The sheer volume of junk that shows up in your inbox on a normal day can be infuriating, and it’s been building for longer than you might think: the very first spam email was sent in 1978, and the first modern mass-mail spam occurred in 1994. It would take another decade or two for spammers to really hit their stride, but now roughly half of all emails are estimated to be spam.
Spam isn’t just an inconvenience, it also can represent a security threat. Spam emails are frequently used to distribute malware or lure you to fake websites, and scammers use them to solicit victims. There’s no question that learning how to stop spam emails — or at least stem the tide — is a modern-day survival skill.
Quick Links
- How to Stop Spam Emails – 8 Tips for Receiving Less Spam
- How to Block Spam Emails in Gmail
- How to Block Spam Emails in Apple Mail
- How to Block Spam Emails in Outlook
- How to Block Spam Emails in Yahoo! Mail
How to Stop Spam Emails
Stopping spam is a good news/bad news scenario. The bad news is that you’ll never stop it completely; the good news is that you don’t need a lot of technical skills to slow it to a relative trickle. Most of the steps you’ll need to take are pretty easy, and often just come down to using the features already built into your email app.
The internet is just full of tips for doing this, and we’ve sifted through them so you won’t have to. Here’s a high-impact handful that will do the job, and don’t take a lot of expertise.
1. “Train” Your Spam Filters
No matter which email platform you use, its spam filters work best if you help them a bit. Spam filters work on a handful of basic principles:
- They check for emails originating from dubious senders or known spammers;
- They check the content and subject line for words commonly used in spam emails; or
- They flag emails containing an unusual number of links, graphics, and code snippets.
These are all valid techniques, but — as with antivirus programs — they need constant updates to keep up with what spammers and scammers are doing. You can help, just by taking a moment to flag spam emails when they do make it to your inbox. That provides data your email provider can use to update its main filters, helping them stay current, and it also means that your app will get better at spotting the kind of spam that you personally receive.
Also, training goes in both directions. Looking in your “spam” or “junk” folder regularly lets you spot legit emails that have been sent there mistakenly (and it always seems to be one you were really waiting for!). After you’ve marked these as “not spam” a few times, they should turn up in your inbox where they belong.
2. Use a Separate Email for Signups
That last tip leads to this one: having another email to use for that kind of signup is one of the best ways to cut down on spam. You can get a second address through your current email provider, a free email from a web-based service like Gmail or Yahoo mail, or even a “disposable” email address from a specialist provider.
When you need to sign up for a new service or a new site, use that alternative email instead of the main one. You can check your second inbox occasionally for any emails you actually do want to see, or forward them automatically to your main email.
This can even help you figure out who’s responsible for spamming you or selling your email address. Some apps let you create a unique email for each signup — in Gmail, for example, just a plus sign along with a unique phrase, such as “+not_trusted” to your email address. It’ll show up on every email you get from that source, which makes them easy to spot, track, and block.
3. Find Out Who’s Really Sending Those Emails
This is less about stopping spam as such, and more about spotting the dangerous ones. Spammers and scammers often use email addresses that “spoof” (fake) legitimate emails from major companies, or from a friend or acquaintance. Other emails are simply from unknown senders, which may or may not be legitimate. Either way, you can double-check where an email comes from and then decide whether to flag it as spam.
All emails include “headers,” which ordinarily get hidden. The header includes the sender’s return email address and IP address, among other identifiers. If you reveal the headers for any suspect email, it can help unmask dangerous scammers. If the headers in a suspicious email don’t match the ones in a legit email from the supposed sender, that’s a definite red flag.
Users with technical knowledge can chase down a sender’s approximate real-world location through its IP address, which is part of the header (if it’s Uzbekistan rather than Indiana, you’ll know something’s wrong!). Otherwise, it’s simpler to use Spokeo’s Reverse Email Lookup to search for information about the sender.
4. Use “Block Sender.” A Lot.
Any worthwhile discussion of how to stop spam emails will include this at some point. Reporting spam to your email provider should send future emails from that sender to your spam folder automatically. But, if you want to make extra sure you can also block senders manually. The exact directions vary depending on which email app you use, so we’ll circle back to that in a minute.
A powerful option is to block an entire domain, which is the part of the email after the @ symbol. Spammers often use multiple email addresses from one domain as a way to get around spam filters, and this nips them all in the bud. Again, directions vary depending on your email client, but usually – instead of a single, specific email address – you’ll enter the domain name alone (i.e., “@sketchyemail.com”). Whether you block them wholesale or one at a time, they’ll all be sent to your spam folder.
5. Use a Third-Party Spam-Blocking Service
It’s often good to have extra safety measures, which is why your car has brakes and seatbelts and airbags. In this case, we’ve already touched on your email provider’s filters, and steps you can take personally, but adding extra third-party protection can weed out even more unwanted emails.
A quick web search will turn up plenty of third-party apps and services, both free and paid. Googling something like “free/paid spam filter for [your email app],” or “best spam filter for business,” will usually do the trick. Some even report spammers to your internet service provider, so the ISP can block them before they ever reach your own filters.
6. Screen for Tracking Pixels
Have you ever wondered why some email clients block pictures from loading automatically? It’s because images can hide a very sneaky piece of code called a “tracking pixel.” As the name says, it’s often just one pixel in size (a single dot on your screen), and it’s often hidden in an image. When you open the email and display the image, it “phones home” so the sender knows the email has been opened, as well as how long you looked at it, which device you viewed it on, and possibly even your location at the time.
That last is especially bad, because stalkers can use tracking pixels too. But, even in the case of ordinary marketers or scammers, just knowing you’ve opened one email means you’ll probably get more.
