What Is SPAM?
Author: Domeny.ForSale editorial team Published
In brief: Spam consists of unwanted messages, usually sent in bulk, and repetitive content that clutters communication channels. It is most commonly associated with email, but also appears in text messages, messaging apps and comments. Not all spam is fraudulent, but messages from unknown senders may contain attempts to steal information or malicious attachments.
What does spam mean, and where can you encounter it?
A typical example of spam is the same offer sent to thousands of random recipients who did not request it. The content may advertise a real product, lead to a suspicious shop or have no connection to the place where it was posted. Writing the word “SPAM” in capital letters does not change its meaning.
Spam appears across various channels:
- Email: unsolicited offers, bulk messages with attachments and repeated advertisements.
- Text messages and messaging apps: mass promotions, invitations to suspicious groups or messages containing unfamiliar links.
- Comments and forums: repeatedly posted advertisements, links unrelated to the discussion and automated posts.
- Social media: bulk private messages, tagging random people and repetitive promotional comments.
However, not every unwanted message is spam. A personal email sent to the wrong person is more likely a mistake, and a newsletter you knowingly subscribed to does not become spam simply because it no longer interests you. In that case, you can unsubscribe.
Spam, advertising and phishing — how do they differ?
Advertising describes the purpose of the content: promoting a product or service. Spam primarily concerns how it is distributed and whether the recipient wanted to receive the messages. Advertising can therefore be spam, but it can also be an expected newsletter containing offers from a shop you chose.
Phishing is impersonating a trusted person or institution to persuade the recipient to take an unsafe action, such as providing a password or making a bank transfer. It can be sent in bulk as spam, but it can also be precisely targeted at one person. A message that looks personal is not safe for that reason alone.
For example, a daily offer from an unknown seller may be ordinary advertising spam. By contrast, a message saying “Your mailbox will be blocked, log in here” and leading to a fake email login page is a phishing attempt. The key difference is the attempt to deceive the recipient, not the number of copies sent.
How can you recognise a suspicious message?
Check not only the content but also the sender’s full address. The display name, such as “Bank customer service”, can be set by the person sending the message. Even a correct address does not provide complete certainty, because the genuine account may have been compromised.
Be particularly cautious about:
- time pressure, threats to block an account or demands for an immediate additional payment;
- requests for a password, an authorisation code or card details;
- unexpected attachments, particularly executable files or documents that require you to enable macros;
- a website address that differs from the official one by a letter, an extra word or its ending;
- an offer whose context does not fit your purchases, subscriptions or contacts.
Language errors can be a warning sign, but correct Polish and a professional logo do not confirm authenticity. A padlock in the browser indicates an encrypted connection, not that the website’s owner is trustworthy.
If a message reports a problem with a parcel, open the carrier’s familiar app yourself or type in its official address. Checking the matter through an independent channel is safer than using a button in the message you received.
What should you do after receiving spam?
Mark a suspicious message as spam, and an attempt to steal information as phishing, if the app offers that option. Reporting it helps the email provider classify similar content. Blocking the sender may reduce repeat messages, but it will not stop a campaign that uses multiple addresses.
You can unsubscribe from an unwanted newsletter from a known company that you genuinely signed up for through your account settings or a trustworthy unsubscribe function. In a suspicious message from an unknown sender, do not even click the “unsubscribe” button — it may lead to a dangerous website. Do not reply asking for your address to be removed, either.
If you have already interacted with the message, what you should do depends on the outcome:
- You only opened the message: do not open attachments or links; simply viewing the content does not automatically mean your account has been compromised.
- You provided a password: change it through the official website or app, end unfamiliar sessions and enable multi-factor authentication, meaning an additional step to confirm your login.
- You disclosed payment details or sent money: contact your bank immediately through its official channel.
- You ran a suspicious file: stop working with confidential data and seek help from an IT professional; on a work device, report the incident according to your company’s procedure.
How can you reduce the amount of spam?
Do not publish your main email address where it is not needed. For registrations and subscriptions, you can use a separate address or an alias, meaning an additional address that directs mail to your inbox. This makes it easier to separate important correspondence from offers and disable a particular alias if it starts attracting spam.
Use a spam filter, but check its folder periodically: a legitimate message can also be misclassified. No filter blocks every threat, so the absence of a “spam” label is not confirmation that a message is safe.
Start by checking where the “Report spam” and “Report phishing” functions are in your email service. The next time you receive a suspicious message, this will let you respond without opening any links it contains.
See also: What Is 2FA?
Read also
