What are spam messages and how can you avoid them?

Spam emails are unwanted and often mass-sent emails that frequently contain advertising, fraud attempts, or malware. They are often sent automatically and target randomly selected or purchased email addresses. The main goal is usually to generate clicks, steal personal data, or infect systems.

What is a spam message?

Spam (often called ‘junk’) refers to the unsolicited and unwanted distribution of messages via electronic channels. The term originates from the American canned meat brand ‘Spiced Ham’, which featured in the famous Monty Python Spam sketch. In the sketch, the word ‘spam’ is repeated so frequently that normal conversation becomes impossible. Applied to digital communication, spam emails similarly force their way in as unwanted content among legitimate messages.

Spam messages, usually sent in bulk, often contain advertising, phishing attempts, or malware. They reach recipients without consent and continually clutter inboxes worldwide. Most fall into the category of unsolicited bulk emails, such as chain letters or unwanted commercial promotions. Their aim is typically to push recipients into buying a product, revealing personal information, clicking a link, or opening an attachment.

What types of spam emails are there?

While spam does not only occur in email traffic, it is primarily spread this way. The creators are referred to as spammers. Most use specialised computer programs called spambots or email harvesters. Many junk emails contain advertisements for (often questionable) products, false reports, links to phishing websites, or malware.

The most common types of spam emails can be categorised into the following four groups:

• Advertising: Providers of cheap wristwatches (which imitate well-known luxury brands), unlicensed medications (often Viagra), or illegal online content frequently use spam to promote their products. Typical content in advertising spam emails also includes links to allegedly free offers, which lead to subscription traps, or references to supposedly lucrative business models. The latter must be downloaded for a fee and only make the spammer rich.
• False reports: Many spam emails contain calls to action, warnings, or stories that seem untrustworthy i.e. hoaxes. The content of such emails is often completely fabricated or has little basis in fact and is exaggerated sensationally. If recipients take them seriously and forward them, these false reports can rapidly spread via a chain reaction.
• Phishing: This type of spam pretends that the sender of the message is from a specific company, usually a bank. The victim is asked to provide personal information such as account and credit card details along with the corresponding passwords. To achieve this, phishing scammers often create websites that are linked in the spam emails and closely resemble official bank websites. If you enter your private data there, it falls into the hands of cybercriminals.
• Malware: Spam emails often deliver malicious programs (also known as malware, evilware, or junkware) to a computer. This includes, for example, computer viruses and worms, trojans or spyware. By opening programs, links, or email attachments, they infiltrate the system. They can usually only be removed with antivirus programs or other specialised software.

Why do you receive spam emails?

Many users wonder why so much spam is sent specifically to their email address. In most cases, it’s hardly their fault. Spambots and harvesters systematically crawl the internet for email addresses. Once they find an address, it is stored and later used for junk mail. Hacked email accounts from friends or acquaintances can also result in your own address ending up in the hands of spammers. In such cases, the address book of the hacked account is added to the recipient list for spam emails.

However, many users also contribute through their own negligence to becoming targets of spammers and spambots. For example, when registering for competitions, organisers are often allowed by the terms and conditions to use the provided email for advertising purposes. Many prize draws exist solely to collect addresses for sending spam. Similarly, publishing your email address on websites, social networks, forums, chats, or comment sections makes it an easy target for email harvesters.

How can you protect yourself from spam?

You can’t completely prevent spam emails—too many spammers and spambots send out messages every day. Still, there are several practical methods to reduce the amount of spam you receive:

• Share your primary email address only when absolutely necessary. Avoid using it for questionable competitions or unfamiliar websites.
• Create a secondary email address for less important online services. This helps keep your main inbox protected from spam.
• Don’t publish your primary email address on public websites. If you need to provide it, do so only in secure online portals or trusted communities.
• Modify the spelling of your email to make it harder for bots to detect—for example, write (at) instead of @ or dot instead of .. Alternatively, display your email address as a text image.

Use a spam filter

A spam filter is software designed to detect and sort out unwanted messages. Every professional email provider and email program uses such filters. Many of these programs work by automatically checking email content using the blacklist method. This approach relies on a list of words and phrases typically associated with spam.

In addition to blacklists, there are other methods of identifying spam emails. However, no method can guarantee 100 percent accuracy. Sometimes, spam filters may classify legitimate messages as advertising, while in other cases, spam emails slip through into the regular inbox. Still, it’s essential to ensure that your emails are always checked by a spam filter.

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IONOS anti-spam filter

IONOS provides integrated anti-spam features that effectively filter out unwanted emails. The spam filter automatically analyses incoming messages based on various criteria such as the subject line and technical header data. This way, suspicious emails are detected before delivery and, depending on the settings, marked, moved, or directly blocked.

IONOS customers can activate and customise the anti-spam filter. Those who use Webmail can also activate the anti-spam directly in the browser.

How to identify and eliminate spam

If spam isn’t filtered automatically, you’ll need to recognise it yourself—only careful handling of suspicious emails offers reliable protection in such cases.

Tip 1: Mark received spam as spam

Many spam emails can be spotted right from the subject line—whether it’s a fake prize notification, suggestive content, or an advertised ‘special offer’. If one of these messages slips past your spam filter, mark it as spam immediately. Doing so trains the filter to recognise similar emails and block them automatically in the future.

Tip 2: Do not open unknown links

Never open links or file attachments from suspicious emails. Spammers often hide harmful content behind unfamiliar sender addresses and strangely worded subject lines.

Tip 3: Use antivirus software

If malware does get opened, antivirus software is often the only line of defense. These programs are designed to detect and block known threats such as viruses, trojans, worms, and spyware. When a malicious program attempts to access the system, the antivirus intervenes and stops it. Still, because detection relies on known patterns, no antivirus solution can guarantee complete protection. Even so, having antivirus software in place remains one of the most essential security measures for any computer.

Tip 4: Keep your operating system up to date

Always keep your operating system up to date to close known security gaps and maintain stability. Many attacks exploit vulnerabilities that have already been patched in newer versions. Regular updates—ideally via automatic updates—ensure security fixes are applied quickly, reducing the risk of spam, malware, and other threats.

Tip 5: Create a backup

It’s also wise to back up your most important data on a separate medium. That way, if the system is damaged by malware, you’ll still have a secure copy. For comprehensive protection against spam and its consequences, combine multiple measures: use a spam filter, install anti-malware software, and maintain regular backups. On top of that, be cautious when sharing your email address and avoid opening suspicious messages—the simplest and most effective form of protection.