To avoid tracking pixels, set your email app to block remote images from loading (that’s how tracking pixels work). A quick search (online, or in your app’s Help) should tell you how. You’ll have to manually click to show the images in your legitimate emails, but that’s a modest inconvenience compared to a blizzard of spam.
Pro tip: Many browsers and email apps offer add-on extensions that will spot tracking pixels in your emails, so you’ll know not to open them.
7. Never, Ever Reply to Spam or Click a Link
Two of the biggest mistakes you can make are clicking a link in a spammy email, or replying to one. If it’s a legit marketing email you’ve just guaranteed yourself lots of repeat mailings, and if it’s a scammer you’ve shown you can be phished, which in turn makes you vulnerable to fraud and identity theft, or malicious attachments filled with malware.
The best thing to do with suspect emails is never to open them at all, and the second best is to close them once you’ve reported them as spam and blocked the sender.
8. Check if Your Information is Being Sold On the Dark Web
We’re all used to a certain level of incoming spam, but a sharp increase in the quantity can be a warning sign of deeper problems. For example, criminals may have purchased your private personal information on one of the shady marketplaces of the so-called Dark Web. That’s bad news, because it may mean scammers are targeting you individually with phishing emails so they can get the rest of your information and steal your identity.
There’s a site called “Have I Been Pwned?” that can tell you if your email address has been compromised in a data breach. That’s helpful to an extent, but you may find it smarter (and more useful) to sign up for a full-spectrum identity theft protection service like Spokeo Protect. We’ll proactively monitor the Dark Web’s black markets for your private personal information, and if it happens you’ll have professional guidance to help you limit the damage and defray the costs of recovery.
It won’t prevent spam emails, as such, but it can tell you when you’re being personally targeted (so you’ll know to be extra-vigilant, and have a fast finger on the “Block” button).
How to Block Spam Emails in the Major Apps
Earlier we explained that blocking the senders is one of the most powerful ways to stop spam emails. While we don’t have space here to tell you how every email client works, we can tell you how to block a sender in the four biggest.
How to Block Senders in Gmail
- Open the message, if you haven’t already.
- Look for the three-dot “Menu” icon in the top right, just beside the “Reply” icon, and tap it.
- Choose “Block [sender’s name].”
How to Block Senders in Apple Mail
In MacOS:
- Open the message, if you haven’t already.
- Put your cursor on the sender’s name in the header — don’t click it! — and wait for an arrow to pop up, indicating a pull-down menu.
- Choose “Block Contact” from the pulldown menu.
(You can also block senders in your junk mail settings, and have them directed straight to your trash.)
In iOS:
- Open the message, if you haven’t already.
- Tap the sender’s name, then tap “Block this Contact.”
How to Block Senders in Outlook
In the desktop client:
- Open the message, if you haven’t already.
- In the toolbar at the top of your screen, click “Junk,” and then “Block Sender.”
In the browser (Outlook Web) client:
- Click on the message.
- Click the three-dot menu icon in the toolbar near the top of your screen.
- Click “Block” in the pull-down menu, and then “Block Sender.”
You can also block either the sender or the sender’s entire domain in your Junk Mail settings on either the desktop or web client.
How to Block Senders in Yahoo! Mail
- Select an email from the sender you want to block.
- Click the three-dot menu near the top right of your screen, and choose “Block Senders.”
- Click “Block all future emails” and “Delete all existing emails” in addition to blocking the sender’s email address, if you wish.
Like some of the other apps listed here, you can also block senders or domains in the app’s Settings menu.
If your email app isn’t one of the ones we’ve listed here, you can check the app’s Help menu or support page to find out how. Some apps provide that feature as a main menu option. In most cases, you can also right-click on the email and find “Block Sender” as an option in a popup menu.
Bonus Tip: Coping With Newsletters and Other Subscriptions
A lot of the clutter in your inbox isn’t technically spam, but newsletters you’ve signed up for and legitimate marketing materials that you’ve in some way “consented” to. Consumer-protection laws like CAN-SPAM make it harder for companies to use sketchy tricks to get your consent, and also allow you to withdraw your permission. Each mailer usually includes an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom for your convenience, but scammers sometimes use that as their phishing link. It’s safest to look up the unsubscribe link on the company’s actual website and use that, just in case.
For recurring mailers you still want to receive but don’t want cluttering your inbox, you can set up inbox filters to route them to a folder of your choice. It’s a powerful feature.
Stopping Spam Emails is an Ongoing Challenge
No matter how diligent you are about following our tips, and no matter how often the email providers update their defenses, you’ll always receive some spam emails. Scammers are creative too, and there’s plenty of money and talent on “the dark side.”
Following the tips we’ve listed here will tilt the odds in your favor. You’ll be able to take control over the quantity of spam that gets through, and how it’s handled once it arrives. It’s not a perfect solution, but you’ll find that a well-managed inbox helps you stay more productive, reduces your vulnerability to scammers, and keeps your annoyance levels at a minimum.
Sources
Business2Community: The History of Phishing and Email Security
Statista: Global Spam Volume as Percentage of Email Traffic from 2011 to 2022
Socket Labs: What Is a Spam Filter, and How Does it Work?
Business News Daily: 250+ Words That Will Land Your Email in the Spam Folder
Digital Trends: How to Create Disposable Email Addresses
Clean Email: How to Set Up Automatic Email Forwarding
Fast Company: How to Stop Emails from Spying on You
Apple Support: Change Junk Mail Settings in Mail on Mac
Microsoft Support: Block Senders or Unblock Senders in Outlook
Yahoo! Help: Block and Unblock Email Addresses in Yahoo Mail
Have I Been Pwned?: Check if Your Email Address is In a Data Breach
ArsTechnica: Gmail’s AI-Powered Spam Detection Is its Biggest Security Upgrade in Years