Email spam is often a hidden source of malware, and cyber criminals can use it to access your computer or smartphone. But you can help slow the flow of junk emails by taking certain precautions and adjusting your privacy settings. Read on and learn how you can stop spam emails.
Never click a link in a junk email because it alerts the sender that your account is active, which can encourage them to bombard you with more junk messages. Instead, report the email to help your email service learn more about it.
1. Unsubscribe
Email spam is the unwanted messages that clog your inbox and, in some cases, can contain malware or other viruses. It’s been around almost as long as the internet itself and it can cause your computer to slow down, especially if you empty your spam folder regularly.
If you want to cut down on the amount of junk emails you receive, it’s important to unsubscribe from mailing lists you no longer wish to be a part of. This can done by clicking the unsubscribe link in an email or adjusting your preferences in the email program.
However, it’s not always safe to click the unsubscribe button — scammers can use phony links that lead to malicious websites to steal your information or infect your computer. McAfee advises users to hover over any link in an email before clicking it to ensure that it goes to a legitimate website or company. You can also report spam messages in your email program, which flags them so that your email provider can work to address the issue behind the scenes.
2. Block
When you receive spam emails, don’t open them, respond to them, or click on any links inside of them. Doing so tells the spammer that your account is active, which gives them more ammunition to send you more junk mail. If you do want to read spam emails, keep in mind that they could have phishing malware, which can steal your personal information and sell it on the Dark Web for malicious purposes.
While most email service providers have spam filters in place that help to identify suspicious emails and dump them into the Spam folder, a lot of spam still makes its way into our inboxes. It can feel like a game of whack-a-mole when your inbox is flooded with advertisements, chain letters, and messages from Chris Hemsworth. Luckily, you can prevent a lot of spam from making its way into your inbox by blocking the email address from which it’s coming. Here’s how to do it on Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook, and Yahoo. If you’re using a mobile app, check your email app’s settings.
3. Filter
Email spammers get your email address by purchasing or stealing it from online forms or by publishing your email address on the internet. This is why it’s important to limit where you publish your email address on the web.
Once your email address gets into the hands of spammers, it’s likely to be used to bombard you with unwanted emails. These messages can contain illegitimate offers, malicious attachments and links that may lead to cybercriminals gaining access to your computer, phone or other devices.
Many email services including Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail have algorithms that filter out spam and junk messages by tucking them away in a folder. You can help improve these algorithms by reporting spam to your email provider.
In Gmail, select the message you wish to report as spam and click the “Report Spam” button at the top of your window. This will send the selected message to your spam folder, preventing the email from being delivered in the future. The process for reporting spam in other email clients is similar.
4. Delete
Most email services have built-in filters that identify suspicious emails and dump them into your spam folder. But if you’re still getting spam messages that sneak through these filters, try to delete them without opening them or responding to them. This will help prevent your email account from filling up with junk mail and potentially clogging your computer or smartphone with malware.
Email spammers usually get your email address from databases that they buy, steal, or acquire through other means. Some hackers use bots to crawl the internet and collect your email addresses, or your information can be compromised through a vulnerability on your device or in your web browser.
If you’re able to select the spam message(s) and click the Report Spam button (Gmail mobile app) or Move to Junk (other major email providers), your email service will learn to automatically toss that sender’s messages into your junk folder. This can significantly reduce the amount of spam you receive. However, since spammers typically change their email addresses frequently, blocking them won’t stop all unwanted emails.
5. Report
Most email service providers have built-in spam filters that help to identify suspicious emails and dump them into a junk folder. However, there are times when phishing emails or dangerous attachments make it through. These types of spam emails can cause malware to be installed onto your device or can even trick you into revealing your login credentials.
To avoid this type of spam, limit the places you publish your email address. Also, never click on the links or open any attachments in unsolicited messages. Instead, delete them or report them as spam. This will help to train the spam filter of your email service provider to keep those emails out of your inbox.
If a message slips through the spam filter, it is important to report it. Doing this helps your email provider to address the issue behind the scenes. It only takes a few seconds and is a good way to help fight the annoyance of spam emails! It also flags that the specific email address has been used by a spammer and helps to keep them from using that particular email address again.
6. Add to Safe List
Email spam isn’t just annoying, it can be dangerous too. The worst kinds of spam include phishing scams, malware and viruses. These are used to steal personal information such as passwords or bank account numbers. They can also be used to connect your device or computer to a botnet that will send more spam to all of your contacts.
Deleting or reporting spam emails won’t stop these types of messages entirely, but it can help to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive. Taking a few healthy precautions, like not giving out your email address to everyone and keeping a separate personal and work email, can greatly reduce the amount of spam you receive in your inbox.
One of the best ways to prevent unwanted emails is to add a specific sender to your safe list. This is known as white listing and can done in a variety of email clients such as Gmail, Outlook and AppleMail. The process varies slightly depending on the client, but is generally fairly simple. In most cases all you have to do is open the email and hover over the sender’s name, which will then display a profile icon with an “Add to contacts” button.
7. Block Senders
Email spam is not just a nuisance—it can also be dangerous. It could be a phishing message from someone who has illegally acquired your email address and is trying to steal your personal information, or it could contain malware that infects your computer.
The best way to stop junk mail is by not opening it at all or clicking on any links. But sometimes, even that isn’t enough. Luckily, you can block emails from certain senders.
You can block emails from a specific email address or entire domains by selecting an email from the sender, clicking the down arrow in the upper right corner of the email, and choosing Block Sender. This will prevent any future messages from that sender from reaching your inbox, and will automatically move them to the Junk folder.
You can also filter emails from a specific sender to the Junk folder by selecting an email, clicking the three dots in the upper right corner of the email, then choosing Filter emails like this. This will create a rule that will automatically tag and move any future emails from that sender to the Junk folder.
8. Add to Contacts
Aside from clogging up your inbox, spam emails can also contain malware or other viruses that could damage your device. Never open attachments in unsolicited messages, and always run any downloaded files through an online file scan tool like VirusTotal to be sure they’re safe. Additionally, never respond to or interact with any spam message, as this confirms that your email address is active and can lead to even more unwanted emails from scammers in the future.
Many email providers make it easy to create a list of “safe” senders, including Gmail, Yahoo, and the Apple Mail client. To do this, open an email from the sender you want to add to your contacts list and hover your cursor over their name or profile icon.
In the top right-hand corner of their profile card, click the + Add to Contacts button. This will ensure that any future emails from them land in your inbox, and not in the Spam folder. Then, just make sure to keep the contact info updated as your relationships change!
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