Are You Recieving Spam Emails?

If your email address can be found anywhere on online, you can become the victim of spam. Many people don't realize this is how many spam emails originate. Spam programs search the Internet for email addresses used on blogs, forums or other websites. Once they find them they can start sending unsolicited emails to the addresses.

Sometimes spammers buy a bundle of email addresses from sites that sponsor contests. You enter in your information to “register” for the prize and the rest goes from there. A classic problem for “spam” email marketing campaigns is actually getting the recipient to open the email. Since the marketer knows your name (you entered it when you tried the contest), they will use your first name in an attempt to make their appeal sound less corporate or formal, thereby giving the consumer a false sense of security. The target is left thinking that maybe the sender knows them.

The next technique comes from companies that know you already own their product. They have you on file; possibly from a warranty. They then use this to appeal to the specific segment. Sales the brand is having, warranty updates, newsletters, surveys- all are sent out to inboxes in a hope of establishing a foothold relationship with the customer.

The last spam tactic to be discussed deals with the term “Make Money from Home”. Who wouldn’t want to do that? A Google search engine results page for the term returns 743,000,000 hits. Emails with this subject title do not have a large placement rate, but still have a large ROI due to the key terms promised benefit.

Look for the likes of :

  • Obvious customizations and targeted subject lines

  • Contests and prize claims

  • Appeals to goodwill ( i.e. “help save…”)

  • Requests to verify accounts

  • Deals (i.e. prescription drugs)

  • Credit repair promises

Don’t assume that spam my emails are shots in the dark either. Many are calculated campaigns. The senders are using metrics to distinguish which of their sent mails are being considered legitimate and which are being marked spam. Volume, complaint rates, unknown user rates, infrastructure, spam trap hits and content are all factors. As part of the targeted segment, it is your job to protect yourself with proper spam protection.