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Spam and phishing emails are a daily headache for just about everyone.
The intrusive messages clutter your inbox and do nothing but waste your time. So naturally, most users' instinct is to delete them once they've spotted one.
But according to an IT expert, holding onto them might actually work in your favour.
A cybersecurity specialist at PC World explains that spam emails can serve a purpose - strange as it sounds.
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Email providers like Microsoft's Outlook, Yahoo and Gmail use adaptive filters that evolve to recognise unwanted emails more effectively. But for that to happen, they need data to learn from.
So instead of skipping straight to the delete button, here's what you should do.
If you use an email client like Outlook or Thunderbird, mark the message as spam or junk. This helps the software refine its filtering process so similar messages go straight to the spam folder in the future.
Over time, the more spam you categorise, the better the system gets at filtering future junk automatically. And that means less spam for you.
If you check email in a browser like Gmail or Yahoo Mail, use the 'Report spam' or 'Mark as junk' option.
Of course, if the phishing emails are already in your junk folder, you don't need to do anything. By doing this regularly, you’re also helping blacklist spam senders more quickly, making it harder for them to reach other users.
So if you work in an office or a place where you share an email server, you might be saving your coworkers from receiving the same annoying scams.
Thankfully, spam doesn't take up a lot of storage space because most email providers automatically delete them after 30 days if they're in the relevant junk folder. However, if this isn't the case or just to keep things tidy, you should delete the junk folder content yourself once a month.
Also, while it might seem like a good idea to unsubscribe from spam emails, this can actually backfire.
Turns out, many spammers send out messages to randomly generated email addresses, unsure whether they’re hitting real accounts.
The moment you click 'unsubscribe,' you're confirming that your email address is active.
Instead of removing you from their list, they do the exact opposite and bombard you with more spam. Or worse, they can sell your email address to other shady operators.
To avoid falling into spam traps and keep yourself safe online, never click on links or open attachments in emails from unknown senders, don’t interact with suspicious messages and finally, regularly mark junk emails as spam to train your inbox.
