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You will laugh next time you see an unknown email message in your Inbox. This knowledge will help you understand more what spammers and phishers look like.

First suggestion to decrease spam

The best way to decrease or totally eliminate spam from your Inbox is to use a Gmail account. I tested a lot of accounts, such as yahoo mail, msn hotmail, adpost, Outlook express and mailup.

I noticed that Gmail is very good to filter spam, and even though I receive spam all of it ends automatically in the Spam Folder. I do not use any anti spam software. Although I receive even more than hundred emails a day the spam software is useless if you have a Gmail account. You can get it for free from the google website.

If you are receiving spam from the same people over and over again you can report them. If you use Gmail, you can contact the Google Team. You can also create a filter that will automatically delete all messages sent from a specific email address.

Common reasons you receive spam

1. You receive spam because people see your email address. That does not mean you have to keep it Top Secret. It means you must use your email carefully. If possible don't write it down in message boards, forums, groups or classified ads.

Treat your email address as if it is the key of an important door. Do not share it with everyone, or give it freely away to other people whom you do not yet know. Spammers find these email addresses online, anywhere. Then they start sending you messages or even sell your email to other spammers.

I have more than one Gmail account and you can too. If you have many contacts or do business you can just use one account for sending emails and another for something else.

2. Subscriptions to newsletters, ezines or any other subscription may be dangerous. Do not submit your Name and Email to all the subscription boxes you find online.

Some are so interesting that attract a lot of people, maybe cause they are giving away something for free. There are hundreds and thousands of newsletters, and usually they all give some freebie to attract new subscribers.

Use caution, and only subscribe to newsletters and ezines that you are really interested in, not just to receive the freebie. If you just need the freebie a good idea is to create a new Gmail account and name it myfrebbies. Then use that account just for getting freebies.

If the site is looking badly designed, or even some other things that are repelling you, then don't subscribe. The badly designed sites do not have good newsletters neither and they might sell your email or send you spam.

Most dangerous type of spam

Phishing is the most dangerous type of scam. Phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details. These people are simple called Phishers not Spammers.

Phishers send messages trying to make you believe they are huge companies like paypal, ebay, stormpay, HSBC and many others.

You can read the title of your email messages and simple understand they are fake.

Further more these may contain adware or spyware. You should just delete them. Never click the links.

Those sites are fake, and just by clicking on a single fake link from your email message that can harm your PC with spyware or adware.

Ebay, paypal or any other worldwide known company will always email you saying:
Dear your full name or Dear name

Phishers most often do not even say Dear or Hello, or say just Hello Friend. They don't know your real name most often.

Links inside emails can be verified to see if they are fake or real. If you open a message and you think it is phishing place your mouse button without clicking over the URL. It's important not to click. Then simple look at the bottom of your browser.

Are the links the same? Probably not, cause they are fake. Delete message.

You should treat spam as if they are really harmful cause they indeed are. Take care of your email address, cause it is the key to your privacy. The Internet can be very dangerous if you allow it to be. This advice helps makes your online activity safer. Everyone has common sense, and it is important to make use of it when you are on the Internet. If it looks to good to be true, than it is.