Stop Spam: Learn How to Manage Unwanted Messages

Understanding Spam: What It Is and Why It Happens

Spam refers to unwanted messages sent in bulk to large numbers of people. These messages can arrive through email, text messages, phone calls, social media, or messaging apps. Unlike messages from people you know, spam is typically sent by businesses or individuals trying to reach you without your permission.

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Spammers send millions of messages daily hoping that a small percentage of recipients will respond. They use several methods to obtain your contact information. Some purchase lists of email addresses and phone numbers from data brokers. Others use software to generate random email addresses or phone numbers and send messages to all of them. Spammers may also harvest your information from public websites, social media profiles, or online directories. When you sign up for services online, your information sometimes gets sold to third parties, which can lead to increased spam.

The financial motivation behind spam is significant. A spammer who sends one million emails might receive responses from only 0.1% of recipients—that's still 1,000 people. If even a few purchase something or fall for a scam, the operation becomes profitable. This is why spam persists despite being annoying to most people.

Common types of spam include promotional emails about products you never requested, phishing messages designed to steal your passwords or financial information, lottery or prize notifications claiming you won something you never entered, job offers that seem too good to be true, and romance scams where someone builds a relationship with you to eventually ask for money.

Practical Takeaway: Recognizing that spam is a numbers game helps you understand why it happens so frequently. Spammers don't need most people to respond—they only need a tiny percentage. This knowledge can help you ignore these messages rather than feel targeted personally.

How Your Information Gets Sold and Shared

Your contact information is valuable. Companies, data brokers, and other organizations buy and sell lists of email addresses and phone numbers constantly. Understanding how your information enters the spam pipeline is the first step in preventing it.

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When you create accounts on websites or apps, you typically provide your email address and sometimes your phone number. The privacy policy for that service may state that they share information with "partners" or "third parties." This often means they sell your information to other companies. Even if a company says they don't sell your information, they may share it with affiliated companies or use it for targeted advertising, which exposes it to more potential spam sources.

Public information is another source. Your name, address, and phone number may be available in public records, property databases, or business directories. Spammers can compile this public information into lists and use it to contact you. Social media profiles also expose information—if your profile is public, anyone can see your email address, phone number, or other details you've posted.

Data breaches present another serious concern. When hackers break into company databases, they steal millions of email addresses and passwords at once. These stolen lists are then sold on the dark web or used to send phishing emails. If your information was part of a major breach, it may be in the hands of criminals for years.

Opt-in lists created through online forms can become spam sources if the website sells the information or if the form itself is a spam collection method. Some websites use forms asking for your email to download a resource or receive a discount, then immediately sell that email to spammers.

Practical Takeaway: Before providing your email or phone number online, check the privacy policy or consider whether that company really needs the information. Use different email addresses for different purposes—one for shopping, one for banking, one for social media—so that if one gets sold to spammers, your other accounts remain protected.

Filtering and Blocking Spam on Email

Email is the most common channel for spam. Most email providers offer built-in tools to reduce spam in your inbox. Learning to use these tools effectively can significantly reduce unwanted messages.

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Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and other major email providers automatically filter suspicious messages into a spam or junk folder. This filtering works by analyzing the sender's reputation, the message content, and patterns of spam. These systems are quite effective—they catch an estimated 99.9% of spam before it reaches your inbox. However, they occasionally miss some spam or incorrectly flag legitimate messages as spam, so check your spam folder regularly to ensure important messages aren't trapped there.

You can manually filter emails by creating rules. In Gmail, you can use the "Filter and Block" feature to automatically send messages from certain addresses to spam or delete them entirely. Outlook offers similar filtering options. These manual filters are useful if you receive repeated spam from the same sender. Most email providers allow you to create filters based on sender address, subject line keywords, or message content.

The unsubscribe link appears in most legitimate marketing emails. These links are typically found at the bottom of the message. Clicking them removes your address from that company's mailing list. However, only use unsubscribe links for emails from companies you recognize. Spammers sometimes use fake unsubscribe links that confirm your email is active, leading to more spam. A general rule: if you didn't sign up for the mailing list and don't recognize the company, don't click unsubscribe.

Creating a secondary email address for shopping, newsletters, and non-essential signups protects your primary email from spam. Many people maintain one email for important accounts (banking, work, family) and another for online shopping and newsletter subscriptions. Since your secondary email is more likely to be sold to spammers, keeping spam separated makes your important email easier to manage.

Practical Takeaway: Spend 15 minutes setting up email filters for repeat spam senders and review your email provider's spam folder weekly. Enable the strongest spam filtering available in your account settings. For a long-term solution, consider maintaining two email addresses with different purposes.

Managing Text Message and Phone Call Spam

Text message spam, or "smishing," has increased dramatically. Phone spam calls affect millions of people monthly. Unlike email, text messages and calls feel more personal and intrusive, making this type of spam particularly bothersome.

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Text message spam includes promotional texts about products, phishing attempts to steal your passwords, fake package delivery notifications, and tax or bank fraud alerts. Spammers obtain phone numbers through data breaches, public records, or by generating random numbers systematically. They use automated systems to send thousands of text messages per minute, making text spam very profitable despite low response rates.

Most phones have built-in spam filtering. iPhone users can enable "Filter Unknown Senders" in Settings under Messages, which separates messages from unknown numbers into a different folder. Android users can use Google Messages or their carrier's app to enable spam filtering. These filters use databases of known spam numbers to automatically block or flag suspicious messages. However, they cannot catch every spam text, so manual blocking remains necessary.

You can block specific numbers on both iPhone and Android. Open the message from the spam sender, select the number, and choose "Block." This prevents future messages from that number. However, spammers frequently change numbers, so blocking individual numbers provides limited long-term protection. Most carriers also offer spam blocking services through their apps—Verizon's Call Filter, AT&T Call Protect, and T-Mobile Scam Shield are examples. These services cost money for premium versions but offer basic filtering for free.

Never respond to suspicious text messages, even to ask them to stop. Responding confirms your number is active and monitored, encouraging more spam. Never click links in unexpected text messages, even if they appear to be from your bank or a delivery service. Instead, call the company directly using a number you know is legitimate. For example, if you receive a text claiming to be from your bank, don't click the link—call your bank's customer service number from your statement or card.

Phone call spam includes robocalls from businesses claiming you've won a prize, calls threatening legal action, IRS scam calls, and calls impersonating tech support. The Federal Trade Commission reports receiving hundreds of thousands of complaints about robocalls monthly. These calls often use "spoofed" numbers that look local or familiar to increase answer rates. Do not answer questions during these calls or press buttons to be removed, as this confirms your number is active.

Practical Takeaway: Enable spam filtering on your phone through your device settings and carrier app. Do not respond to or click links in suspicious text messages. If you don't recognize a number calling you, let it go to voicemail—legitimate