suggesting that there are ways to "eliminate" credit card debt.)

If I wanted o return to work I don't there's an offer of a data entry position easy work great pay. I received another one a few days ago that also offered "easy work." What does that tell us about the work ethic in our country?

Another subject line tells me the "Economy is down, the U.S. Government owes you money." Another from a university I have never heard of suggests I could earn my college degree while I'm working. (In Nebraska, we could all do that at one of our local community colleges or through extension courses.)

Education must be on the mind of many who are sending out e-mail. Here's another college I never heard of suggesting "a better way to earn your degree." Another offers "a list of medical schools near you."

Oh, another message from an unknown university tells me I could earn my college degree online. With a separate letter that provides "info from the top online university." That university has "flexible options."

I saved these junk e-mails in my mail box so I could share some of them with you. They may be legitimate but not for me. Now, I can highlight them and send them to my spam folder.

That's another subject: spam folder. I check it every couple of days. Only once did an e-mail I wanted to read wind up in that folder.

What winds up there is much the same as the ones which were in my mail box. Ads for home security, easy finance options for my dream car, also insurance for my car, checking my credit history and offers to compare mortgage rates from two different organizations (at least two different addresses).

Here's an offer for a complimentary Bahamas Resort Vacation. Actually there are two offers. Maybe I should check that out. No. My husband wouldn't be interested and I wouldn't want to go alone.

There's more free stuff almost. How about shopping sprees from Target or Home Depot? Offers of lap top computers, prepaid credit cards and free health food may be legitimate but I'm not opening the e-mail to find out.

The next thing is to highlight all the spam in my mail box and dump it in the spam folder and delete it. With luck, the next time I receive junk e-mail it will wind up in the spam folder in the first place. All I have to do is click the delete button and it's gone until the next day's spam.

No doubt you have your share of spam, too. Does it look like mine? A few days ago I clicked on a letter from South Africa that was supposed to make me rich if I followed the directions. That was not true, either. Most of us are smarter than that but now and then greed takes over and someone loses money.

Good luck with your junk e-mail of the future.

Billy Wetterer writes a weekly column for The Independent. E-mail her at billybillw@aol.com.