Tips to Avoid Spam Email Attacks-An email has become one of the main communication media in the digital era. Now email is not just a means of sending messages, but also a marker of identity in cyberspace. Many websites and applications provide a login with a google account option to access their services. Therefore, it is not surprising that until now email has never run out of users.
A large number of email users creates a new loophole for online crime. Hackers take advantage of this opportunity to send viruses in the form of emails to steal data or hijack the victim’s device. This kind of email has been circulating widely and is better known as spam emails.
For those of you who use email frequently, messages like this can be very annoying. Besides being dangerous, spam that is sent in large quantities continuously can also hamper mobility. Not to mention, hackers usually use an email that is similar to a contact that is often contacted so that the victim is deceived. Therefore, you need to protect yourself by following these 5+ tips to avoid spam email attacks.
Table of Contents
- Don’t Respond to Suspicious Emails
- Flag Spam Email
- Block Sender Email
- Don’t Publish Private Email
- Use Two Email Accounts
- Periodic Data Backup
- Use Anti Spam Services on Email Hosting
- Conclusion
Don’t Respond to Suspicious Emails
Spam emails are usually characterized by convoluted, unclear, or threatening language. If a suspicious message like this enters your inbox, you should just ignore it, don’t open, download attachments, let alone reply to the email. The sender of spam emails or spammers can monitor whether recipients open the emails they send.
When spammers see their email has a response, they will know that your email is actively used and record when you open the email. As a result, later on, you may receive more spam attacks, especially during online hours because they know you must be active at that time. Therefore, if you have accidentally opened a spam email, immediately close the email and do the next tips.
Flag Spam Email
When you receive a spam email in your inbox, don’t rush to delete the email. These messages may indeed carry malicious malware, but simply deleting them is a less effective way of avoiding spam emails. Even if you don’t open the email, spammers can still attack your email in the future, so you should be careful.
Instead of hastily selecting the delete option, you should mark suspicious messages as spam. If you are using Gmail, select the message to be reported by placing a checkmark in the small box next to the email. After that, click the exclamation mark in the bar above it and the message will be automatically marked as spam.
That way, if the spammer sends a similar message again, the email system will automatically detect the sender’s address and move it to the spam folder. So, your inbox is clean from malicious email intrusion.
Block Sender Email
If spam emails continue to arrive after being ignored and reported, you can block the sender’s email address. That way, even if the spammers continue to attack your emails, the messages will never arrive because you’ve blocked them.
To do so, you need to open the spam email that you want to block. Be careful not to open any links. After that, select the three-dot symbol next to the reply option and then click ‘block’. Finish by selecting the ‘block’ button on the pop-up notification that appears afterward. That way, you will not receive any more emails from that address.
Don’t Publish Private Email
Many people often put personal email addresses on their social media accounts or websites. Although it seems to follow the trend, actually this action can be self-defeating. Emails that are displayed in social media bios can be used by spammers to send spam emails to you.
Therefore, you should not publish private emails carelessly. Not all internet users or social media friends need your email. If the purpose is for work or a business invitation, you should include the information ‘DM me’ on your profile or provide a submit form link so you can control who can contact you via email.
Use Two Email Accounts
Currently, email is not only used for business purposes but also marketing purposes. Many companies have used email for commercial purposes such as sending promotional catalogs, discount vouchers, and the latest newsletters. Usually, they will provide the lure of discounts for buyers who are willing to register their email addresses.
Unfortunately, not all online platforms can guarantee the security of your data. Be careful when filling out newsletter forms or subscribing to certain emails. Instead of getting additional discounts, your data could be leaked and become the target of spam emails.
You should be wise in using email, if necessary you can create a new email account specifically for commercial and entertainment purposes. That way your personal and work accounts will be more secure and easier to organize.
Periodic Data Backup
Spammers work by inserting viruses in the emails they send to infect your device. Even though they are both harmful, not all spammers commit the same crime mode. Some of them may target your identity or bank account, but other spammers may target important data on your computer to blackmail you.
Therefore, in addition to avoiding spam emails through some of the tips above, it’s a good idea to also perform regular data backups. The goal, of course, is so that you don’t have to panic, let alone spend a lot of money to redeem the data taken.
To be more secure, use storage media that is not connected to the internet such as an external hard drive. That way, if a virus from spam email accidentally hijacks your work device, you don’t have to worry because all data has been backed up and the computer can be reset immediately.
Use Anti Spam Services on Email Hosting
If all the tips above tend to be done yourself, this time the tips are different because you can rely on the anti-spam feature on email hosting. Common email providers like Gmail and yahoo use the same domain for all accounts. Not so with email hosting, you can set your domain name as what you want.
This email hosting is of course not limited to being able to change the domain name but is also equipped with anti-spam features that can protect you from malicious email attacks.
So, in addition to ignoring suspicious messages, blocking spammers, and maintaining confidentiality, your email address also gets more protection with anti-spam protection on email hosting. You can contact your hosting provider for this feature.
Conclusion
Spam email attacks are indeed very detrimental because they can carry malware threats, and hack data to disrupt work. It’s very dangerous to let spam emails just pile up in your inbox. Especially if you have a business or job that often uses email, it’s important to immediately protect yourself from the dangers of spam emails by doing these powerful tips to avoid spam email attacks above.
Master web provides an anti-spam email hosting service that can help you. Not only that, but Master web also provides an email virus scanner that can scan incoming messages in the inbox.