How to Tell a Spam Email From a Scam
Companies are required by law to provide you with the option to opt out of receiving unsolicited emails by using the Unsubscribe button or link. The only problem? Scammers do the same, except that the button or link contains malware that will steal your personal information. Here’s a look at how you can tell the difference and whether you need to turn off your subscription altogether.
How to recognize a fraudulent email
Luckily, most email services like Gmail or Outlook have good spam detection filters, which means that the vast majority of scam emails sent to your email address are rarely seen. However, some spam emails still appear as either fraudulent promotions that simply ignore anti-spam laws, or outright scams seeking to steal your personal information. They are usually fairly easy to spot in fraudulent emails:
- They are using public domains like “gmail.com” or misspelled the domain.
- The company name is unfamiliar and does not appear in web search results.
- Clicking on a link is required with a sense of urgency that seems unprofessional.
- The email contains many misspellings and strange fonts (often with poorly punctured subject lines such as “We need your confirmation ASAP” or “Request, please confirm your unsubscribe”).
- There is a fake, often oversized link or “unsubscribe” button that can be clicked, although it may also have different shortcuts (“get involved now!” Or “click OK to get started”).
Unfortunately, with fraudulent emails, toggling a button or unsubscribe link simply confirms to the fraudster that your account is active and that you are easily targeted by new fraudulent emails. To make matters worse, these links may contain malware (including ransomware ) that will steal personal information from your computer.
Should you avoid the unsubscribe button altogether?
Generally: if you know and trust the company and understand why you are receiving an email, it is probably safe to toggle “unsubscribe” for messages that are not actually spam (such as a newsletter you recently stopped reading, or annoying follow-up emails from Warby Parker after purchase).
If the email is unknown, unwanted, or just plain weird, leave it marked unread (if possible) and mark it as spam instead. This will mark the email as junk and no further emails will make it to your inbox. Business Insider also suggests blocking individual senders , but this may not be very effective as fraudsters change their address all the time.
Also, for added protection, you might consider a separate “one-time” email with no personal information, used solely for purchases or newsletters. Thus, if spam becomes a big problem, you can simply create a new email account and start over.
Finally, if you are the victim of a fraudulent email, consider reporting it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov .