In 2018, an estimated 281 billion consumer and business emails are sent per day. Nearly 50% of that email is considered to be spam. When you add in marketing that is now being sent via instant message, text message and even robo-callers, we are bombarded on every side by spam. Not only is it annoying, but it can actually eat up valuable time just simply getting rid of it again and again. Instead of dealing with it piece by piece, here are 3 ways to start cutting spam out of your life for good.
Manage Your Existing Email
Most email programs these days offer you the ability to unsubscribe from email lists through your email service, rather than by clicking the unsubscribe link on each email directly. That way, you can mass unsubscribe from several email lists all at once. If, for any reason, you can’t unsubscribe to a particular email list, you can also notify your email service that emails from that business are spam and they will go directly into a spam folder rather than your inbox. If you do run across any companies that you are unable to unsubscribe from, you may be able to report them online. In most cases, solicitors are required to allow you to request that they cease contact and can be penalized when they fail to do so.
Create a “spam” Email Account
Many businesses these days won’t even let you access their website or certain services unless you give them an email address. You can actually create a separate email account that is just for situations where you are likely to end up on an email list. Keep one email account that you only give out to family and friends and give all businesses your spam account. Even businesses you have actually done business with aren’t above spamming their customers. This option should be used judiciously, however, so you don’t lose important information in a sea of spam. Companies that email receipts, shipping information, and other worthwhile information should be included in your main email account even if they might send you some spam emails. For these senders, do what you can to unsubscribe from unnecessary emails and mark spam emails so your email system learns which emails don’t belong in your inbox. Otherwise, use that spam email account to keep unwanted emails away from your main account.
Block Unknown Numbers or Ask to Be Removed from Call Lists
Most people get several calls a day from unknown numbers. When you do, you have two choices. You can answer the phone and if it is a spam caller, you can ask to be put on their “do not call” list. The other option is just to take a few seconds to block that phone number. If you really want to know who it is calling you before you block a number, you can use an unknown phone number public directory to do a reverse phone number lookup. Many of these companies also keep databases that will tell you what kinds of calls other people are receiving from that number, from political calls to fraudulent ones.
While there is no way to completely rid your life of spam calls entirely, you can significantly decrease the number of them. Every spam call or email you eliminate is saving you a wealth of time dealing with them in the future.
