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A sudden increase in email spam isn’t only annoying; it’s a sign that your online security is compromised. Whether your inbox is open season for spammers or something more serious is happening, it’s important to understand why you’re suddenly getting more spam emails—and take action.
A Surge In Email Spam Is a Warning Sign
Most people experience a gradual increase in email spam over time. However, a sudden surge in email spam is a warning sign that scammers or fraudsters are targeting you. At the very least, it means your email address is in the hands of the wrong people.
If you’re “lucky,” a sudden increase in spam could mean your email has leaked, and a bunch of different spammers are targeting you at the same time. That’s still not ideal, but it’s better than the worst alternatives.
This includes fraudsters bombarding you with emails to cover up their activities, such as payments, identity theft, and all kinds of other stuff you don’t want in your inbox.
In short, a surge in email spam isn’t something to ignore; it’s something to investigate immediately and act on.
Why Am I Suddenly Getting a Lot Of Email Spam?
Understanding the most common reasons for a sudden surge in email spam will help you diagnose the issue should it happen to you. More importantly, though, knowing these reasons ahead of time will help you prevent the spam surge from happening in the first place.
Your Email Address Is Listed Online
If your email address is listed publicly anywhere online, hackers, spammers, and anyone else can access it. Email scraping tools look for text strings resembling email addresses—basically, anything with a prefix, @ symbol, and domain (example@domain.com).
So, if your email address is listed on your website, social media accounts, or anywhere else online, spammers can easily find it. Individual spammers may use this address to target you, but they could also add you to an email list they sell to many others.
Your Email Address Was Leaked
In most breaches, email addresses are the first data point to leak, and your chances of already being affected in the past are pretty high. This means everyone should understandthe dangers of email leaksand the potential risks and use sites likeHave I Been Pwnedto check if your email is found in any data leaks.
Next, you should regularlycheck whether your email address has leakedto the dark web. Regularly checking for email leaks allows you to take action and minimize your risk when it happens.
One of Your Contacts' Accounts Is Hacked
When hackers break into someone’s email account, they often use it to target their contacts with spam or, worse, scams. The big danger here is that these emails may reach your inbox as they are sent from a contact. So, if you start seeing weird emails from people you know, like investment opportunities or miracle medical cures, there’s a good chance their account is hacked.
You’ve Been Added to An Email Marketing List
Unfortunately, building a legitimate email marketing list takes time and effort, which creates an easy business opportunity for spammers. All they have to do is build an email marketing list and then sell it to companies that don’t want to put the work in themselves.
Companies Are Selling Your Email Address
Technically, companies should never sell your email address without your consent. The problem is that most people don’t understand how much consent they give when signing up for an online service. Then, you’ve also got the fact that plenty of companies couldn’t care less about rules and regulations, especially when big data is big money.
In reality, plenty of companies are keen to sell your personal information (email address included) to third parties. Thankfully, with a little work, you set up a trap toidentify any companies selling your email address.
You Interacted With Spam Email
You’re Being Email Bombed
Email bombing is the targeted bombardment of your email account with spam, scams, or fraudulent emails. If you’ve interacted with spam emails in the past, scammers may consider you an easy target who’s more likely to fall for their tricks.
As explained earlier, email bombing is also commonly used for fraud cloaking, where fraudsters overload you with emails to hide their activity.
Whatever the reason, email bombing is a serious warning sign and a threat you should take seriously. We’re not talking about cheeky companies bending email marketing rules here. Scammers and fraudsters use this tactic to cause genuine harm to regular folks.
What to Do If You See a Sudden Surge in Email Spam
If you experience a sudden surge in email spam, you should take action immediately.
1. Secure Your Email Account
First, secure your email account by changing your password and activating additional security features, such astwo-factor or multi-factor authentication.
2. Check For Suspicious Activity Across Your Other Accounts
Check your most important accounts for any suspicious activity. Start with your bank accounts and any payment services you use to look for unrecognized transactions. Next, scan your spam email, looking for anything sent from accounts you own.
If you find anything that looks legit, don’t open or interact with it. Instead, use the search bar in your email client to find any other emails sent by the same company. Again, don’t open any emails at this point. Read the subject lines to build a picture of what the messages are trying to tell you (login activity, email address changes, password changes, etc.), and analyze the sender information to check whether all the emails look legit.
Now, log into your account directly through the official website or app (don’t click the links in the emails in case they’re phishing links) and look for suspicious activity matching the emails you’ve received.
3. Secure Any Accounts Affected by Suspicious Activity
If any of your accounts are compromised, secure them immediately. First, change your passwords and remove unrecognized devices connected to your account (if this info is available).
If your account was used for fraudulent activity, notify your bank immediately. Hopefully, they can deal with any fraudulent transactions, and they might be able to block similar future transactions.
Once again, you might want to enable any additional security features available on affected accounts, including two-factor authentication.
4. Avoid Mass-Deleting Spam Emails
While it’s tempting to mass-delete email spam, you’re able to easily delete legitimate fraud warnings and other important messages. As mentioned earlier, email bombing also increases the chances of legitimate emails landing in your spam folder.
Get into the habit of regularly checking your spam folder for increases in spam. Meanwhile, pay attention to the spam you’re receiving, especially if you see a sudden increase. Your spam folder may hold the clues you need to identify affected accounts and take action.
5. Set Custom Spam Filters
Settingcustom spam filtershelps you direct unwanted emails to your spam folder but can also prevent legitimate emails from ending up there. If your spam folder suddenly starts filling up, consider creating filters to ensure emails from important domains always reach your inbox.
Don’t Leave Your Spam Folder Unattended
It’s tempting to forget about your spam folder, leaving it to collect emails and automatically delete them. However, it’s important to watch for any sudden increases in spam, as this is one of the first warning signs that your online security is compromised.
Get into the habit of regularly checking your spam folder. Keep tabs on roughly how many spam emails you receive and the type of spam you’re getting. With a moderate amount of spam, you can manually delete everything in the folder once a week and notice any sudden surges.
