Communication spam, often referred to simply as “spam,” generally refers to the practice of sending unsolicited, irrelevant, or inappropriate messages to a large number of recipients, typically for advertising or malicious purposes. It’s called “spam” because it fills up your inbox (or other communication medium) with unwanted content, much like the canned meat Spam is often used to bulk up a meal.
Communication spam can happen across many different channels:
- Email spam: This is the most commonly recognized form of spam. It consists of unsolicited bulk emails sent to many people at once. These can include sales pitches, scams, and even harmful software.
- SMS spam: This type of spam involves unsolicited messages sent via SMS or text messaging. This can also include sales pitches and scams.
- Social Media spam: These are unsolicited messages sent or posted over social media platforms. They might appear as unwanted direct messages, comments on posts, or posts in groups or on pages.
- Call spam: This includes robocalls and other unsolicited calls often used for telemarketing or scams.
Spamming is generally seen as a nuisance because of its disruptive and often repetitive nature. It’s also often associated with scams and fraudulent activities. Laws and regulations, such as the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States, have been enacted to combat spam, and tech companies employ various methods to filter out spam and protect users.
What are the Signs of Spam?
Whether you’re dealing with email, text messages, social media messages, or even phone calls, there are common signs that can indicate you’re dealing with spam. Here are some red flags to look out for:
- Unsolicited communication: If you didn’t sign up for it and don’t recognize the sender, it could be spam.
- Generic greetings: Many spam messages start with a vague “Dear Customer” or “Dear Sir/Madam.”
- Poor spelling and grammar: If the message is riddled with spelling errors, odd phrasing, and bad grammar, it’s likely spam.
- Unrealistic offers: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be especially wary of messages claiming you’ve won a lottery or sweepstakes that you don’t remember entering.
- Requests for personal information: Legitimate companies usually don’t ask for sensitive information like your password, credit card number, or social security number via email or text message.
- Pressure tactics: Many spam messages create a sense of urgency, insisting you must act now or something bad will happen.
- Suspicious links or attachments: These could lead to malicious software or phishing sites designed to steal your personal information.
- Misspelled domain names or email addresses: Spammers often use email addresses and URLs that look similar to legitimate ones, but with minor typos or extra characters.
- No option to unsubscribe: Legitimate marketing emails are required to offer a way to opt out of future communications. If there’s no way to unsubscribe, it’s likely spam.
- Inconsistent formatting: Often, spam messages will have strange layouts, font sizes, or mismatched logos, which can be a sign that the message is not from a professional organization.
If you come across a message that raises these or other suspicions, it’s best not to engage, not to click on any links or download any attachments, and to delete the message. If you’re unsure whether a message is spam, you can always reach out to the supposed sender (via a known, trusted method, not by replying to the suspicious message) to verify.
How Can You Protect Yourself From Spam?
There are several strategies to protect yourself from spam:
- Use spam filters: Most email services provide a spam or junk filter that automatically identifies and separates spam emails from your regular inbox. Always make sure this feature is turned on.
- Be careful when sharing your email address: Try not to publicize your email address widely and be cautious about who you give it to. Consider using a secondary email address for signing up for newsletters or online services.
- Don’t open or respond to spam: If you recognize an email as spam before you open it, don’t open it. If you do open a spam email, do not reply or click on any links or attachments.
- Beware of phishing attempts: Be very careful with emails asking for personal information. Legitimate businesses generally do not ask for sensitive personal information over email.
- Update your software: Regularly update your device’s operating system and your email software. These updates often include security improvements that can help protect against spam and phishing attacks.
- Use antivirus software: Install and update antivirus software on your devices. This software can protect against malware that might come in through spam emails or other spam messages.
- Don’t purchase from spammers: Spammers keep spamming because it works. Never buy a product or service from a spam email.
- Report spam: Report spam to your email provider. Most email services have a button to report spam. This not only helps you by improving the spam filter, but it also helps others by improving the overall system.
- Use strong, unique passwords: This helps protect your email account from being hacked and used to send out spam.
- Unsubscribe when you can: If the spam email comes from a legitimate business, there will often be an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the email. Use this to stop receiving these types of emails.
These strategies will help you reduce the amount of spam you receive and protect your devices and your personal information.
Spam and the Risk of Identity Theft
Spam can potentially lead to identity theft through a process known as phishing.
Phishing is a technique used by cybercriminals where they send emails or messages that appear to be from legitimate companies. These messages usually ask you to confirm your personal information, including your password, credit card number, social security number, or other sensitive details. If you respond with the requested information, the criminals can use it to access your accounts, steal your identity, and commit fraud.
A related technique is spear phishing, where the cybercriminals use information they’ve gathered about you to personalize their messages and make them seem more convincing.
In addition, some spam emails or messages contain links to websites or attachments that, when clicked or opened, can install malicious software (malware) on your device. This malware can capture your keystrokes, access your files, or otherwise gather your personal information, which can then be used for identity theft.
For these reasons, it’s important to be vigilant when dealing with unexpected or suspicious messages, even if they appear to be from a company or individual you recognize. Always double-check the sender’s email address, be cautious about providing personal information online, and avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in suspicious emails. Regularly updating your devices and using security software can also help protect you from malware and phishing attempts.