By definition, a spammer is someone who engages in spam activity,
that is, repeatedly sending email messages, usually of an advertising nature.
What is spam?
You could say spamming is the digital plague of the third millennium. Check your inbox.
How many emails are flagged as spam? And how many unwanted messages contain ads or suspicious requests? Adult content, perhaps, too-good-to-be-true money offers or strange requests to confirm your details?
A huge number. You don’t even need to think about it.
And while email is the most common form of spam, today it affects other communication channels too,
such as text messages, social networks, forums and blogs.
Types of spam
In essence, the main purpose of spam is advertising.
In the worst cases, it hides scams or viruses targeting users. Here are the most common types of spam:
- scams These try to convince recipients to make payments or transfer sums of money, large or small, usually through romance messages, job offers or promises of an inheritance.
- phishing Using copies of trusted websites, attackers trick users into handing over sensitive data such as banking passwords and credit card numbers.
- malspam Self-installing malware that can do serious damage to your computer.
Finally, remember that receiving a newsletter you never signed up for can also be considered spam.
How to protect yourself
You don’t need to be an IT expert to protect yourself from spam. A few simple precautions are enough.
As the saying goes, “prevention is better than cure.”
So here are a few tips you can put into practice right away to fight spam.
- Don’t share your email address or personal details carelessly online. Spammers could be behind the sites that collect them.
- If necessary, use secondary email addresses.
- Don’t open attachments or links in messages from unknown senders.
- Use a good paid spam filter.