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How To Block Unwanted Email from Your Inbox

Q: How do I block spam and other unwanted emails from junking up my inbox?

Unwanted emails are an unfortunate fact of life for professionals in 2016. For legitimate email marketers, unsolicited emails typically represent the first step of a genuine attempt to forge a business relationship. For seedy spammers, they’re a way to deliver computer viruses, useless ads, and just plain JUNK.

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Whatever the source, we know that minimizing unwanted messages in your inbox is important for productivity and organization. Blayzer puts strong filtering measures in place to help protect our email hosting clients from the internet’s constant barrage of bad spam — the viruses, unsavory topics, and such. Other email hosts typically do the same.

Filtering is not, however, a perfect solution. Sometimes a clever spammer or new type of spam can slip through the cracks.

When filters fail, here’s how to block unwanted email from your inbox.

01.

Opt Out of Mailing Lists & Publications

The first level of defense in the quest to block unwanted email is to take action to remove yourself from the mailing lists of specific senders. It’s easy to end up on lists unintentionally. It usually happens due to an unnoticed opt-in checkbox or agreement when you sign up for a site or services. Sometimes it happens because your address has been harvested and added without permission.

In the United States, all email marketers are legally required to include an opt-out mechanism within their emails. The only exception is for transactional messaging — things like invoices, order status updates, and the like. Opt-out mechanisms are usually provided as a hyperlink in the footer of the message. Sometimes you will see an option to be removed from just the specific publication/list or to opt out completely from all of that sender’s emails. Other times you will see instructions to reply with something like “Remove” or “Unsubscribe” in the subject line of your message. Senders are required to process your opt-out request within 10 days or are subject to legal action and fines.

If the sender is a legitimate company who follows the “white-hat” rules of email marketing, opting out is the best way to address unwanted messages from companies you know or from new/first time senders.

02.

Block Problem Senders

While opting out of specific lists and publications works well for legitimate senders, it might not do the trick for more “gray-hat” email marketers. These senders do not always mean any harm or annoyance, but they are skirting the rules, damaging their business’s reputation, and intruding on your inbox. You can recognize these senders by their missing opt-out mechanisms or continued emailing despite your opt-out request. When opting-out isn’t an option, the next level of defense is to block the sender using your email program.

Blocking an email sender is typically accomplished by right-clicking on the message and selecting “Junk –> Block Sender” (Outlook 2013) or simply moving the message to your Junk E-Mail folder (Gmail).

In the United States, all email marketers are legally required to include an opt-out mechanism within their emails. The only exception is for transactional messaging — things like invoices, order status updates, and the like. Opt-out mechanisms are usually provided as a hyperlink in the footer of the message. Sometimes you will see an option to be removed from just the specific publication/list or to opt out completely from all of that sender’s emails. Other times you will see instructions to reply with something like “Remove” or “Unsubscribe” in the subject line of your message. Senders are required to process your opt-out request within 10 days or are subject to legal action and fines.

If the sender is a legitimate company who follows the “white-hat” rules of email marketing, opting out is the best way to address unwanted messages from companies you know or from new/first time senders.

03.

Report Spam

For true spammers and email senders who just won’t respect your preference not to receive their messages, the next line of defense is to report the sender’s emails as spam. This reports the sender to their ISP and blocks any further messages from being sent to your inbox. Enough complaints and they will land on one of the major blacklists, see their delivery rates plummet, and even have their sending privileges revoked altogether. Reporting spam is typically as simple as clicking a button in your email program. You can also forward the message to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.

Characteristics of Spam Email

While reporting spam is an effective way to block unwanted emails from your inbox, it can also be unnecessarily harsh on legitimate senders. We encourage you to use this method only for true spam, and not for messages you simply no longer want to receive. Remember that there is a HUGE difference between true spam and unwanted commercial emails. Here are five characteristics of a true Spam email.

  • False or misleading header information. This includes the sender’s name, email address, domain, and IP address. As an example, you may have seen emails hit your inbox that look like they came from a colleague, but are really from a spammer.
  • Deceptive subject lines. Subject lines should accurately reflect the contents of the message. A common abuse of subject lines is the use of “Fwd:” or “Re:” when the message is neither a forward or a reply.
  • Not identified as an advertisement or commercial message. There is a lot of wiggle room on how senders are required to do this, but generally speaking a message should be clear that it is commercial in nature. An example here are those pesky fake UPS delivery messages we all seem to see.
  • No location listed. It is legally required that senders include a valid physical/postal address in their emails. If they don’t include their address, they are breaking the rules.
  • No opt-out mechanism or instructions. As we covered above, senders are required to provide an easy way for you to opt out. Lack of an opt-out method is a clear sign of spam.

Questions about blocking unwanted email?

Still have questions about blocking unwanted email from your inbox? Contact your email hosting provider for more information and support. If you host with Blayzer, our support team can be reached M-F 9AM-5PM at 314-446-3393.

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