An official at a Tallahassee Internet service provider victimized by a "spam" operation that clogged its customers' electronic mailboxes says steps have been taken to thwart the illegal use of its clients' e-mail addresses.

"We talked to some people at America Online, and they helped us deal with the problem," Jonathan Liedy, technical manager for Tallahassee Telephone Exchange, said Monday after a flood of returned AOL mail wound up in customers' mailboxes.

Liedy said AOL technicians were able to help him adjust software to keep the e-mail rejected by AOL from being sent to TTE customers.

Liedy said the changes would allow legitimate e-mail from TTE customers sent to AOL to go through, rather than be rejected. Spam e-mail using fake return addresses will not be delivered by AOL, he said, and will not be returned to TTE customers

He said spam mail operators, who generate millions of e-mails daily, use e-mail addresses they obtain from other sources in an effort to disguise the unwanted mail.

A legitimate e-mail address is placed in the "from" line on an e-mail in an effort to keep it from being rejected.