28 Jun Getting an increase in spam emails? You aren’t alone

Dealing with junk email in 2022 and what to do about it

The internet is no stranger to spam. In the earliest days of the web, pop-ups plagued websites and junk mail was common. Then, filters were installed into emails and the problem was less severe. However, these days spam mail has returned with a vengeance, and people are experiencing the problem on a larger scale more than ever.

This presents a serious problem. Junk and spam emails are not just obnoxious offers for products you may never use. Often, they’re part of social engineering and phishing campaigns. They also highlight a serious problem: a person or network’s credentials has been sold off to lists/contacts they did not originally approve of. One day things are fine, the next you abruptly see eight different messages from random websites and contacts pitching you everything from random insurance to garden-tool discounts.

Those filters we relied on are buckling under the deluge of junk. Additionally, hijacking credentials is much easier for hackers and spammers. In some cases, your info is sold on markets, legally or otherwise, cast into the void of oceanic spam offers.

The dangers of spam

Ultimately, junk and spam email are trying to wrestle information and money out of you. How they got your email is another matter entirely. The reasons for that vary, so for now we’ll focus on dealing with spam.

Obviously, risking your personal information invites other problems. It could be used for social engineering attacks or even ransomware. In other cases, trying to charge you for services (or deceive you into purchasing subscriptions/services you don’t need). Some information can even lead to spam campaigns like spam/vishing calls. It’s not a coincidence you’ve received bot-calls with rising frequency over the past several years.

So, outside of being a general nuisance, info theft is a critical threat factor regarding spam and junk mail.

• Global and/or controversial events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a foundation for misinformation and subjects
• Less cybersecurity
• Increase in remote working environments

Spam is becoming such an issue, it’s estimated at least 85% of emails received are spam messages. And, they’re still grossly effective. Many still lose money as a result of financially-based scams, even the classic “Nigerian prince” subject.

Countering spam emails

With such a critical rise in spam and junk messages, the question remains: what can you do about it? First, it’s important to learn about phishing techniques and trends. Part of protection is understanding the typical signs of a phishing and/or junk messages.

Typical signs of junk mail are taglines and headers with numerous syntax and spelling errors. They also usually involve offers for a service you don’t want, or haven’t heard about (insurance, discounts). The messages usually include links to other websites which attempt to hijack the recipient’s information, or at the least, sign them onto a mailing service.

But, knowing the characteristics of a spam message isn’t enough to stop them entirely. And again, even with filters built into mainstream email services like Gmail and Outlook (old Hotmail) can’t catch them all. As statistics show, they don’t.

Some simply close or archive their older emails entirely, but as long as mailing lists exists, chances are you will experience spam in some capacity.

As a business, you’re a prime target for junk mail and phishing attempts.

Using software tools to guard against spam

With a surge in spam – which will continue to spike based on trends – the best resources for protection involve software tools for your enterprise.

Bytagig offers a range of tools and services suited for business protection to filter out spam emails. Those services include:

• Proofpoint
• Mimecast
• Datto
• Veeam
• Axcient

There’s also comprehension training and data-driven analytics to better identify threat-traffic from questionable sources. The goal, ultimately, is to learn spam email patterns in hopes to cut them out completely.

Given the risk factors involved with something even as simple as spam emails, it’s very important to protect your inbox and information.

Find out more how Bytagig can help you and your enterprise by contacting us today.