Staying Fit
Stop me if this sounds familiar: You sit down at your computer to get some work done, but it takes you three-quarters of an hour just to delete all the junk mail clogging up your inbox.
You’re not alone. Nearly 85 percent of all emails are spam, according to a 2019 study from Cisco-owned Talos Intelligence. It’s a miracle we get anything done.
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But these messages can be more than a mere annoyance. Sure, manually reading and deleting unsolicited offers can seriously eat away at your time, but the emails can also do damage if they contain a phishing attempt, spyware or a virus.
Sometimes we’re the ones to blame for unwanted emails — and text messages — because we gave out our email address or phone number at some point, whether it was to a store to get a 10 percent discount on a purchase, signing into a public Wi-Fi hot spot at a coffee shop or perhaps entering a contest. Or maybe you were into a certain band in 2015 and signed up for its free newsletter.
Regardless of the scenario, now you’ve had enough. And you want to unsubscribe or block emails and texts, but you’re not sure how to go about it.
Legitimate sites: Click ‘Unsubscribe’
If you know the email is legit — perhaps from a clothing store whose newsletters you signed up for, only to regret it after getting 20 emails in as many days — an Unsubscribe button should be at the bottom of the email. Click or tap it, and that should do the trick. But it may take a day or two for the missives to cease.
You may be taken to a website that asks you to specify what you want to be removed from or a reason for doing so. So be sure to read that first and click the right box or boxes.
If the email you’re receiving is truly spam — a Nigerian prince asking you for money or the word Cialis spelled C1a11i$ — or you’re not sure if it’s spam, clicking Unsubscribe is not a good idea. It confirms to the spammer your email address is valid and could invite future messages.
Instead, simply block the sender. More on that below.
More on Home and Family
How to Know if Someone Has Read Your Text or Email
Read receipts available on most services, from third parties4 Steps to Close Out and Change Your Email Address
Plan so you don’t lose contacts, a lot of your historyHow to Declutter and Take Control of Your Email Inbox
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