How to stop junk email and spam

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The quickest way to cut down junk email is to mark it as spam instead of deleting it, and never to reply to or click “unsubscribe” in emails from senders you don’t recognise. Keep your address off public websites. If spam keeps getting through, add a spam filter that checks every email account you use.

What is junk email?

Junk email is email you never asked for, sent in bulk to large numbers of people at once. Junk email and spam are the same thing. Each email service puts it in its own folder: Outlook calls it Junk Email and Apple Mail calls it Junk, while Gmail and Yahoo call it Spam.

It includes promotions from companies you never signed up with, as well as scams and phishing emails that try to steal your passwords or money. An email counts as junk because you never agreed to receive it, whatever it says. Some people see a difference: They use “junk” for unwanted marketing and “spam” for scams, but email services put both in the same folder. Many people also count newsletters they once signed up for and no longer want as junk.

Your provider’s filter moves some junk email to that folder, but some still reaches your inbox. Below, we explain why you get so much of it and how to stop it.

Why do I get so much spam email?

You aren’t alone. Almost half of all email sent worldwide is spam: 45% in 2025, according to Kaspersky’s 2025 spam and phishing report, down slightly from 47% in 2024. In 2025, it peaked late in the year: In November, spam made up almost 53% of all email.

If your own spam has suddenly increased, your address has probably been shared by a company you dealt with, exposed in a data breach or collected by spammers. Once it is out there, it gets sold and reused by many senders, according to the National Cybersecurity Alliance.

Did you know?

In 2025, Kaspersky’s users encountered over 144 million harmful email attachments, 15% more than the year before.

How can I stop getting spam and junk emails?

  1. Mark it as spam instead of deleting it. When you mark an email as spam or junk, you train your spam filter, whether it’s the one built into your email or a separate one, to send similar emails to the spam folder automatically. Most services empty that folder after about 30 days. If your filter blocks an email you wanted, mark it as “Not spam” so it learns from that too. Gmail and other email providers have a “Not spam” button or similar.
  2. Don’t reply or unsubscribe if you don’t recognise the sender. Clicking “unsubscribe” in an email from someone you can’t identify can confirm to the spammer that your address is active, and the link can take you to a website that installs malware. Replying, even to say “stop”, does the same. Unsubscribing from a well-known shop or brand you signed up with is safe.
  3. Block senders, but don’t rely on it. Every email service lets you block an address. That works for a company that keeps mailing you, but spammers switch addresses constantly, so blocked spam often comes back from a new one.
  4. Keep your address off public websites. If you have to publish it, write it in a way bots can’t read, for example as an image.
  5. Use a second address for sign-ups. Keep one address for people you know and use another for newsletters, shops, competitions and online forms. For your business email, a domain spam filter service protects everyone at your company at once.
  6. If spam still gets through, add a spam filter. Email providers’ built-in filters vary in how well they work. A spam filter such as Spamdrain can be set to be really strict: It blocks most marketing emails as standard, and you allow the senders you want with a few taps. Spamdrain works with all email providers, and across devices such as iPhone, Android, Mac and PC. It costs less than a cup of coffee a month. Simply connect and we do the rest.

How to stop spam in Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and on your phone

Gmail

Open the email and select Report spam. Gmail learns from it and sends similar emails to your Spam folder. To block a sender, open the email, click the More icon next to Reply and choose Block. Read more about Spamdrain’s spam filter for Gmail.

Outlook and Hotmail

In Outlook.com or Hotmail, report the email as junk with Report junk (in the Outlook app, it’s in the three-dot menu). To block a sender, go to Settings, then Mail, then Junk email, and add the address under Blocked senders and domains. Read more about Spamdrain’s spam filter for Outlook and Hotmail.

Yahoo Mail

Select the email and click Spam. To block an address, open Settings, then More Settings, then Security and privacy, and add it under Blocked addresses. Read more about Spamdrain’s spam filter for Yahoo Mail.

iPhone and Android

On iPhone, the Mail app puts junk in the Junk folder using each email provider’s own filter; to move a spam email there, swipe left on it, tap More, then Move to Junk. On Android, most people use the Gmail app: Open the email, tap the three dots and choose Report spam. Each of these filters protects only one account. Spamdrain covers every account you connect, on your iPhone or Android phone.

