Stop The Spam!
How often do you get unwanted email or spam? Spam accounts for 14.5 billion messages globally per day. In other words, spam makes up 45% of all emails! If you are finding that your inbox is getting clogged with these unsolicited emails, it may be time to take action.
What is Spam?
The most prevalent type of spam is bulk advertising emails sent to both corporate and personal accounts. Spam can also be found on internet forums, text messages, blog comments, and social media. The type of spam email that has cyber specialists most concerned is the 2% that strives to steal our logins or fool us into giving up our passwords or financial information. These scams are called malspam and phishing scams that tricks us into downloading attachments loaded with destructive malware.
Thankfully, there are steps that users can take to cut back on the vast amount of spam that makes its way into our inboxes. It's probably not possible to prevent all of the spam mail and promotion advertisements that find their way into your email box, but here are 4 ways to avoid the most malicious of spam emails.
Mark Spam as Spam
When you receive email that is most obviously spam, resist the urge to just delete it. Instead mark it as spam. This is how the automatic spam filters learn to identify spam and filter it out. While we are talking about spam filters, be sure you have chosen a solution that provides the security you need for your network, but doesn’t stop the legitimate emails your employees need to conduct their business. Talk to your Managed Service Provider or IT department about what spam filters are working on your system.
Avoid Publishing Your Email Address
Spammers use tools to “scrape” email addresses off the internet. This means that if your email address is exposed anywhere online, spammers may grab it, use it to spam you, or sell it to other companies. Knowing this means you should avoid having your email open for public consumption. Instead of using an email for your business website, use a contact page such as Google Forms, JotForm, or Contact Form 7. This creates a contact form for your website that lets visitors email you without exposing your email address. In addition to using a contact form instead of an email, also consider having your social media profiles keep your email address listed as “private.”
Stop Opening Suspicious Emails
Get savvy about what emails are safe to open and those that are not. Tracking pixels used by spammers can monitor whether an email has been opened which tells them that the email address is both active and being monitored. Using an email extension such as Ugly Email or Pixel Block to make you aware that an email is using a tracking program.
Don’t Give Out Your Email
It is tempting to give out your email address especially when a company offers promotional coupon codes via email. Avoid this practice if at all possible and only give out your email in cases where you trust the source. It is also a good idea to read through the privacy policy if you do decide to fill in your email address.
Need help rooting out spam from your email? Call us at 978.219.9752 or visit our website.