Why am I suddenly getting so many spam emails?

Nobody enjoys getting spam mail – it's one of the few things that anybody who's ever used the internet can agree on. Personally, I can't stand going into my inbox, seeing random, irrelevant emails, and knowing that a large chunk of these emails are scams hoping for a click.

Receiving some spam mail is normal, and comes with the territory, but if you experience a sudden increase in the number of these nuisances, there could be a few reasons why.

Keep reading, and I'll walk you through some of the most common causes of spam email influxes and how to put a stop to them.

What are spam emails?

Spam mail is, in a nutshell, emails sent en masse to a list of users.

There are legitimate instances of spam mail (though this doesn't stop them from being annoying or unwanted). If you've signed up for a newsletter or agreed to hand over an email address when purchasing something, for instance, you might be added to a mailing list. Fortunately, most legitimate spam mail allows you to unsubscribe from said list. Phew!

The nastier type of spam messages are crafted and sent by cybercriminals. They hope that you'll click on the message, follow a link and, ultimately, somehow fork over your personal information.

Some spam mail directs recipients to bogus shopping sites, other bad actors might craft a spam message to look like a delivery notice. Either way, it's malicious.

Why am I receiving so much spam?

Let's get into some of the most common causes of sudden influxes of spam emails:

• Data breach. If you've signed up for a lot of services, sites, or newsletters, your data could be involved in a data breach. Cybercriminals use leaked data for their own nefarious ends – like launching phishing scams or committing identity fraud.
• Mailing lists. Some marketing mailing lists are curated without sender permission, resulting in excessive spam mail.
• Clicking on spam. Interacting with a spam email – on purpose or otherwise – can confirm that the recipient is active and result in more incoming messages.
• Weak spam filters. If the reader's email provider has weak spam filters, they may not be able to detect and deflect spam messages (as well as other threats, like phishing scams).

I'd be remiss not to point out that spam emails start appearing the moment you set up an email address.

In other words, once you have a valid email address, you open yourself up to the possibility that someone, somewhere is likely to notice and try to exploit it to send you unsolicited emails.

The solution to stopping spam emails isn't to simply delete your email and live as an offline nomad. Instead, you kind of have to deal with the fact that some spam traffic is normal, but even with that being said, there are many ways you can limit the amount of spam you receive in the future.

How to reduce the amount of spam you receive

For the most part, it takes some sort of action or intervention to prevent spam emails. There are several steps you can take to reduce the amount of spam emails you receive, including:

• Unsubscribe. If you've signed up for a ton of newsletters, online publications, and such, it's worth unsubscribing. However, even though unsubscribing is usually pretty straightforward, you should only unsubscribe to emails that you know are legitimate (i.e. those you remember signing up for in the first place).
• Steer clear of suspicious emails. When it comes to emails that aren't legitimate, it's always better to ignore or delete them without interacting with them. In other words, if an email appears suspicious, don't open or click on any links in it – simply hit the delete button.
• Be liberal with blocking and reporting. If you block the email sender or address that sent the spam email, you'll also delete the message itself and prevent the sender from sending more. Similarly, if you report spam emails, this helps your email provider improve its spam filters, potentially reducing the amount of future spam you receive.
• Adjust your email settings. It's also worth bumping up your email privacy settings and reviewing who can and cannot send you mail. Simultaneously, tweaking third-party permissions also goes a long way in keeping your inbox spam-free.
• Review your contacts. Head into your contacts list to ensure that only trusted senders are included in it.
• Use an alternative email address. If you're serious about your online security, creating a second email address to use solely for signing up for sites and services is a stellar idea. It prevents your main email address from being involved in data breaches or added to lists. Plus, Surfshark, one of today's best VPNs, has a nifty Alternative ID feature you can use to generate a temporary email address in just a few clicks.