Emails are critical channels that streamline and facilitate effective communication. However, sometimes, you might receive unsolicited emails from random companies and individuals you’ve never heard of. There are a thousand and one reasons why you are getting emails from someone you don’t know. Sometimes, it’s a mistake. Other times, it could be a targeted effort of scammers. Continue reading to learn why you keep getting emails from people you don’t know.
You clicked a link provided in an email from an unknown sender.
Cybersecurity experts warn us never to click the links found in unsolicited emails we can’t independently confirm. Doing so makes us vulnerable to certain security risks. Sometimes, the sender may appear legitimate, and they target their victims at random. These are often known as phishing scams. However, note that no reputable organization will request sensitive information such as passwords or other critical information online.
Phishing scams are continually evolving, and scammers worldwide target a list of emails and send out phishing emails. Generally, phishing emails contain typographical or grammatical errors and a suspicious-looking email address. When you get emails from someone you don’t know, consider using your preferred search engine or popular email lookup tool. Thanks to technological advancements, you can use a free email lookup that offers reverse email lookup services to find out who has been spam-emailing you.
The best email lookup tool lets you find a person’s email address and perform free searches. You can access contact information, phone numbers, business information, background checks, and email address information with a powerful tool. Find a free tool that can help your find the social media profiles, last name, criminal records, and IP address data of the sender.
You unknowingly subscribed to a frivolous mailing list.
One good rule is to use your personal or professional email address for official use and avoid signing up for mailing lists, contests, apps, or online services. Scammers and con artists can track an email list and pick emails from the list of email addresses to spam, so consider creating a separate email account to subscribe to mailing lists and other online services.
Most of the time, spam emails come from a fake email address or unidentified sender. Of course, you could get legitimate emails from unrecognized senders like newsletters, authentication requests, or password resets. The bottom line is that you should know the sender or have a tangible reason for getting a random email.
You gave out your email to unknown companies.
Practicing good email habits involves limiting how you give out your email address. Private and corporate entities want people’s email addresses for different reasons ranging from weekly newsletter services to retail rewards programs. You probably didn’t realize they’ll use your email address to send out mail campaigns. That’s why it’s important to be careful how you give out your email. Never give or enter your email address in unknown sites, programs, or online forums. Furthermore, resist the urge to forward and pass chain emails to loved ones. Forwarding chain emails invariably make your email address a part of the chain. The chances are that chain emails may end up in the hands of unscrupulous elements.
You unknowingly replied to a spam email.
Avoid clicking spam links or replying to spam emails. By doing so, you’re indirectly confirming the authenticity of your email address. Never click on “unsubscribe” links found in spam emails, especially for product offerings, loyalty reward programs, or newsletters from unrecognizable brands. These links will put you at increased cybersecurity risk, so consider simply blocking future unwanted spam emails from the sender. Of course, you can click on unsubscribe links in emails from trustworthy sources, mailing lists, or sites you have previously subscribed to.
Use the information in this article to stay aware of who is reaching out to you and stay safe on the internet.