What is Spam ? Definition & Types of Spam Email

What is Spam Email? How to fix it – You may have heard about the dangers of email spams, such as scams, the risk of malware, or sending promotional messages without permission. So, what exactly is meant by spam email? And how to solve it?

What is Spam Email ?

What is Spam Email ? - What is Spam

Spam e-mails are messages that come to your e-mail box but you don’t know who the e-mail owner is. As the name implies, email spam / junk mail has the characteristic of sending electronic messages repeatedly to email owners. usually the first motive of spammers (perpetrators who carry out spam emails) is to carry out promotions, statistics show that 36% of all spam emails sent contain promotional advertisements etc. Too much SPAM email certainly has a bad impact because it can reduce inbox space and is less eye-catching.

What Are the Types of Spam Emails ?What Are the Types of Spam Emails ? - What is Spam

Apart from promotion, there are other motives that encourage spammers to send spam emails. The following is an explanation of the various types of spam email that are commonly encountered:

  1. Promotional Email

    Actually, doing promotions via email is not a problem. However, the problem is when a promotion is carried out without the permission of the email recipient, it’s like a salesman who suddenly walks into your house to offer a product. Of course not ethical, right? Normally, promotional messages that come to your email box should pass your approval first. For example, previously you have been willing to enter your email address to subscribe to promo info at an online store.

  2. Phishing Emails

    Phishing is a fraudulent practice in which spammers try to trick victims by pretending to be a well-known brand. The goal is simple, so that victims are willing to give important information without being suspicious. Usually, the email sent will closely resemble the brand being imitated. Starting from the headline, the format of the email, the visuals used, to the email signature. Therefore, don’t be easy to believe when you find an email asking for sensitive information (such as address or account number). And always make sure that the emails you get are from valid business email addresses.

  3. Gift Offer Email

    Have you ever received an email with a subject that roughly says “Congratulations! You just got an X prize! ”Whereas as you can remember, you have never previously participated in a prize draw event or anything like that. Apart from violating your privacy, this e-mail motive is also dangerous. If there are people who believe in the offer, they might voluntarily send personal information to receive the prize.

  4. Fraudulent Email

    Fraud with a method similar to “Mama asks for credit” does not only apply via SMS, you know. This practice also often occurs via email. The pattern of deception is like this: Spammers will pretend to be someone their victims can trust. Then, they will ask for help in the form of money. Usually, the perpetrator will give urgency to the victim to want to send the money immediately. Perhaps the most famous practice of fraudulent e-mail is the “Nigerian Prince” email. Why is it called that? Because usually the perpetrators of this practice pretend to be a prince or royal member from Nigeria.Then, they will ask for assistance in the form of money while promising a much larger amount of money to the victim.Make no mistake, it may sound simple, but this type of email still incurred a loss of $ 700,000 in 2018.

What Is The Real Purpose Of Spam EmailWhat Is The Real Purpose Of Spam Email - What is Spam

The goal here is clear, namely to offer a particular product or service to all customers en masse. Because of this mass delivery, electronic messaging services such as Google, Yahoo, Yandex, and others provide a SPAM email filter feature. This is to prevent junk email from entering the user’s inbox and disturbing other more important / priority emails. The nature of this SPAM email is still in the normal stage, but it is quite uncomfortable because it comes continuously every day.

Meanwhile, there are also SPAM emails that have a malicious purpose, namely to spread viruses, malware, and other malicious devices. This will happen instantly when the user opens the email. This is not the first time. The reason is, there have been many cases of spreading viruses such as Ransomware, Trojans and so on, infecting PC or Smartphone devices. This virus spreads when the user opens the SPAM email containing the virus. This type of email is certainly very dangerous. Apart from being uncomfortable, this kind of email is also unsettling because it makes your device run abnormally. Because the virus has infected the device fatally.

How to Prevent Email Entering the Spam BoxHow to Prevent Email Entering the Spam Box - What is Spam

Let’s look at it from another point of view. What if it turns out that the email you sent went to the spam box?

Of course you don’t want this to happen, do you? Because if you are considered spam, this can tarnish your business reputation. So, here are the ways you can do to prevent your email from getting into the spam box:

  1. Use Email Spam Checker

    Before sending messages, it’s a good idea to check whether the messages are prone to going to the spam box. You can do this by using an email spam checker, so it’s a tool that will assess how likely it is that your message reaches the spam box. The rating is displayed in the form of a score. The lower the score, the more likely it is that your message will end up in the spam box. Vice versa.There are tons of free spam checkers you can use out there. One of the most popular is Mail Tester. All you have to do is send a message to the email address specified by Mail Tester, then Mail Tester will assess the message you send. The bigger the score, the better.

  2. Submit Relevant and Useful Content

    Spam email content is generally of no use. Because the email is only intended to invite clicks regardless of the recipient’s interest, so that your message is well received, you can create content that is relevant and useful. For example, such as articles containing “powerful tips” or limited promo offers. So, how do you create email content that is relevant and useful? Of course you have to identify the characteristics of the recipient of the message and what makes them interested. In this case, you can try to create a buyer persona.Once you have identified the characteristics of the recipient of your message, you will know what kind of content they are interested in.

  3. Write a Catchy Email TitleDo you know?

    47% of email recipients open emails because they have interesting headlines. Plus, 69% of email recipients can tell a spam email by its headline. The two statistics above show that it’s important to create a catchy email title. On the other hand, you need to make sure that the title doesn’t contain clickbait so it won’t be considered spam.Here are some tips you can use to create great email headlines:

    1. Briefly describe what is in the content. For example, such as the content of the article or promo that you offer.
    2. Avoid clickbait. Make sure the title matches the content of the email.
    3. Match the language with the recipient’s character. For example, use more formal language if the recipient of the message is a business partner.
    4. Show numbers in the title. This will make your message look more concrete and more clickable.
    5. State the name of the recipient of the message in the title. This method will make the message feel more personal.
    6. Build a Credible Reputation

Factors That Cause Gmail Spam

Factors That Cause Gmail Spam - What is Spam

Email service providers such as Gmail have specific criteria to determine whether a message can be considered spam or not. These criteria can determine the reputation of the email sender.

Well, there really is no specific indicator to measure the reputation of the email sender. However, there are several factors that can affect it, such as:

  1. Engagement level. The more recipients who click on your email, the better reputation you will get.
  2. Number of messages marked spam. The more emails you mark as spam, the worse reputation you will get.
  3. Number of messages sent. If you send too many emails at the same time, the more likely you are to be considered a spammer.
  4. Number of email recipients who unsubscribed. If there are a large number of email recipients who unsubscribe, it is a sign that the email you sent is not relevant to their wishes.
  5. Make sure the message is sent according to the email recipient’s permission