Why do I keep getting so many spam emails?
Is your inbox overflowing with unwanted emails?
You’re not alone. Thousands of spam emails flood into countless people’s inboxes every day, creating clutter! But why do I keep getting so many spam emails you may be asking yourself well lets uncover the reasons behind the endless floods of spam!
Why do companies send spam Tsunamis?
Spam emails are not uncommon! Usually, spam emails are sent for commercial reasons to sell a service or product to you. Some companies however find it unethical to send out “spam” however this has not stopped businesses from continuing to use this method!
How does my email end up on a spam list in the first place?
The most common way a company can get a hold of your email would be through signing up for a newsletter, a subscription service, or entering your email to gain access to a PDF document for example. Other less ethical ways of collating your company email address would be through a possible sign-up to a shady website, collecting publicly available email addresses, or (a less likely cause) through a data breach.
Why do I keep getting so many spam emails?
Third-Party Email List Sales:
One way a company may be able to distribute all those annoying spam emails is through a third-party list. This list is usually curated via you giving your email to a company and allowing permission for that company to share your email address with affiliates (often mentioned in the lengthy T’s and C’s) when you download your PDF or sign up for a newsletter! Alternatively, they can obtain your email address by using an online bot (this is known as bot scraping) or a program to search the internet for email addresses.
After obtaining your email address, these companies can then sell their lengthy list of emails off to other companies usually marketing firms who then send you all the clutter that fills up your inbox!
Unsecured Online Forms:
When filling out forms on non-secure websites you could risk exposing your email to scammers or people trying to sell your information. As a rule of thumb, we would advise never to go on an unsecure website let alone fill out a form on an unsecured website! Next time you are on a website, make sure you check the URL. https:// indicates a secure, encrypted connection whereas http:// does not.
Signing Up Without Opting Out:
If you are filling out an online form and do not opt out of receiving emails for marketing purposes then you are highly likely to start receiving emails from the company you have signed up to! When you fill out a form usually there will be a box you can tick at the bottom which will say something along the lines of “You agree to receive exclusive discounts, offers, and new products unless you tick here to opt-out” Each website may say something different but if there is an option to opt-out you should!
Data Leaks & Breaches:
If your data has found its way to the dark web via a data breach criminals who have your email address could potentially impersonate you to your colleagues or family members and carry out a scam or phishing attack! But Wait before you decide to delete your email don’t! This could give criminals an advantage! Most email providers will actually recycle your old email address meaning a hacker could spam every site they can find with a ‘forgot my password’ request and try to impersonate you further. Instead, make sure you set up two-factor authentication and change your password to something a little more complex. (we have a full guide on this here.)
I have a spam filter so why do I keep getting so much spam?
Getting too much spam to your work email? A spam filter is a great way to keep those unwanted emails out of your inbox but they are not always as smart as spammers with many still finding new ways to bypass the filters by changing subject lines and sender addresses frequently.
Spam filters are made to identify emails that an attacker or a marketer uses to send an unwanted email or a phishing email they use filtering methods to identify the specific content within the email and the sender and then flag the email as spam mail. These filters however are not perfect, many spam emails may still reach your inbox before the spammer’s email address or IP has been blacklisted.
One thing to bare in mind while opening your emails is if you open spam mail or any suspicious links you can actually “train” spam filters to send you emails that are similar in context.
Stopping the Spam Tsunami:
Unsubscribing:
Giving your inbox a spring clean and unsubscribing from newsletters or blogs you no longer use or read is one step to achieving a tidy inbox. Setting aside a little bit of time at the end of each month to go through your subscriptions and remove any unwanted companies.
Use a spam filter service:
Earlier we mentioned a spam filter if you do not already have a spam filter set up now would be a good time to do so! Even using a free filter the email providers give you is better than nothing at all as your email could be compromised. If you want something a little more advanced investing in a spam filter service provider is the way to go. For more information about choosing the best provider for your needs give a member of your IT department a call and if you don’t have an IT department give one of our directors at Liberate IT a call!
Avoid handing your email out:
Avoid posting your work email publicly if you can instead a disposable email address can be used for public posting or any source you deem untrustworthy.
Report spam:
Reporting spam is the best way to blacklist sketchy emails to avoid the spammer sending any more out to other companies or spamming you further. This also helps the email service better understand what is deemed as spam and blocks it better in the future.
So why do I keep getting so much spam? Well by understanding why spam happens and how to combat it, you can regain control of your inbox and save yourself from endlessly deleting spam from your inbox every day!