Put your Spam Folder on a diet in 2020!

Email is a valuable resource to keep in touch with business needs and customer requests. However, how much of the email that comes into your inbox per day is obviously spam? According to spamlaws.com, spam emails comprise anywhere between half and three quarters of your daily inbox! The United States is the top culprit for spam email creation, and the most common spam messages are advertising-related (36%), followed by adult-related subjects (32%), followed by financial related subjects (27%).

Although you can’t entirely prevent your inbox from receiving spam, there are a number of things you can do according to Privacy Rights Organization (privacyrights.org) to significantly reduce your daily intake.

• Don’t open a spam message even if you’re curious. Many spam senders set notification flags to let them know when a message is opened. The more you open certain types of spam emails, the more those types of spam emails will flood your inbox. Many email tools are good about segregating spam into a junk folder, but aren’t always successful.
• Don’t click the links! At best, clicking a link just notifies the sender that the email inbox is active. At worst, it can expose your computer to malware, more frequent scam messages, and fake websites.
• Don’t reply. Although you might be tempted to tell them where to stick their spam messages, it’s better to ignore than to reply. As well, many spam messages have an “Unsubscribe” link which doesn’t work – in fact, it’s usually a fake link to take you to malware or fake websites.
• Use Secondary or Disposable Email Addresses. You want to keep unwanted email out of your primary inbox, right? If you’re setting up an online account and aren’t sure how they’ll communicate with you or how your email will be shared, set up an alternate email address for all of those emails.
• Opt-out of Emails when signing up for services. Unfortunately, those checkboxes for receiving emails about discounts, news, and updates are usually checked. Uncheck that box to opt out of getting repetitive emails.

Here’s to 2020 and a leaner meaner spam folder!

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