How to avoid email spam

We’ve all had those awkward moments when we check our email inbox and find some new messages, only to read them and wonder how they got to us.

Email spam. Most read like adverts. Indeed, they are, but you are not familiar with who sent them and whatever they contain at most times doesn’t add up, even though they might have some details that are of interest to you.

Spam accounts for 90.4 per cent of all email, according to a report Symantec, a security vendor. They are annoying. Plus deleting them takes time.

So you often find yourself asking how you got into this position; how these strange characters got your email addresses and are now filling up your inbox with silly, indiscriminate and unsolicited messages promoting fake products and adult services.

Well, here’s how you can avoid getting there.

It is estimated that 95 per cent of all junk email is caused by a person publicly disclosing their email address.

Avoid recording your email address in any public online database, be it a newsgroup, internet service, your own website or an untrusted online retailer.

Spammers – the people who send those strange emails – use databases (even buy them at times) holding vast numbers of email addresses.

If you do receive email spam, don’t open the weblinks inside it. These include the option to unsubscribe.

Doing so poses a risk of compromising your security and infecting your computer with malware. Instead, classify the message as junk or spam in your email account.

That way, you will protect yourself and the email provider will take note of that specific message and warn other users about it.

Better still, don’t even respond to that email spam.

Get a different email account for online shopping, subscribing to newsletters or engaging in newsgroup discussions. You can get rid of your email account if your spam filters don’t work and you receive a lot of such emails.

Be tactful. Spambots – automated computer programs designed to assist in the sending of spam – are always on the lookout for email addresses posted online.

When sharing yours, instead of writing of [email protected], note johndoe at janedoe dot com. And if it’s your personal website, avail a web contact form instead of your email address for contact.

Avoid certain websites and applications. Some chatrooms contain spammers and spambots that prey on users.

Look for your name or email address on search engines. If you find the latter on a listed page, contact its owner and tell them to remove it.

The last resort is to use the spam filter that come with your email provider. Gmail and Ymail have theirs. You can always add plugins for other email providers.

This way, you won’t see the incoming email spam in your inbox as it will be re-directed to a different folder.

But chances are that a number of your legit emails will go there as well, so open the junk and spam folders once in a while. Label known email addresses in the junk or spam folder as ‘not spam’ from the outset.