One thing is for sure: spam emails are here to stay, and it's impossible to avoid them altogether. Over 150 billion spam emails are sent daily, so it's no surprise if you find a few in your inbox. However, if you suddenly notice that you are getting targeted by many of them, you are right to be concerned.
Receiving spam emails is no fun. All they do is clutter your inbox, waste your time, and cause frustration. However, the biggest issue is that some of them also intend harm, making you wonder how spammers even got your email address in the first place.
In this article, we'll help you get to the bottom of this issue and present solutions to reduce spam emails for a calmer inbox.
Common Reasons for Spam Overload
Getting a few spam emails occasionally is usually nothing to worry about. However, you should figure out the reason if you suddenly start receiving too many spam emails.
Here are a few reasons that might be the cause:
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Publicly Available Email
Having your email address publicly available online is like inviting all sorts of spam and phishing emails into your inbox. Spammers will start flooding your inbox with unwanted emails to the point where they get out of hand. -
Data Breaches
Companies may face data breaches, and personal data can be leaked. You can check if your email address has been compromised using tools like HaveIBeenPwned. If it's found in a data breach, that explains why you could be receiving so many spam emails. -
Misclassification of Spam Emails
Your email provider can affect how many spam emails you receive. If they don't have strong email filters, a lot of spam emails can make it into your inbox, being misclassified as legitimate emails. Therefore, selecting a secure email provider with advanced spam filtering capabilities is essential. Gmail can block more than 99.9% of spam and malicious emails. -
Unsecured or Suspicious Websites/Services
You could have entered your email address on an unsafe website that doesn't use HTTPS. Use a secure browser that can alert you of potentially dangerous websites while browsing the internet. Only enter your email address on safe and trusted websites, as some companies may sell your data.
How Spammers Obtain Your Email Address?
This thought may have crossed your mind: "Where did the spammers even get my email address from? Was it the website I signed up on recently?"
There are many ways a spammer could've gotten your email address. For instance:
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Web Scrapers
Spammers use bots to scrape websites, online forums, and social media sites for publicly available email addresses. Therefore, it's advised not to make it visible online. -
Guessing
Your email address can also be guessed based on your personal information. Spammers may use email permutation tools that suggest possible email addresses based on first and last names and common email domains. -
Leaked Email Addresses
Spammers purchase email addresses that are leaked as a result of data breaches or hacking and add them to their spam list. Not all email addresses are accidentally leaked—some companies even sell your data to spammers. Be wary of offers that look too good to be true.
Why Spam Emails Can Be Risky
Spam emails are not only annoying but can also be potentially malicious, so it's important to get rid of them.
- Malware
Never open links or download attachments in a suspicious email without verifying the email's authenticity first. The email may contain malicious links or infected attachments that can install malware on your device.
Read our detailed article How to Identify and Avoid Malicious Email Attachments for more information.
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Phishing
Have you ever received an email that looked legitimate at first, only to realize it was a scam when you paid close attention? That's a phishing email. It's designed to trick users into revealing personal information, which can lead to hacked accounts, identity theft, or financial scams. -
Overloaded Inbox
If you receive too many spam emails, they can overload your inbox and cause you to miss important emails accidentally. Spam emails can also hinder your work productivity.
How to Reduce Spam Emails
Getting spam emails is inevitable, but there are ways you can limit the number of spam emails you receive.
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Mark as Spam
First on the list is marking any unwanted or suspicious emails you receive as "spam". On Gmail, you can also block the sender while marking an email as spam. This action automatically moves all future emails from that sender to the Spam folder. -
Hide Your Email Address
Don't make your email address publicly available on social media, websites, online forums, or comments. -
Don't Click the "Unsubscribe" Link
Yes, you read that right. Clicking "unsubscribe" lets the sender know your email address is active, and they begin targeting you with even more spam. Another reason to avoid the link is that it could be potentially malicious. -
Use a Secondary Email Address
Create a secondary email address for online shopping, signing up, or trials. If you want to avoid using your email address for trials, you can opt for a temporary email service such as temp mail. -
Use an Email Alias
Use an email alias to hide your real email address. If spam becomes a problem, you can dispose of that email alias. To create an alias, you can use an email masking tool such as SimpleLogin or Hide My Email if you're an Apple user.
What to Do If Spam Emails Get Out of Control
The above tips may not do much if spam emails spiral out of control, and the damage has already been done. In that case, you may need to do the following:
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Create Email Filters for Blocking Spam
If your email provider is not proving very effective against spam emails, consider creating custom email filters. You can filter out emails with specific words or phrases such as "100% free", "Free gift", "weight loss", "meet singles," and "once in a lifetime". You can create an email filter that automatically deletes emails containing such phrases. -
Create a New Email Account
If your email address is leaked, blocking spam emails as they come may not be enough. Spam emails will keep coming from other email addresses. If that becomes a serious problem, you should create a new email address. You can set up an auto-forwarding email filter on your old email address to direct important emails to your new account. -
Use BlockSender
Use BlockSender, a powerful Gmail add-on that is perfect for blocking persistent spam. You can send fake bounce-back emails to spammers, tricking them into thinking that their messages are not getting delivered to you. Also, you can blacklist entire email domains and domain extensions.
Conclusion
You are right to be suspicious if you suddenly start receiving a lot of spam emails. To limit their inflow, you first need to know why that could be happening.
It could be that your email address was leaked in a data breach, or you accidentally clicked a malicious link in an email or downloaded an infected attachment. If your email address is publicly visible on your social media or online forums, that could also be one of the reasons.
If considerable damage has already been done, you may need to create a new email account. You can also use BlockSender to bounce back emails to spammers.
With the right tools and email habits, it's possible to reduce this unwelcome guest significantly.
