Massive fraud campaign: Over 8,000 domains, including big names like MSN and eBay, fell victim to a spam scheme. “SubdoMailing” sends millions of deceptive emails daily, bypassing spam filters, duping folks into clicking and then raking in ad bucks. FYI: Domain owners, use this “checker” to make sure you’re safe. Everyone else, double-check any email that asks for money or account updates.
Reader question: Is it safe to hit the ‘unsubscribe’ button on spam?
I got an email from a reader asking if hitting the “unsubscribe” button in her inbox is smart. Like many things in tech, it depends. In some cases, reacting to spammers might make your email a hot commodity, leading to more unwanted emails or even a spot on a “for sale” list.
Here’s the lowdown on how to stop getting emails you don’t want — without opening yourself up to more junk.
It could go one of two ways
With reputable companies, clicking unsubscribe should do the trick. If you’re receiving newsletters or promotional emails from brands you know, they generally follow email marketing regulations.
For unsolicited spam from unknown senders? Clicking unsubscribe may indeed make things worse. You inadvertently confirm that your email address is active … possibly leading to even more spam.
‘How do I know what to pick, Kim?’
Stick to familiar ground: If the email is from a trusted source (think brands you’ve shopped with or newsletters you’ve signed up for), go ahead and hit that unsubscribe button.
Dodge the unknown: If it’s a random email about a long-lost prince or a miracle cure, steer clear of the unsubscribe link. Mark the email as spam in your email client.
For Outlook:
- Select the messages you want to report as junk.
- From the top toolbar, select Report > Report Junk.
For Apple Mail:
- On your iPhone or iPad, swipe left on the message, tap More, then Move to Junk.
Scammers' latest trick: Getting you to open a OneNote document
Cybercriminals have been spreading malware through phishing emails for quite a while. But a new twist is making the rounds catching victims off guard. Instead of using malicious Word docs to spread malware, they have turned their attention to OneNote documents.
Inbox full of junk? 5 simple ways to stop spam for good
Go to your email inbox and click on your spam folder. See those rows and rows of quarantined emails? Imagine them filling up your main inbox instead. Spam is a real issue for anyone with an email account.
While built-in spam filters for Gmail or other email clients can help temper the issue, they can’t do all of the heavy lifting. Spam emails can still slip through, not only wreaking havoc on your tidy inbox but also sometimes bringing phishing schemes or malware along with them. Tap or click here for a recent example.
Phishing alert: See a tricky password-stealing scam in action
Phishing campaigns are among the most dangerous cyber threats we face today. This isn’t because they’re particularly clever or hard to stop, but because of how quick they are to change and adapt to our defenses.
Just when we think we’ve figured out an attack pattern from the scammers behind these campaigns, they change up tactics and deploy better graphics, malicious attachments and more sophisticated messages. Tap or click here to see if you can pass this phishing practice test.
How to make sure important email isn’t marked as spam in Gmail, Apple Mail, Yahoo, AOL
The perks of email messaging made modern-day communications instantaneous and easy to deploy. Tap or click here for Gmail alternatives. But these same conveniences also makes it a trivial matter for spammers to duplicate and massively send out millions of junk email in seconds.