Malicious SPAM Email – Irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the Internet, typically to a large number of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing, spreading malware, etc.

Secure your email now! Most attacks originate through your email. That latest studies indicate that over 80% of malicious cyberattacks on small and medium businesses originate from SPAM Emails. Let’s find a service that really does reduce spam and any exposure to fraudulent cyber attacks on your staff via email. Here at Your Cloud Works we have carefully chosen : Proofpoint Email Protection

In our previous Cybersecurity 101 Blogs we have focused on the importance of security awareness and your initial business security assessment.

Today we are sharing 5 simple yet effective SPAM protection recommendations: 

1 Train your spam filter

When you get SPAM email from an unknown sender, don’t just delete it. Select it, and mark it as a spam message. Sometimes, your email client may mark an important email from a known sender as spam. In such scenarios, you need to mark that email as safe to train the email client about your false positives. The purpose of the SPAM filter is to recognise unwanted or dangerous emails, and prevent them from reaching your inbox, technology is brilliant but it still requires input from users. We need to participate in the setup of our SPAM filter, know what it does and how to adjust it. 

2 Never respond to SPAM

Let’s say you received a SPAM email and recognized it before you open it, don’t open it. If you realize that an email is SPAM only after opening it, mark it as spam and close it. Do not click the links or buttons, or download files from the spam messages. You should remember that marketing SPAM emails are emails sent out to thousands of potential customers that have visited a website, left their email or requested marketing data from the website. GDPR regulations have helped to reduce the amount of email marketing scams, but criminals are not GDPR compliant. A type of SPAM called Phishing emails are designed by Cybercriminals that are experts in making you and I believe that the BLUE “CLICK HERE” BUTTON in the email is legitimate. They visually convince you that the email is from your bank, your doctor, your mobile company or your favourite shop. They trick millions of people into clicking a malicious link, every single day, how are you going to be different and protect yourself and your business. Again: Don’t open it, but if you have, DO NOT CLICK on any buttons, links, pictures inside the email. If you do, you are giving permission to hackers who will access your personal and business credentials, or they may release a cyberattack on your company.

3 Use alternative email addresses

As we have just mentioned, a lot of unwanted emails can make their way into your inbox if you order a product or subscribe to a mailing list. Often by purchasing a product or subscribing to a mailing list at your favourite shop, we are our own worst SPAM enemy.  You are automatically signed up to receive unwanted marketing updates from that company, or it may share your contact information with a third-party advertiser. Did you really read their privacy policy? No, we all just check that box without thinking.
One simple solution to stop such spam emails is to create a secondary email address that you can use for such activities. By doing so, those unwanted marketing emails will not appear in your primary email inbox. Just make sure that you don’t use any of your legitimate personal information in that secondary account.

4 Hide your email address

Have you ever wondered why businesses often have emails like: reception@ , info@, employment@, or thiswillnevergetread@? Such emails are often used as a security measure when someone phones to ask who they should send their marketing email through to. The more people who expose your email address, the more SPAM emails you are going to get. So keep your email address hidden from public view. Avoid publishing your primary email address on the web unless it is required. Some people are still making the mistake of using their personal email on social media. For your safety, use alternative email addresses for such scenarios.

5 Use a third-party Anti-spam filter

Whatever email service you are using, they will be offering you a simple level of SPAM filtering, but as you can see, it is not enough security for your business. Most of the third-party anti-spam solutions that are available today can be customized to your needs, allowing only the approved emails to reach your inbox. Although there is free anti-spam software you cannot expect the levels of security that comes with a partner such as Your Cloud Works, where all of your Cybersecurity requirements will be covered.

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