Email spam has to be one of the most infuriating aspects of life on the internet.
Every day I receive dozens of emails about the most bizarre subjects, though most are about enlargement techniques and potions. (These don’t work – my friend told me)
Here, then, are a few simple tips for avoiding or minimising the amount of spam, or junk email, that you receive -
Spam Avoidance
- Always protect your email address and mobile phone number when online
- Delete suspicious emails without opening or replying to them
- Use spam filtering software
- Using protection products that filter junk email
- Carefully reading website terms and conditions that may include clauses that allow the owner and third parties to mail you
Contact Details
If you run a website and need to be contactable then -
- Use an email address which doesn’t identify you, i.e. contact@somedomain.com
- Use a web-based form for visitors – this allows visitors to contact you without ever revealing your email address. Such a technique defeats spammers’ automated mailing systems
- Present your email address as an image which can be viewed by humans but not read by mail harvesting robots