According to Statista, in 2023, approximately 46% of the 347 billion emails sent daily were considered spam. Unwanted emails can clutter your inbox, making it difficult to manage important communications.
Effectively blocking spam emails is essential for maintaining a clean and efficient email experience. Today, we're taking a closer look into various strategies to block spam emails, including understanding their origins, utilizing email filters, unsubscribing from mailing lists, and employing third-party tools to safeguard your inbox.
Understanding Spam Emails
Spam emails fill inboxes daily, making it harder to find important messages.
There are three main points to consider when looking at spam emails:
- Types of Spam Emails
- How Spammers Get Your Email Address
- Risks of Spam Emails
Types of Spam Emails
Not all spam emails are the same. Some come from legitimate businesses that send marketing messages, while others are designed to trick or harm recipients. Marketing emails often arrive after signing up for a service or making a purchase.
While these messages can be annoying, they're not dangerous. The bigger concern comes from phishing scams and malware.
Phishing emails try to steal personal information by pretending to be from banks, government agencies, or well-known companies. These messages often contain links that lead to fake websites designed to collect passwords or financial details.
Malware emails include attachments that install harmful software on a device. Once opened, these attachments can steal information, lock files, or even give hackers control over an entire system.
How Spammers Get Your Email Address
Spammers collect email addresses in many ways. Some buy lists from companies that sell customer information. Others use web scraping to pull addresses from public websites, forums, and social media.
Data breaches are another major source. When a company's database is hacked, email addresses can be leaked and sold.
Signing up for services with weak security can also put an address at risk. The more an email address is shared, the more likely it is to end up on spam lists.
Risks of Spam Emails
Spam emails are more than just an annoyance. Clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown senders can lead to serious problems. Phishing scams can result in stolen identities or drained bank accounts.
Malware can damage devices or make them vulnerable to cyberattacks. Even marketing spam can become a problem when too many messages fill an inbox, making it harder to find real emails. Taking steps to reduce spam can protect both personal information and online security.
How Email Filters Help Block Spam Emails
Email providers use advanced filtering systems to block spam emails before they reach an inbox. The filters scan messages for certain signs of spam, such as suspicious links, unknown senders, or misleading subject lines.
They also track the reputation of email addresses. If a sender has a history of sending unwanted emails, their messages are more likely to be flagged.
Filters rely on machine learning, which means they improve over time based on user reports. Marking messages as spam helps email providers recognize patterns and adjust filtering rules to catch similar emails in the future.
Adjusting Your Email Filter Settings
Most email services allow users to change filter settings to better match their needs. Some filters can be set to block specific types of content, such as messages with attachments from unknown senders.
Others can be adjusted to automatically delete spam emails instead of sending them to a spam folder. Many email providers offer options to block spam emails from certain domains or senders. Taking the time to explore these settings can help reduce the number of unwanted messages.
Creating Custom Email Filters
For stronger control over incoming messages, many email providers allow users to create custom filters. The filters can be set to move emails containing specific keywords, phrases, or senders directly to a spam folder.
Some users choose to block entire domains if they notice repeated spam from a certain website. Others set up filters to sort promotional emails into a separate folder to keep their inbox organized. Custom filters can be useful for stopping spam emails that manage to bypass default settings.
Unsubscribing from Mailing Lists the Right Way
Some spam emails come from businesses that send marketing messages rather than harmful scams. There are three main ways to remove yourself from these mailing lists:
- Using the "Unsubscribe" Link
- Manually Removing Yourself from Mailing Lists
- When to Avoid Clicking "Unsubscribe"
Using the "Unsubscribe" Link
Most marketing emails include an unsubscribe link at the bottom. Clicking this link usually leads to a page where you can confirm that you want to stop receiving emails.
Some businesses allow you to adjust preferences instead of unsubscribing completely. This can be useful if you still want occasional updates but not frequent emails. It may take a few days for changes to take effect, so some emails may still arrive before they stop completely.
Manually Removing Yourself from Mailing Lists
Not all businesses make it easy to unsubscribe. Some emails do not include a visible link, while others ignore unsubscribe requests. In these cases, logging into an account on the company's website and adjusting email settings may work.
If there is no way to opt-out, marking the email as spam can help. This tells your email provider to send future messages from that sender to the spam folder automatically.
When to Avoid Clicking "Unsubscribe"
Not every email that looks like a marketing message is safe. Some phishing emails pretend to be from real businesses, using fake unsubscribe links to steal information.
If an email seems suspicious, it is better to delete it or mark it as spam instead of clicking anything. Checking the sender's email address can help determine if a message is legitimate. If the address looks strange or does not match the company's real website, it is best to avoid interacting with it.
Preventing Spam Before It Starts
Stopping spam emails before they reach an inbox is one of the best ways to keep unwanted messages under control. Many spam messages come from online activity, such as signing up for services, sharing an email address, or interacting with unknown senders.
Taking a few simple steps can help reduce exposure to spam. There are three key ways to prevent spam emails before they become a problem:
- Avoid Clicking on Suspicious Links
- Never Respond to Unknown Senders
- Use Email Aliases for Online Sign-Ups
Avoid Clicking on Suspicious Links
Many spam emails contain links designed to track activity or lead to phishing websites. Clicking these links can confirm that an email address is active, which can result in even more unwanted messages.
Some links may also contain hidden malware that installs harmful software on a device. If an email looks suspicious, it is best to delete it or mark it as spam rather than clicking anything inside.
Never Respond to Unknown Senders
Replying to spam emails can cause more problems than simply ignoring them. Scammers often send mass emails to random addresses, hoping that someone will respond.
Once they receive a reply, they know the email account is active and may continue sending messages or sell the address to other spammers. If an unknown sender asks for personal information, the safest option is to report the email as spam and block the sender.
Use Email Aliases for Online Sign-Ups
Many websites require an email address to create an account or access content. Some of these websites share user information with advertisers, which can lead to more spam.
One way to reduce this is by using email aliases. Many email providers offer the option to create temporary addresses that forward messages to a primary inbox.
It allows users to receive important messages while keeping their real email hidden. If an alias starts receiving spam, it can be deleted without affecting the main account.
What to Do If Spam Emails Keep Coming
Reporting spam to an email provider is one of the easiest ways to improve filtering. Most email services have an option to mark messages as spam. When this is done, the provider updates its system to block similar messages in the future.
If multiple users report the same sender, the provider may block that sender entirely. This can prevent spam from reaching not just one inbox, but many others as well.
Blocking persistent senders can also help. Some spam emails come from the same domain or email address, even if the content changes. Most email providers allow users to block specific senders, which prevents messages from reaching the inbox.
If spam becomes overwhelming, changing an email address may be the best option. This is usually a last resort, but it can provide a fresh start with fewer unwanted emails.
A Cleaner Inbox
Spam emails can make it hard to keep an inbox organized, but there are ways to reduce them.Using filters, unsubscribing from mailing lists, and being careful with email exposure all help block spam emails.
Mailstrom gives you full control over your inbox. Instead of relying on algorithms, it amplifies your own decision-making.
It groups related emails, letting you manage them in bulk. Everyone has a different approach to email, and Mailstrom's simple, powerful tools help you find what works best.
Get in touch today to find out how we can help with your inbox!
