Junk Email - Spam, Unsubscribe, or Both?
 

When I start to get a large number of spam emails, I have used the spam button and the unsubscribe button. Some people will say to not use the unsubscribe option, because it can have the opposite effect. But, sometimes, it allows you to unsubscribe from multiple senders, and it seems to have some effect. I cannot determine which option is better. Also, is the spam button supposed to prevent future emails from that sender, or does that depend on the email provider? I still use AOL, but I know I am out-of-date.

Every time you use the unsubscribe button, you send a ping back to the sender acknowledging that you are an actual person who can be reached. Spam senders, bots, and AI programs all love that, it means they can send you more. It also teaches the AI programs the patterns of the ones you reject, so they can become more intelligent and try different types of e-mails that you haven't rejected (yet). That means eventually they'll hit on one that you open.

The only things you should do with spam e-mail:

1. move to spam box/mark as spam
2. use "delete all" or "empty" to empty the spam box once a month
3. if you suspect one of them is actually malicious and appears to be from a legitimate company, forward it to that company's web security department (most people won't do this step but it's an option).

That's it. Don't open them, don't read them, don't respond to them, don't ask your mail service to send them a message to unsubscribe.

What the Spam and Unsubscribe buttons do are functions of your mail tool. The most likely explanation is Spam moves the message to the Spam (or Junk) folder while Unsubscribe sends a message back to the sender to take you off their list.

I avoid Unsubscribe. I assume that most of the Spam mail I receive are from people trying to rip me off and therefore I have no expectation they would honor an unsubscribe request. On the contrary, I would expect that any response from me would instead put me on a list of live humans they might be able to scam in the future.

I use the Spam button and let the mail go to the Spam folder. This doesn't stop future messages but it automatically moves them out of the way. I look at the folder occasionally to make sure their is nothing in there that I would have liked to see; if I find something then I tell the tool that this particular message is not Spam. My system is configured to delete anything in that folder that is more than 30 days old so it never grows larger than a couple hundred messages.

Just send it to spam and be done with it.

I hit the block sender box and I’m done with it until the next person sends the same email.

I don't think I have a block sender box.

For senders I subscribed to I use the unsubscribed button. Delete all the others.

Bad idea to click on links to unsubscribe even from senders you subscribe to. Instead, go to their website, log into your account there, and find the mail preferences options in your account. Unsubscribe from there.

Otherwise you could be clicking on a link of a phishing scammer who is spoofing (pretending to be) the company you subscribe to.

Just mark it as spam. Never to see your inbox again

I primarily use gmail. I use unsubsribe only for websites that i am thoroughly familiar with and have an account.

Gmail has the ability to easily design your own filters to block any email. You can block by email domain, specific words or phrases in either subject, sender or email content. With these filters you can auto move messages to any folder or auto delete. It is very easy to create/edit filters.

I prefer create my own filters instead of “send to spam”. “Send to spam” has the effect of google sometimes calling mail spam when it is not. The filters you create are not subject to googles interpretation and do not falsely move something to spam when it is not. To create/edit email filters you must log into gmail with your browser

I rarely get spam in my inbox now.

In General, do not click on anything within an email.

Once you click, you are downloading........downloading a new link, a file, a virus, etc.

Block if you can.

i put a spam email in junk mail. it allowed the sender to take over my email address. It took my friend nearly 2 hours to get it back.

The wrong sender can use the unsubscribe to spread your email even farther and wider. I will only unsubscribe if I recognize the outfit.
Another issue is email unsubscribes force you to use script they supply to remove you. Do you trust them ?
All unsubscribes should be required to be simple html code and nothing nefarious.

Usually when something has been ordered online, the vendor will continue to send emails, in which case you can Unsubscribe. However, if it’s obviously junk e-mail, then with AOL it’s best to send to Spam only. That way AOL knows to stop sending that vendor ever again and the vendor has no idea if you’re an active e-mail or not.

