With the increasing use of computers and mobile devices, many new words are making their way into the common man’s dictionary. If you use the Internet on these devices or you have your own email account, then you must have heard the word spam or read it somewhere. Now, if you are unaware of the meaning of spam and wondering what spam is, this article is for you.
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What is spam?
Spam is a message of unwanted desire on the internet. The term spam was first used for unsolicited or irrelevant or anonymous emails coming on the Internet. Initially, spam emails were sent only for advertising, but later they were used for many other things, including fraud. The special thing about spam emails is that they are always sent in bulk and these are emails that even the receiver does not know where they came from.
Spam is a form of fraud and cybercrime. In simple words, sending messages, calls or any advertisement to someone repeatedly on the internet world without the permission of the other person or without their will is called spam.
What is Spamming?
The act of spam on the internet is called spamming. Spamming is not only done by email but it is seen in many other places today, such as on WhatsApp Messenger, in the comment box of the blog, on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook or on a forum website etc. In many places, such as commenting on social media sites by creating fake accounts or sharing false links, also fall under the category of spamming.
Where does the Spam come from?
Spam is seen in different ways in different places, such as if you talk about Messenger (like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp), then you will find a lot of spam messages that are spread in the form of advertisements, fake news or religious rumours. Spamming on social media is no different. Spam on email is the most common.
However, most email companies now have an anti-spam program that automatically detects spam and puts the email in the spam folder. But many times spammers cleverly give their email such a look that even the anti-spam program can not detect it and shows spam in your inbox. Spammers send most of the spam in the name of companies that you are well aware of, so you fall into their trap and start falling into the spam shell and fraudulently click on a malicious link.
What are the different types of Spam?
As mentioned above, spamming is done in many ways. That is why in today’s time, the word spam is heard not only in email but also on social media sites, messengers, blogs, forums and many other places. To learn more closely about spamming and to avoid spam we need to know the types of spam. Let’s know about its types:
1. Bulk Messaging
Bulk messaging is the most common type of spam. Such bulk messages are sent worldwide in millions and billions every day. Such spam messages are mainly filled with advertisements. In this, the main purpose of the spammer is to sell you a product. Bulk messaging is also sometimes done to increase followers or spread malware.
2. Clickbaiting
Click baiting means provoking the user to click on their post or their content by writing sensational or inflammatory headlines. Wherever content is shared, whether it is photo or video content or an article, clickbaiting is seen on almost every platform.
This type of spam is also done through email, where some provocative headlines are written in the email by the spammer that the user is forced to click on the call to action button given by him.
3. Sending Malicious Links
There is no shortage of spammers spreading malicious links. In this case, the main purpose of the spammer is to spread the virus on your device so that it can steal your device’s data. This type of spamming is done through forum posts via comments and mainly through email.
In this type of spam message, a link is given in which the spammer tries to make you click on the link by fooling you. If you click on that link, then malware comes to your device or sometimes there is a risk of the device being hacked.
4. Sharing undesired content
Many times unwanted content is shared on the forum website, social media site or in your own blog comments by creating a fake account. This content can be insults, threats or advertisements. This kind of content is sometimes shared for its own benefit and sometimes to drop the value of your post.
You can see this kind of spam in the comment box of the post of a big social media influencer or someone who has more followers. Where many spammers keep putting unlimited comments about selling their products.
5. Fraudulent reviews
Fraudulent reviews are also a part of spam. This type of spam is seen in the comment box of blog posts or on social media. Not only this but many times people also create a fake account on the eCommerce website and give fraudulent reviews by spamming to drop or increase product reviews.
How to get rid of the spam?
- Do not use your personal email address at all on any blog or forum website where people spam. Never use your work email address when signing up for forums, offers and other public services. Keep a separate email for your casual online activities.
- Do not click on the attachment or link given in any unwanted email or message on social media. Not only does this put your device at risk of getting a virus, but by doing so, you also confirm to the spammer that your email address is valid and there is a possibility of clicking on the link sent to you.
- Do not use your email address in your signature while posting something on any website or forum. Utilize a dedicated appliance or client-based or server-based anti-spam software before it reaches your inbox.
- Do not click on the unsubscribe link given in any irrelevant email. This may be a trick for the spammer and it will let him know that your email address is valid and then he will start sending you more spam emails.
- If it doesn’t break the terms of use, consider using disposable email addresses. Alternatively, you can use free email services that include spam filtering.
- Instead of deleting spam emails, report them. An anti-spam tool like Harvester Killer. can also be utilized to put the spam bots in an infinite loop.
- To avoid spam emails, the most important thing is that you should not give your email address to any non-essential website. Because there are some websites that take your data and sell it online so that the spammer can easily find your email address.
How to stop Spam Emails?
Here are some tips to prevent spam emails from taking over your inbox:
- Train your spam filter: Most people do one of two things when they receive spam emails: they either delete them or ignore them. However, you can train your spam filter to recognize what is and isn’t spam. This will help it become more effective over time.
- Block spam email senders: If you’re receiving a lot of spam emails from the same sender, you can block them. This will prevent any future emails from that sender from reaching your inbox.
- Get rid of existing spam by unsubscribing from mailing lists: If you’re receiving a lot of unwanted emails from mailing lists, you can unsubscribe from them. This will help reduce the amount of spam you receive.
- Use a third-party spam filter: You can also use a third-party spam filter to help reduce the amount of spam you receive. There are many strong third-party email filters to help you prevent spam.
- Don’t respond to spam emails: If you receive a spam email, don’t respond to it. This will only confirm that your email address is active and encourage more spam in the future.