How to Block Annoying Emails for Good | Gmail, Outlook, iPhone

If your inbox is flooded with spam emails, you’re not alone. spam messages accounted for almost 50 percent of email traffic in September 2020, according to data from statista. Furthermore, of the 293.6 billion emails sent daily in 2019, the majority were promotional emails from marketers. but not all emails in your inbox are harmless advertisements. some could put your device and your security at risk, experts say.

“Over the years, spam from legitimate businesses has gone down a bit, and spam from scammers and thieves has become the norm,” says adam kujawa, an expert at malwarebytes security. Cybercriminals often hide malicious links or software within emails, or trick their victims into sharing personal or financial information in a practice called phishing.

Think twice before clicking “unsubscribe” on that suspicious email. believe it or not, using the “unsubscribe” button could actually backfire, so it’s safer to block the sender through your email provider. experts explain how to block emails using your mail server, what to do if you receive a suspicious email, and why you get these annoying emails in the first place. learn how to block websites in chrome, how to stop text spam, and how to stop spam for good.

why am i getting these emails?

It’s common to receive phishing and spam emails when you provide your email address to dubious websites, such as filling out forms for ads that promise “free stuff.” But these days, even the most careful email users can end up with an avalanche of spam, according to kujawa.

Hackers can steal your email address by breaching the legitimate services and organizations you shared it with, and then selling that information to cybercriminals in hopes of scamming you. (That’s not the only scary thing hackers can do with your email address.) companies and advertisers also share public contact lists to send mass marketing emails.

Fortunately, most email providers (including Gmail, iPhone, Outlook, Yahoo, Hotmail, and AOL) allow users to block spam and unwanted email on their platforms. “Blocking spam is often as simple as notifying your provider by marking something as spam,” according to Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions, a cybersecurity company. Follow this step-by-step guide to block emails with each mail server.

how to block emails in gmail

web browser

1. open an email from the sender you want to block
2. click the three dotted “plus” icon in the upper right corner
3. click “block “

application

1. open an email from the sender you want to block
2. tap the three-dot “plus” icon in the upper right corner
3. select “block sender”

how to block emails on iphone

1. open the mail app
2. open an email from the sender you want to block
3. tap the sender’s name
4. tap the given address next to “from” in the header
5. select “block this contact”
6. confirm that you want to block the contact

FYI, phishing emails are just one of the top smartphone security threats in 2021.

how to block emails in outlook

web browser

1. open an email from the sender you want to block
2. click the three horizontal dots in the upper right corner
3. select “block”

application

1. open an email from the sender you want to block
2. tap the three dots icon in the top right corner
3. select “move to spam”

desk

1. right-click an email from the sender you want to block
2. click “junk” > “block sender”

how to block emails on yahoo

web browser

1. open an email from the sender you want to block
2. click the three dots icon at the top of the email
3. click “block sender “

application

1. tap the menu in the upper left corner
2. select “tools” > “filters”
3. tap the “+” icon in the upper right corner
4. choose a name for the new filter
5. type the email address you want block in the “sender” field

how to block emails in hotmail

1. click “start” > “parameter” > “view all outlook settings”
2. click “email” > “spam email” > “filters”
3. type the name of the sender in “blocked senders”

how to block emails on aol

1. Under your username, click “mail options/settings”
2. click the “block senders” tab
3. enter the email address email you want to block
4. click the “+” icon
5. select “save settings”

what to do if you receive a suspicious email

Ignoring suspicious emails is the surest way to protect yourself against hackers and thieves. “As long as you don’t click on any unknown or unsolicited links, attachments, or file downloads, you will have done almost everything you can to prevent any attack on your computer or your data,” says James E. Lee, the director of operations for the identity theft resource center.

If you receive an email from someone you trust but are unsure about the link or attachment, payton recommends contacting the sender or running the link or attachment through virustotal, a free online service that scans suspicious files and urls for malware. And before you respond to the email, watch out for serious signs that you’re about to fall for a phishing scam.

how to avoid receiving spam/junk emails

Don’t waste time clicking “unsubscribe” on every spam email you receive. Not only could you accidentally click on a malicious link, but it’s also “a little Band-Aid on a much larger wound,” Kujawa says. If you’re getting a lot of spam, experts suggest starting over with two new email accounts: one for marketing offers and one for private emails with friends and family. payton recommends using an email service that has a more rigorous spam filter, such as proton mail.

Once you have a new email address, be sure to limit when and with whom you share it. “You should only share personal information with trusted organizations and only when necessary,” Lee says. He also suggests protecting your accounts with privacy tools like multi-factor authentication (MFA), if possible. stay ahead of hackers by stealing the secrets of people who never get hacked.

sources:

• statista.com: “Global spam volume as a percentage of total email traffic from January 2014 to September 2020, by month”
• adam kujawa, director of labs at malwarebytes
• Theresa Payton, author of Manipulated: Inside Cyber ​​Warfare to Hijack Elections and Distort the Truth and Executive Director of Fortress Solutions
• James E. Lee, Director of Operations, Identity Theft Resource Center
• virustotal.com