Tips to Avoid Getting Spam in Your Inbox
1. Use a fake email address
There are times when you need to leave your email address somewhere online, and that is where the spam bots are actively searching for email addresses to add to their database. To avoid having your inbox invaded by spam, the best way is to use a fake email address or write it in a way that a spambot can´t associate it with an email address, like fake email at Gmail dot com. (writing it out in words). Only do this if it’s necessary, but whenever you can, avoid giving out your email address online where a bot can easily read it.
2. Use a different username
You probably have a secondary email address just for the purpose of collecting newletters from your favorite sites, but to keep your main Email address safe from spam avoid using a username on forums and sites that is identical to your primary email address. If someone wants to send you spam, it’s as easy as completing the email address with the major email providers. It’s probably either going to be Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook.
3. Never share your email address on social networks
Remember, never share your email address on social networks. If you do you are asking to be bombarded with spam. Various social networks have their own tools for other people to contact you, so you never have to divulge your email address publicly.
4. Setting up a filter
If you are using Gmail, or if your email service comes with a Spam Filter feature, you can set it up to filter spam (most of us have already done this, hopefully), and if for some odd reason spam manages to get into your inbox, erase it immediately and never open it or send it to anyone. Tell your friends and family about BCC (Blind Carbon Copy since it allows the sender to hide the person in the BCC field from other people) when forwarding an email with many email addresses attached to it.
Tools to Help You Avoid Spam
If you need to give out your email address, whether you want to try an online app or try using aliases, an excellent tool that will help you with that is 33Mail. This way you can block unwanted mail. You can also protect your email address behind a test from Scr.im. The tool is very easy to use since you only have to type in your email address. You will be given a short URL that comes with a custom HTML. If the person who wants your email address manages to pass the simple test and proves to be human, they will be rewarded with your email address.
Telling your friends and family never to sign you up for anything they think you might like is also a must. The intention is good, signing you up to receive a newsletter about the latest laptops that are coming out since they know you have been shopping for one, but that can easily lead to you getting spam.
Conclusion
Spam is and will always be very annoying. We have to do whatever is within our reach to try and avoid it, and these tips will help. How do you avoid getting spam in your inbox? Let us know in the comments.