How to stop porn and adult spam emails

Porn, adult and other inappropriate spam is upsetting to receive. Treat it like other spam, with a few extra precautions:

  • Don’t open it or click anything in it, including “unsubscribe” links.
  • Mark it as spam or junk instead of deleting it, so your filter learns to catch it.
  • Don’t reply, even to complain.
  • If an email claims it recorded you and demands payment, it’s a scam known as sextortion. The US Federal Trade Commission’s advice is not to pay anything and to delete the message. If it quotes one of your passwords, change that password, and any others that are the same.
  • Adult spammers change their addresses all the time, so a filter that learns from many people helps. With Spamdrain, when anyone in its community marks an email as spam, everyone else is protected from it too.

Is spam only annoying or can it also be dangerous?

While most spam is annoying, some can be outright dangerous. Spam or junk email such as those peddling miracle drugs, lottery tickets or even porn sites are annoying because they clog up our inboxes, forcing us to waste valuable time looking for emails that we want or need to read.

But some spam emails contain attachments with malware or ransomware, or link to websites that attempt to steal information such as usernames and passwords and credit card data. One of the most common online scams is phishing.

Use Spamdrain spam filter to stop junk mail

What is phishing?

“Phishing” is a cybercrime in which scammers fish for their target’s personal details by impersonating a trusted source such as a bank or credit card company via email, and trick their targets into revealing sensitive financial details.

The emails sent by scammers usually coerce the targets to pay a (fake) invoice, reset banking passwords, verify bank or credit card accounts or update billing information. The emails can even ask you to click on a link or attachment that downloads a malicious software that accesses all the information on your computer.

These emails usually come with subtle threats that your bank account will be blocked or credit card cancelled if you do not do _________ (the action the scammer wants you to do). Once they have your financial information, scammers transfer money out of your bank accounts or run up huge credit card bills.

Some scammers also groom vulnerable people to gain their trust and then extract money or personal details from them, sometimes even stealing their identities. These scams inflict significant damage on the target’s finances as well as physical and mental health.

How do I protect myself from phishing?

To protect yourself from email scams such as phishing, you need to have your wits about you all the time, but here are a few golden rules:

  1. If an unsolicited email offers you something that sounds too good to be true – such as an inheritance from an alleged long-lost relative, a lottery payout, or if you are offered a share of a fortune if you help someone transfer some money out of their country – it’s most likely a scam.
  2. Remember, banks or financial institutions NEVER ask their customers for sensitive financial information such as passwords or ATM card PINs.
  3. Any emails asking you to drop everything and do something RIGHT NOW OR ELSE (such as update your bank details by clicking on the link given or your account will be suspended etc) are to be treated with extreme suspicion.
  4. Don’t open emails from unknown sources and if you do, don’t click on any links in them.
  5. Always use a spam filter such as Spamdrain that will block phishing emails from reaching your inbox.
  6. Update your computer operating system and browser regularly. Have an anti-virus system in place and also update it regularly.

Frequently asked questions

Will spam emails ever stop?
Not completely. You can cut it down a lot by marking spam, keeping your address private and using a good spam filter.
Why do I keep getting spam even though I block it?
Because spammers keep changing the address they send from. Blocking stops one address; the next email comes from a new one. Marking emails as spam works better, because your filter learns what the emails look like, not just who sent them.
Is it better to block, delete or report spam?
Report it. Marking an email as spam or junk teaches your filter to catch similar emails. Deleting teaches it nothing, and blocking only stops that one sender.
Can I turn off junk email?
You can’t switch spam off, but some filters can be made stricter. Classic Outlook for Windows lets you raise its junk email protection level. Gmail and Yahoo don’t have a strictness setting, but marking emails as spam helps their filters learn.
How do I get my email address off spam lists?
There’s no single list to ask to be removed from. Companies you know must stop emailing you when you unsubscribe, so do that for shops and brands you signed up with. For senders you don’t recognise, don’t unsubscribe: Mark the email as spam.
Should I unsubscribe from spam emails?
Only from companies you recognise. Clicking “unsubscribe” in an email from an unknown sender can tell the spammer your address is active, or take you to a harmful website.
What should I do about an email that says it recorded me?
Don’t pay and don’t reply. It’s a common scam called sextortion, and the sender has no recording. Delete it, and if it quotes a real password, change that password everywhere you use it. In the US you can report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Will a spam filter make me miss important emails?
It shouldn’t. With Spamdrain, blocked emails aren’t deleted. They wait in your blocked list in the app, and you can allow any of them with a tap. Spamdrain learns from that and sends that sender straight to your inbox next time.