Your inbox might be overflowing with junk mail, and the quick fix seems obvious—just hit “Unsubscribe.” But that click isn’t always harmless. In fact, for scammers, it’s often exactly what they want you to do.
Why Clicking Unsubscribe Can Be Risky
Spam emails are irritating and fill your inbox with promotions or newsletters you never asked for. Clicking “Unsubscribe” feels like the right move, but not every link is genuine.
Legitimate businesses include real unsubscribe options because they’re required to by law.
Scammers, on the other hand, often use fake ones as traps. When you click, it confirms that your email address is active—inviting even more spam.
Sometimes these links go a step further, sending you to phishing pages designed to steal your personal info or downloading malware onto your device.
Bottom line: not every unsubscribe link is safe to trust.
When It Is Safe to Unsubscribe
If you get emails from a brand, company, or newsletter you actually signed up for, it’s safe to unsubscribe. But if the message looks suspicious—random sender, spelling mistakes, strange formatting, or generic greetings like “Dear user”—don’t click anything inside.
Instead, there are better ways to cut down on spam safely.
Smart Ways to Stop Spam
1. Check Who Sent the Email
Before opening or deleting, hover over the sender’s name to see the full address. Real companies use their proper domains (like @amazon.com). Anything slightly off—extra numbers, weird spelling, or Gmail addresses pretending to be official—is a red flag.
Also, pay attention to how the email greets you. Real companies usually use your name or reference your recent activity. Scammers rely on vague wording and try to rush you into clicking.
If you’re comfortable digging deeper, you can even check the email headers for SPF and DKIM results—these confirm the message actually came from the sender’s real domain.
2. Don’t Reply to Spam
Never respond to spam emails, even to ask them to stop. Replying only confirms your email address is real. Some spammers sell verified addresses to others, which means more junk in your inbox later.
Worse, replying might encourage more targeted scams once they know you engage with messages.
3. Report Spam to Improve Filters
Every major email service, including Gmail, learns from what users mark as spam. When you click “Report spam,” you help the system recognize similar messages in the future.
In Gmail, open the message, click the stop sign icon with an exclamation mark, or use the three-dot menu and choose “Report spam.” This moves the email to your spam folder and trains Gmail’s filters for next time.
4. Block Persistent Senders
If you keep getting emails from the same address, blocking them is more effective than reporting alone.
In Gmail, open the message, click the three dots in the top-right corner, and choose Block [sender name]. Future messages from that sender will skip your inbox automatically.
For phishing or scam attempts, use Report phishing instead—this helps Gmail protect not just you, but other users too.
Extra Steps to Keep Spam Away
Create Filters or Rules
If you regularly get low-priority emails (like random promotions or giveaways), you can set up filters to handle them automatically.
In Gmail, open one of those emails, click the three dots, and choose Filter messages like this. You can then set Gmail to automatically delete, archive, or label them so they never clutter your main inbox again.
Use Disposable or Temporary Emails
If you often sign up for one-time downloads, trials, or free offers, use a temporary email address instead of your main one.
Sites like 10MinuteMail, Mailinator, or Mailsac give you instant, disposable emails that expire after a short time. They’re perfect for sign-ups where you don’t trust the sender completely.
Alternatively, Gmail has a neat trick: you can add a plus sign (+) and a word after your username.
For example, abcd+offers@gmail.com still goes to your inbox, but it helps you track which sites send you emails—and filter them easily.
Try Third-Party Spam Blockers
If your inbox still gets spam despite filters, you can add an extra layer of protection with third-party tools.
Apps like Clean Email help you bulk-manage unwanted mail, unsubscribe from newsletters, and block senders. SpamSieve (for Mac) learns from your habits over time, and SpamTitan is great for teams or businesses managing multiple accounts.
Keep Your Inbox Safe and Clean
You don’t need to click every “Unsubscribe” link to take control of your inbox. With smart habits—verifying senders, blocking spam, using filters, and disposable emails—you can cut down on junk while staying safe from scams.
Take a few minutes to set up these tools now, and your inbox will thank you later.
Top comments (1)
its actually true. even i click unsubsribe i still receive mails