Email Spam
What is it and how can we defend against it.
Email spam, also known as junk email, refers to unsolicited and often irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent over email, typically to a large number of users. These messages are usually sent for advertising, phishing, spreading malware, or other malicious purposes. Spam emails can clutter inboxes, waste time, and pose serious security risks.
Characteristics of email spam:
- Unsolicited: Sent without the recipient’s permission.
- Mass-distributed: Sent to thousands or even millions of email addresses at once.
- Commercial or malicious intent: Often used to promote products, scams, or to trick users into clicking harmful links.
Common types of spam emails:
- Advertising Spam: Promotes products or services, often from shady or unknown sources.
- Phishing Emails: Pretend to be from legitimate organisations to steal personal information like passwords or credit card numbers.
- Malware Spam: Contains attachments or links that install viruses, ransomware, or spyware.
- Scam Emails: Includes fake lottery wins, inheritance claims, or requests for money (e.g., the infamous “Nigerian prince” scam).
- Spoofed Emails: Appear to come from someone you know or trust but are actually from attackers.
Why email spam Is a problem:
- Security Risks: Can lead to identity theft, financial loss, or system infections.
- Productivity Loss: Clutters inboxes and wastes time.
- Resource Drain: Consumes bandwidth and storage on email servers.
How to protect against email spam:
- Use spam filters: Most email services have built-in filters that automatically detect and move spam to a separate folder.
- Don’t click suspicious links: Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown senders.
- Never share your email publicly: Spammers often harvest emails from websites and forums.
- Unsubscribe carefully: Only unsubscribe from legitimate sources; fake unsubscribe links can be traps.
- Report spam: Marking emails as spam helps improve filtering systems.
Email spam is a persistent issue in the digital world, but with awareness and the right tools, you can minimise its impact.