If you’ve received unsolicited emails before, then you surely know about spam. The concept of spam is so commonplace that most modern email service providers have a dedicated spam section that holds suspected spam emails.
It’s almost as if the entire digital world has accepted the reality that spam cannot be completely avoided. As a matter of fact, almost 50% of daily global email traffic consists of spam.
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Indeed, this global spam infestation is a thing of concern, and many have probably wondered why they get so much spam. In this post, we’ll consider why you get so much spam and how you can stop them.
Why do You Receive Spam Emails?
1. Your Spam Filter is Inefficient
Email service providers like Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo mail have special mechanisms for detecting spam. For instance, Gmail uses some AI-based filters to detect incoming spam. The filters consider various signals like domains/subdomains, IP address characteristics, and user input. If you receive a lot of spam daily, there is a high chance that your spam filters are inefficient.
2. Your Email Address Was Acquired by a Third Party
Users of the internet share their email addresses and other personal details whenever signing up for a service, enrolling in a loyalty scheme, or using people search websites. While this may seem relatively safe to do, the fact is that your contact details may end up in the hands of third parties without your explicit consent. “Information brokers” are companies that collect your data from multiple sources and then proceed to analyze and trade it for a profit. Consequently, this increases a person’s likelihood of receiving a higher amount of spam.
Email addresses are also acquired through more malicious means such as hacking attacks or system errors. In September of 2022, for example, Microsoft revealed that the sensitive information of thousands of users was leaked due to a misconfigured storage location.
3. You’re on the Mailing List of Amateur Business Marketers
Not all spams are malicious. Some of them are actually harmless ads by new companies looking to find new customers. However, such emails will often end up as spam because of the inadequacies of their email campaign strategy.
The fact is, these marketers are amateurs. However, their emails are still very annoying. Unsolicited emails, no matter their intent, are still spam.
How to Avoid Getting Spammed?
It is not enough to know why you receive various spam emails; it is equally important to be aware of how you can avoid them. Here are a few ways to avoid getting spammed:
1. Use Secure Email Providers
Switch to a more secure email service provider, as they’re likely to have more efficient spam detectors, and flag them as such.
2. Avoid Oversubscribing to Mailing Lists
Don’t be too keen to subscribe to every mailing list out there. Over 90% of marketers and businesses use email as their primary channel to generate leads. The fewer email lists you’re on, the less likely you are to get spammed.
3. Use a Data Removal Service
As previously mentioned, if you find yourself receiving a lot of spam texts and emails, this may be because your contact details have been acquired by an information broker. You can manually opt-out from each broker or subscribe to automated services such as Incogni, which remove all traces of your data.
Certain privacy laws such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), and others enable these services to make data brokers remove your personal details from their databases. Doing this will not only strengthen your protection against spammers but also hackers.
Conclusion
Receiving unsolicited emails is annoying. It’s a security risk, and you could be getting tons of them for any reason. Ensure to take adequate steps to protect yourself against spam and cut the risk of being hacked in a phishing scheme.