Be careful about what you mark as spam. Your marking something as spam can affect others. Your marking goes back to the mail servers and teaches their spam filters. Once past a certain threshold, the mail server considers mail from that sender as spam and relegates it to the spam folders of other subscribers who use that mail service.

Ah, you say, that's good. Yes, ... for real spam. But what if it is something that someone else actually wants to see, such as the receipts that confirm automatic bill payment, or notices from the USPS about today's arrivals? Those too go to spam once enough people "just mark it as spam."

I want to see when my money is being spent, but too often find those receipts in the spam folder because someone either doesn't know the difference between legitimate mail and spam or finds it easier to "just mark it as spam."

If it is mail from a legitimate sender, that you don't want but might be useful to someone else, the polite thing to do is unsubscribe.

I hear there Is there a "Black List" that must people are on where most scam e-mails and junk are created??

Email programs usually show a preview of the messages received. Does this constitute "opening" the email? Should the preview function be turned off?

It likely depends on the mail program you are using (web browser, outlook, other standalone tool, etc). You can try looking online for recommended security settings for the tool you use.

The concern is that fully loading a message can automatically follow links and retrieve content that could be harmful to your computer. Some tools and configurations might retrieve the entire message when it is received while other will only show the subject line or the text-only portions of a message until the user allows the rest of the content.

Look in your settings for something along the lines of "Privacy and Security." Disable anything that involves automatically retrieving content or allowing remote content or allow images. You should think hard about enabling anything that sounds like the tool is making it easier for content to get onto your computer.

Some steps that I take:
- Disable any automatic retrieval
- Enable automatic SPAM filtering (I never open anything in the SPAM/JUNK folder)
- If the subject is obviously a scam, delete the message without even looking at it, even before a preview if that's possible
- Don't allow the tool to retrieve any images or content until I'm comfortable the message is legitimate
- Only if I trust the sender and the subject and if I really need to images do I allow the tool to retrieve those - if I can get the gist of the message without the images then I don't need to take that risk
- RARELY do I open emails containing forwarded jokes

Spam
 

Delete, delete, delete!!!

I agree, unsubscribe it & don’t open it, because as soon as you do they’ll know they have a live person. Delete it or unsubscribe it, just don’t open it. Then they’ll never know if you got it, just don’t open it!

///

Well.... here's the deal. From a cybersecurity persepctive, IF you are going to hit unsubscribe you are best to do that using a different technique. Use your smartphone, leave the email in junk folder because you well see the link not the button, and also be on a VPN when you do it. For 100% of the cases this will eventually (5-10 days ) get rid of 80% of the junk. Worst is mint mobile, unsubscribe can take almost a year to finally catch.

As for all those that do not have an unsubscribe hyperlink - delete these you click on anything in that email and annoying things will start happening. In some cases you can block them off, some not, this depends on yrou email client and service. Best to find a way to block them off.

Also just because it's in your inbox doesn't mean it's not junk, many are sliding by these days, and we see the numbers increasing weekly. These are best to mark as junk and then follow the above instructions.

Lastly ALWAYS do everything behind a VPN, and preferably not Nord, etc. We use proton. it's far better than any one here. Reason is USA VPNs must keep logs, so your P in VPN is a lie.

be careful when doing this, it is the only way to actually get rid of them without them 'picking up your scent'

When I start to get a large number of spam emails, I have used the spam button and th
 

Think you are talking about a PC, what would you do on a Mac?

Yes, I noticed that about VPN, the iPad seemed to always know the regular address. I remember the good ol’ days when on the mainframe you could rout through computers around the world and no one could find you. But for identifying sources of scam I can see the current situation as useful.

I don't know. I have never used a Mac.

You may be referring to the Dark Web. Occasionally I’ve received an email from a creditor like Chase who claims that my email is on the Dark Web. In this case, it’s very important to change your email password to stop the trail of junk mail because your email has been confirmed as legitimate.

In general, the rule of thumb is to mark junk email as Spam and Unsubscribe from email that you simple wish to stop forwarding ads or information.