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Knowing how to avoid spam prevents unwanted mishaps with those messages normally received by unauthorized contacts in your email. In general, the most common are those for commercial purposes and also maliciously, such as a virus to damage your computer.
So, to help you better deal with these annoying visitors, we’ve prepared this post in which you’ll explain what spam is, why it happens, how to avoid it, and the best practices to stay protected. You will see that it is simpler than you think and you will optimize your day to day with these questions. Follow!
After all, what is spam and why does it happen?
The term spam, originally, comes from the expression canned meat and nowadays it has become popular as those unsolicited messages sent exhaustively to your email.
However, an important point to note is that spam is totally different from email marketing. The main issue is in the recipient’s prior permission. The spammer is the one who sends a vast amount of emails without any consent.
Many people still think that the only spam submissions involve stealing data. However, these specific messages have their own nomenclature: the so-called “Phishing Scams“. They are carried out through unauthorized emails that seek to deceive people to obtain private information such as passwords, bank account numbers and others, in addition to spreading malicious software.
Finally, the main purpose of spam is to obtain a significant volume of sales and for that, sellers start sending promotional emails to a large number of people. If you can get 1% of these people to convert, that’s great.
How to avoid spam once and for all?
Dealing with these nasty messages is easier than you think! Check out the tips we prepared on how to avoid spam right now!
Be careful when disclosing your email
It’s normal to be suspicious: after all, it’s not Facebook acquaintances who are spreading unwanted messages. But, it is the internet itself that is the focus, as there are many bots that crawl pages, forums, social media and other sites in search of publicly exposed email addresses.
In this way, bots will take advantage of this email address, adding it to the sender database, making the anti-spam have more work to filter them.
If you need to share your email address, please do so so that bots cannot identify you. For example, instead of typing marketingtecnologia@gmail.com; write marketingtechnology [arroba] gmail [ponto] with.
Choose the name for your email carefully
Spammers do not rest and are looking for more and more new victims and for that they create some artifices. One of the most common methods is to adopt the same username in the email address in the registration of providers.
With common names, spammers don’t have to try very hard to find your email address. All they need is a username like “FranciscoJosé”, add an @ and experiment with popular providers like Yahoo or Gmail. This tactic will likely prove successful and will further grow your contact list.
Report spam
While following the tips above on how to avoid spam can be helpful, receiving them can still be a pain. So don’t settle for simply deleting them from your inbox, there are more effective methods to get rid of it, and help you avoid even more spam in the future.
Today’s email services contain anti-spam programs that use artificial intelligence to identify what’s convenient and what’s not. When you mark an email as junk, you are helping the program learn what to look for. This action will make you receive fewer messages like this and, even more importantly, it will help other people to avoid them. Everyone will win.
Separate emails by categories
When creating any account for a website or service, you will of course be asked to provide your email address. One piece of advice is to use a specific one to be shared publicly (say, when you subscribe to a forum). In addition, you will probably receive some messages from the service, such as offers, coupons and even newsletters.
That is, establish strategies to have emails separated by categories to deal with your personal, professional, corporate life and to subscribe to services — this tool will be more likely to receive spam, however, you will be able to enjoy the other more important ones without these unnecessary visitors.
When registering for a site, check the privacy policy
If you intend to register on a website (such as an online store, for example), it is important that you take some precautions: check whether there is a privacy policy that guarantees the security of your data; When registering your e-mail and telephone number, deactivate the option to receive promotions, newsletters and others.
If the site is not precise about how it handles your information, you are advised not to register. However, if it is still important, we suggest using a secondary email account to be a great alternative on how to avoid spam.
What are the best practices to always stay protected?
Spams are not rocket science and are very easy to solve. Check out some effective tips:
- never open suspicious emails or click on links sent — overall, this is the best tip on how to avoid spam. They are easy to recognize, as they have very appealing messages;
- use a good anti-spam service — having a great service makes all the difference, especially related to hosting;
- be careful where you provide your e-mail address — do your best not to share your e-mail address in public online environments, such as forums or chats with unknown users;
- use efficient tools like BoxTrapper.
Knowing how to avoid spam is simple and practical. Therefore, if you are dealing with this situation, adopt the tips mentioned above and enjoy an optimized email box!
Was the content helpful? To help you better understand the difference between this topic and email marketing, we have prepared a detailed post about it. Check it out and clear your doubts!
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