Itβs almost impossible to stop spam emails. Junk mail filters help, but they donβt stop everything and sometimes they stop email you do want. What good is a filter if you have to check it?
You might consider clicking the unsubscribe link at the end of the spam email, but many experts have said that this lets the spammer know the email is valid and doesnβt really unsubscribe you.
If you are getting email from a company that you signed up with, but now you donβt want it anymore, the unsubscribe link should work. That email was something you asked for and now you are asking for it to stop. Since it is a legitimate company, it should honor your request.
Some spam emails are simply trying to sell you something. Others are trying to steal your information.
Never click the links in unsolicited emails, even those that appear to be from companies with which you do business. Those links often lead you to sites that look legitimate but are designed to steal the information you submit, often credit card information or a social security number.
For example, you might get an email saying your account needs to be updated because your credit card is expired and the email includes a link. If youβve never done business with the company, ignore it and delete the email. If you have done business with the company, donβt click the link in the email. You could end up giving your credit card information to a thief.
Instead, go directly to the companyβs website in your browser and log in. If your account needs updating, youβll get a message there.
Another clue is that the email address doesnβt include the company name. There will be something wrong with the address. The company name may be misspelled or it will be something other than .com, perhaps the code for another country. Many of these scammers are outside the United States.
Find out if a company has sold your email address
We canβt promise that any of the following tricks will work. They wonβt stop junk email, but they might help you identify which companies are selling your email address. Then you can fill up their email inboxes with angry missives.
Lifehacker.com suggests that if you have a gmail address, for example: name@gmail.com, when you give your email address to a company, use name+website@gmail.com, with “website” being the name of the company you are giving your email.
Gmail automatically ignores anything from and including the + up to but not including the @ symbol.
If you get a solicitation email from a company youβve never done business with and the address it was sent to is name+website@gmail.com, youβll know who sold or shared your email address.
Caveat: some forms donβt allow a + sign in email addresses. Many spammers know about this and have programs running to strip out everything from and including the + to the @.
When you sign up for something online and they ask for your name and email address, use what you are signing up for as the name, suggests medium.com.
For example, say you are signing up to receive a free sample of dog food. In the name field, not the email address, instead of submitting your real name, John Doe, put βSampleβ in the field for the first name and βDogfoodβ in the field for last name. Or use the name of the company or anything that will help you remember what site this is.
Later if you get an email from another company that you donβt recall signing up with but it address you as βDear Sample Dogfood,β youβll know who sold your info.
It will be even more fun if you get put on a call list. Theyβll have to ask for βSample Dogfood,β and youβll be able to say βThereβs no one here with that name.β
Many internet resources suggest making new email addresses for each company with which you sign up. If you have your own domain, you can create a separate address any time you need to submit your email address on a form. If your real email is myname@mydomain.com, you can create a new one for company@mydomain.com, with “company” being the company with which you are creating an account or filling out a form.
Then if you get something at that email address from another company you never signed up for, youβll know who sold your address.
