systems and methods for tracking electronic messages and data are provided . according to one embodiment , a linking object insertion routine identifies an electronic mail message as a candidate for user feedback based on the email message having been previously classified as spam by a real - time email spam scanning routine associated with a commercial anti - spam service . the linking object insertion routine facilitates user submission of the user feedback regarding the email message to the commercial anti - spam service by embedding a linking object within the email message . the linking object is configured to automate communication of one or more digital signatures of the email message generated by the real - time email spam scanning routine to the commercial anti - spam service by performing out - of - band signaling with the commercial anti - spam service .