What is email spam and what does it mean for business productivity? The Internet has good and bad things, and spam is among the worst.
It goes beyond expectations of damage, since, in addition to being a message unauthorized by the recipients, it is a bridge to crimes such as phishing and the spread of viruses.
Also known as junk mail, spam can detonate the reputation of distracted email marketers. This is because an unverified mailing list is susceptible to malicious emails.
As if that weren’t enough, spam also takes up unnecessary bandwidth space, leading providers to pay for an exclusive folder just to store it.
Worst of all, there is a spammer behind every junk email. This means that, before assessing the damage, we need to ask ourselves why people do it.
Email spam and who benefits from it
It’s important to remember that email marketing has the highest ROI in digital marketing, with an incredible US$ 42 return for every dollar invested.
This makes it possible to send mass mailings at a very low cost. But as nothing is perfect, along with a large number of messages sent out comes thousands of spam messages.
As well as the low cost being a reason for clever people to send unauthorized messages to advertise their products and services, there are companies that specialize in selling mailing lists.
But why is buying a list bad for business? Because companies that sell lists harvest addresses using a spammer technique.
The harvesting method collects emails from blogs, forums, websites and various web repositories.
Among these emails are a number of spamtraps: emails created by ISPs with the aim of discovering fake mailing lists.
When a sender sends a fake list, ISPs’ anti-spam filters detect the existence of spamtraps and classify the IP as a spammer.
In short, buying a database that wasn’t built by real people is a shot in the foot, because it represents email spam.
Companies and professionals who build a healthy mailing list optimize their results because they are not blocked by ISPs. Delivery capacity is thus optimized.
Do you know how to look after the quality of your mailing list? Watch our webinar for inspiration!
Email spam and cybercrime
Internet crime specialists also profit from spam. This is because a malicious message contains links to bank data collection software. This is how phishing scams are carried out.
These spams have the same visual design as the user’s bank, with the intention of convincing them to click on the malicious link.
Notícias falsas
There is also another type of audience that benefits from the creation of spam. Access to the internet allows information of all kinds to spread quickly. Unfortunately, the sharing of rumors and false stories is common, and often accomplishes its goal of denigrating someone’s image.
How to protect yourself
For spam to have the desired effect, the user must consent to actions such as:
- Opening a suspicious email, in the case of advertisements and other communications sent without authorization.
- Clicking on malicious links, in the case of spam containing phishing scams.
- Sharing messages with dubious content, such as rumors or similar.
Bear in mind that an email sent without your authorization is spam. Therefore, the simple fact of not opening an unauthorized message is already a strong protective measure.
However, there are other security measures put in place by email providers: anti-spam filters are becoming more and more rigorous and don’t hesitate to send a suspicious message to the spam box.
For professionals who use email as a communication channel, constant vigilance is required to prevent malicious emails from entering their databases.
Let’s take a look at what can be done in this regard.
How to avoid spam on mailing lists
SafetyMails email validation is the most reliable way of preventing malicious emails from entering email databases.
This is because the email verification service has a 19-step algorithm that can be used to validate up to 2 million emails simultaneously.
The verification also includes a real-time email verification API to protect registration forms.
Keeping your mailing list free of spam and invalid addresses is key to improving deliverability rates and optimizing email marketing campaigns in general.
What are you waiting for to improve the deliverability of your emails? Open your account for free!
FAQ
For those who work in email marketing, spam damages the reputation of senders with ISPs. This leads to being blocked and classified as a spammer.
As a result, email campaigns don’t reach the recipients’ inboxes and marketing efforts and investments are wasted.
Companies that take advantage of the low cost of the email marketing tool to send advertising to thousands of recipients; companies that profit from selling fake email lists; cybercriminals interested in harvesting their victims’ bank details and people intent on spreading fake news.
Phishing is a cybercrime that uses spam to lure the user into clicking on a malicious link. This is how bank details such as passwords, credit cards and other data are stolen.
Not opening suspicious messages is already a protective measure, since emails sent without authorization are spam.
SafetyMails email verification is the best service for protecting large lists and registration forms.
