Like most people who use their email account, you most likely have received a number of unsolicited commercial emails. These emails, also known as spam, can cause damage to your computer and may even be tools used for phishing. When these spam emails are used for phishing, you run the risk of having someone else get your personal information and using it for identity theft. But how do spammers get your email address?
* Your email address can be gotten by spammers through spyware and viruses. When your computer gets infected by a virus, the virus can send copies of your email addresses to a spammer. To prevent viruses from infecting your computer, you should install an antivirus software and update it periodically.
* Questionable websites can sell your email address to spammers. If you visit questionable websites such as those with illegal downloads and pornographic content, then your email address can be gotten by spammers because questionable websites may also work as email harvesting tools. The more questionable websites you visit, the more chances there are of getting your email address revealed to spammers.
No matter how spammers got your email address, it’s likely that it’s going to stay in their database. The good news is that there are ways by which you can protect yourself from spammers. Many email clients have a spam folder where all spam emails go. In case there are any spam emails that still land in your inbox, you should mark them as spam so that your email will recognize similar emails as spam too.