What is spam email?

A spam email is an unsolicited junk email sent in bulk to an indefinite recipient list. Spam emails are mostly sent by bots or by fraudsters targetting users to either buy a product or click on malicious links. Hence, it is recommended that users stay vigilant when opening or clicking links from unknown senders to protect their email data and accounts from being compromised.

Why is spam email a threat?

Spam emails can be a serious threat to individuals and businesses. Some are unwanted advertisements, while others are sent with harmful intent.

A spam email may look like a genuine message from a trusted company or person. It may contain malicious links or attachments. Clicking them can install malware, steal login credentials, or lead to phishing websites. In some cases, this can result in data loss, financial loss, or compromised accounts.To learn more about spam emails, refer to the types of email spam section.

Types of email spam

Spammers often change their methods of sending spam messages to trick users. Some of the common spam types are given below:

Malware

This type of spam email is an attempt to trick the recipient into taking an action that can lead to data/ privacy compromise or hack a system. Such spam emails could contain a warning message against a malware/ virus threat and end with a call to action, such as to download an attached file or click on a link.

Email phishing

Phishing is an advanced technique of email spam. It is a type of cyber attack intended to steal sensitive information such as passwords, credit card details, and other personal information. The attackers disguise their identities by posing as a reliable source to tempt their victims to fall prey.

Email spoofing

A spoofed email is a spam that is sent to deceive the recipient by forging the sender's identity. Stay alert and scrutinize the email header to ensure that the message has come from a trusted sender.

Promotional offers

Many reputed organizations send promotional offers with the intention of generating more leads for their business or creating brand awareness. Cybercriminals see this as an avenue to lure in recipients by offering exclusive discounts, vouchers and other such offers.

Financial scam

A financial scam is a type of email which urges a recipient to enter their credit/ debit card details to hack their financial records or extract money. The email might appear to have come from your bank's customer support team and request you to provide personal details in order to avoid account/ card blockage. In such cases, call the bank's toll-free number and verify your account status instead of following the instructions in the email.

Prize Scam

Certain emails promise a reward amount or other prizes mentioned in the email content. Such emails look attractive and tempt the recipients to follow the steps to claim their prize. These victims end up losing thousands of dollars or giving personal data to spammers.

How to stop spam emails?

Spam filters are the most viable option to prevent your mailbox from getting flooded with spam messages. Spam filters can be configured using a trusted email security solution which can detect spam messages and can either reject them or move them to the user's spam folder or quarantine for admin moderation.

Despite having stringent email protection filters, spammers find alternative ways to send junk emails. Therefore, in addition to the spam filters, users need to be equally responsible and follow certain best practices as mentioned below.

What is the difference between junk email and spam email?

Junk email and spam email both refer to unwanted messages, but there is a slight difference in how the terms are commonly used.

Junk emails	Spam emails
Usually refers to unwanted or irrelevant emails.	Usually refers to unsolicited emails sent in bulk.
Can include newsletters, promotions, and marketing emails that you no longer want.	Can include advertisements, scams, phishing attempts, or emails containing malicious links and attachments.
May come from a legitimate sender you previously interacted with.	Often comes from unknown or untrusted senders.
Is usually unwanted but not necessarily harmful.	Can pose a security risk when attackers use it for phishing, malware, or fraud.

How to prevent and protect against email spam?

You can reduce email spam by staying alert, protecting your email address, and using spam filters. Follow these practices to protect yourself and your organization from spam emails.

Note: These are general best practices for preventing email spam and are not an exhaustive list.

Be careful with suspicious emails

Check the sender's email address before you respond.
Do not click links or open attachments from unknown senders.
Look for spelling errors, unusual requests, or messages that create urgency.
Hover over links to check the actual website address before you click.
Verify unexpected requests through a trusted channel before you take action.

Do not expose your email address

Avoid posting your email address on public websites, forums, or comment sections.
Use a separate email address when you need to register on unfamiliar websites.
Write your address as myname(at)domain(dot)com instead of myname@domain.com when you need to display it publicly. This can make it harder for automated tools to collect your address.

Inspect the email header

Check the email header if you receive a suspicious message.
Review the From and Reply-To addresses for unexpected differences.
Check whether the sender's domain matches the organization they claim to represent.
Review SPF, DKIM, and DMARC results when this information is available.
Mark the email as spam if you identify suspicious details.

Use spam filters

Enable the spam filtering options provided by your email service.
Mark unwanted emails as spam instead of simply deleting them.
Review your spam settings regularly and adjust them when required.
Use an email security solution such as Zoho eProtect to detect and filter spam, phishing emails, and other email-based threats.

Be careful when unsubscribing

Use the Unsubscribe link only when you recognize and trust the sender.
Do not click Unsubscribe in suspicious spam emails.
Mark suspicious messages as spam instead.
Avoid replying to spam emails. A reply can confirm that your email address is active.

Protect your email account

Use a strong and unique password for your email account.
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) when available.
Keep your browser, operating system, and security software updated.
Change your password immediately if you suspect that someone has compromised your account.

Report spam emails

Use the Report spam or Report phishing option in your email service.
Report suspicious business emails to your organization's security or IT team.
Block repeat senders when necessary.
Delete the email after you report it.