Summary: Spam often includes an unsubscribe link, yet you were never subscribed in the first place. "Unsubscribing" will likely only make matters worse.
I am receiving a lot of unwanted e-mails from diet pills to pet supplies and I don't want to keep deleting 100 e-mails every time I check my mail. I hate going into each e-mail one-by-one to unsubscribe and I don't know how safe it is for me to open those e-mails in the first place. I was wondering is there an easy free way to unsubscribe without needing to open the e-mail.
•
I know that it's confusing, but there are emails that you should unsubscribe from, and emails that you absolutely should never unsubscribe from.
I'll explain why that is, and what the relatively simple rules turn out to be.
•
What you are getting is most likely spam. Spam is sent to random email addresses. You haven't been "subscribed" - you're just getting it like many people do: at random.
Since you haven't been subscribed, there's nothing really to unsubscribe from, and doing so will not help.
In fact, it'll likely make matters worse.
You might be asking "if I'm not subscribed, then why is there an unsubscribe link?".
Like I said, spam is sent out at random and to email addresses that are both legitimate and not. The act of clicking that "unsubscribe" link actually confirms to the spammer that the address that reached you is a real email address with a real person.
And once they know that the email address is legitimate, they'll start sending you MORE, not less, spam.
"Unsubscribing" from spam will only get you more spam.
However...
As a newsletter publisher myself, I do want to emphasize that when you're ready to stop a legitimate mailing, you do want to use the unsubscribe link - do not click "this is spam". When you click on "this is spam" for legitimate email that may cause other people - people who want it - to stop getting it.
So there are things that you should unsubscribe from, and there are things that you should never unsubscribe from.
The rules are actually fairly simple:
-
If you subscribed to a newsletter, clicked "yes, send me more info" or have some kind of a business relationship with the entity sending you email, then it's probably legitimate mail and you should use the unsubscribe link.
-
If you've never heard of the sender and have no relationship with whatever is being promoted or discussed in the email then it's likely spam and you should not use the unsubscribe link.
It's unfortunate that we even have to think about these things, but the fact is spam continues to be a problem. Fortunately, a few moments of thought ("is this email legitimate?") and the simple rules above should make it fairly clear on when it is, and is not, safe to unsubscribe.
For the spam, look into any of a number of anti-spam solutions and/or filters provided by your email program or ISP.
And never use the "This is Spam" button on email that you asked for.
Related:
-
How do I get rid of all this spam?!?! Spam is getting worse, there's no question. What can you do about it? There's no magic answer, but there are various thing you can do to help.
-
Why shouldn't I use the "Report Spam" or "Junk" button? The "Report Spam" and "Junk" link serve an important function in the war against spam. However, used improperly they can do much more harm than good.
-
Why is there so much spam? Even though most of us might never fall for it the reason there's so much spam is quite simple: spam works.
Article C3839 - August 15, 2009
Take a look at: http://firetrust.com/en/products/mailwasher-pro
Their product, Mailwasher, lets you preview your e-mail and bounce messages back as if you never existed. You can keep messages from ever entering your e-mail program. I've been using if for several years and have pretty near solved my spam problems.
Posted by: Alan Taplow at August 18, 2009 7:54 AMOn the other hand, some legitimate emailers do not bother to pull you from their subscriber list after you have unsubscribed. The only way I have found on these is to mark as spam or setup a filter for them, and quite frankly, a single click on "This is spam" is easier.
18-Aug-2009
Posted by: Shawn at August 18, 2009 8:01 AM
One other thing! I've used Hotmail for years. I used to get tons of spam in my inbox. But for the last few years, I get very few. Microsoft has done a good job of improving their filters. Granted, they could probably do better, but I have to say that I am quite satisfied with the service.
Posted by: Shawn at August 18, 2009 8:08 AMI too have been using Mail Washer for several years and find it to be a very effective spam prevention tool. Very easy to use. My ISP also provides "Barracuda", an anti-spam program. This combination is working well.
Posted by: Pete Ross at August 18, 2009 12:12 PMI, too have been using Mailwasher for years (bought the "pro" version to deal with multiple accounts) but the "bounce" facility is questionable these days. What spammer is going to take the trouble to sift through bouncers and bother to stop sending the stuff to particular addresses? After all, it costs them virtually nothing to just keep on sending, regardless. The few I do get, I just delete on the server.
Posted by: David at August 18, 2009 1:15 PMGMail is excellent for trapping spam. I have it set up on Thunderbird and just go the spam webpage folder a couple of times a week to make sure nothing has gone in there which is legit (rarely happens) and just leave it. Stuff in there gets deleted automatically, anyway.
AFTER BUYING AN ITEM FROM A FIRM I COULD NOT UNSUBSCRIBE TO THEIR CONSTANT E-MAILS. THEIR CHANGE OF ADDRESS WORKED AND I SIMPLY CHANGED TO A FICTITIOUS ADDRESS.
Posted by: TOM T. at August 19, 2009 12:46 AMi get tons of spam in my Yahoo box. Mainly,a lot of junkmail and schemes. Opera and Hotmail does a very good job of filtering out the trash.Occasionly,a piece of junk,but no emails promising large amounts of cash. I NEVER click to these links,though I sometimes read the letter. I'm considering closing my Yahoo account because of the large volume of junk and ripoffs I receive.
Posted by: Charles Tilley at August 19, 2009 9:02 AMSPAMCOP...it works, but it is not immediate. It costs $30/yr and its reporting system actually causes the spammers to lose their accounts, one by one. Though Mailwasher gives immediate satisfaction, bouncing does not work in the long run. Spammers need to be physically shut out of their email accounts, one by one.
Posted by: Christine at August 20, 2009 10:06 AMI handle this problem by using the "select all" option upon opening my e-mail inbox. Then I read through the list and deselect the e-mail that I want to read - if I don't know who it is, I don't need it. Then I hit the delete button and all of the stuff I don't want goes away. Usualy 50 e-mails ends up as 5 or so.
Posted by: Charles Mulhern at August 22, 2009 10:29 PMI use Block Sender for spam mail yet I don't see other people saying this. What are your thoughts on using this method?
27-Aug-2009
Posted by: Carolyn McRae at August 27, 2009 1:23 AM