Why am I getting so much spam email?

Spam emails are arguably one of the biggest nuisances of our online lives. They fill up our inboxes with unwanted offers, phishing attempts, and malicious links. Let’s look into why you’re getting so much spam email, and how you can put at end to it.

Have you ever wondered “why am I getting so much spam email?” If you have, you’re certainly not alone! In fact, most people receive a lot of spam email in the digital world we live in. But if you’re sick of just ignoring or deleting it, rest assured it doesn’t have to be that way. There are ways to reduce it. But first, we have to understand it.

What is spam email?

Spam email, also known as junk email, is unsolicited messages sent in bulk to a large number of email addresses. These emails often contain advertisements, phishing scams, and malware. The primary goal of spam is to make money, either through directly selling to you, affiliate links, or by stealing your personal information. To put it lightly: not cool.

Why am I getting so much spam email?

Pretty much every online service requires that you have an email address when you sign up. So you can imagine the amount of times you’ll have shared your email address online! This is usually a safe and legit thing to do. But due to cyber crime and immoral usage policies, your email address can often end up in the wrong hands.

Let’s explain how. Then, we can look into how we can reduce it.

1. Email harvesting

One of the most common reasons you receive spam email is due to email harvesting. Spammers use automated tools to ‘scrape’ the internet for email addresses from websites, forums, social media platforms, and other online sources. If your email address is publicly visible on the web, it’s likely to be collected and added to spam lists.

2. Data breaches

Data breaches are another significant source of spam emails. When a company’s database is hacked, your email address and other personal information can be exposed. This information is often sold on the dark web, where spammers can purchase it and start sending you unsolicited emails.

3. Subscription lists

Sometimes, signing up for newsletters, promotions, or registering for a service can lead to spam. While some companies respect your privacy, others might sell your email address to third parties – who then send you spam! Even though it’s terribly boring, try to check out the privacy policy and terms of service before subscribing to any online service.

4. Phishing scams

Phishing emails are designed to trick you into providing personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers. These emails often appear to come from legitimate sources, such as banks or online services. Once you’ve interacted with a phishing email, you might be targeted with even more spam as the scammers now know that your email address is active.

5. Malware

If your computer or smartphone has been infected with malware, it could be sending out spam emails without your knowledge. Malware can also harvest your contacts and send spam to them, perpetuating the cycle.

How to reduce spam email

Okay, so now you know the top five reasons why you might be getting so much spam email. The bad news is that reducing spam can be challenging. However, there are several steps you can take to manage it as best as you can.

1. Use a spam filter 

Most email providers offer robust spam filters that automatically identify and move spam emails to a separate folder. So do make sure your spam filter is turned on. However, it does mean that you’ll need check your spam folder sometimes, to mark any legitimate emails as “not spam.” Spam filters don’t always get it right, and you don’t want to miss important emails!

2. Don’t publish your email address publicly

Avoid posting your email address on public websites, forums, or social media. This is how they get ‘scraped’ by scammers. If you need to share your email address online, consider using a format that is less likely to be identified and harvested by bots, such as writing it out like this: “username [at] domain [dot] com.”

3. Use disposable email addresses

For online registrations and subscriptions, use disposable or temporary email addresses. This way, if the email address starts receiving spam, you can easily discard it without affecting your primary inbox. We’ll also let you into a little secret here: all those free Wi-Fi services you signed up to when on the move or at the café? You can just use a totally made-up, fake email address that you don’t even have a mailbox for. It’ll usually work if you don’t have to verify the email address!

4. Unsubscribe and report spam

Most spam emails include an unsubscribe link. You can use this feature to opt-out of receiving future emails from that sender. Additionally, report spam emails to your email provider to help improve their spam filtering algorithms. There should be a quick way to do this from your email app.

5. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

Enabling two-factor authentication for your email account adds an extra layer of security. This can help prevent unauthorised access and reduce the risk of your email being used to send spam to others – and your own contact list!

I want to do more to stop receiving so much spam!

Okay, okay. The five points above were the basics. So if you knew all that already, take a look at our advanced tips below.

1. Use an email alias

Some email providers allow you to create aliases. An alias is an alternative email address that forwards to your main inbox. For example, your email address could be joe.bloggs@outlook.com. And your alias could be joe.bloggs-online-shopping@outlook.com. You can use different aliases for different purposes, for example online shopping, social media, and work. This means you can track where spam is coming from, and manage it more effectively as it’ll be in separate folders or areas.

2. Use email forwarding rules

Did you know that you can set up ‘rules’ in your email software? This means you can create a rule that forces any suspected spam to be sorted into a specific folder. This can help keep your inbox clean, and make it easier to review and delete spam in bulk.

3. Regularly update your email address

This is a big choice to make, as people fear that they will miss important information if they start using a different email address. However, as a last resort if you are receiving an overwhelming amount of spam, you should consider creating a new email address. Notify your trusted contacts of the new address, and ensure any important organisations or registrations you have online are updated with the new address. Then, stop using the old address. If you want to be really clever, you can create rules on your spam-infested email account to auto-forward emails to your new address, for select senders only (just in case)!

Will spam email ever go away?

Probably not, no. The battle against spam is ongoing, with email providers and cybersecurity experts continuously developing new ways to detect and block unwanted messages. The trouble is that as technology advances, so do the methods used by spammers! Whilst we have artificial intelligence and machine learning developing better spam filters, spammers also have those technologies readily available, too. But staying vigilant and using the tips outlined above will certainly help you to wipe spam out of your life.

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