Email management

Right-click and copy suspicious links into a text editor to inspect them safely.

Hover previews can be spoofed or may not always show.

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• Hover over hyperlinks in emails to reveal the actual URL before clicking, checking for suspicious domains or redirect indicators.3

Use a password manager instead of storing passwords in emails.

Email hints can easily lead to your password.

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Create separate email accounts for different purposes, such as one for spam/promotions and another for personal or professional use.

This helps separate important emails from junk.

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• Maintain separate email accounts for personal use and for companies/newsletters, ensuring only the personal account notifies your smartphone.1

Create a secondary email account for store logins and sign-ups to isolate promotional emails.

You can search it for discount codes when needed and ignore it otherwise.

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Only mark emails as spam if they are from illegitimate sources; avoid marking legitimate business emails you no longer want as spam.

Marking legitimate mail as spam corrupts the training data, decreasing overall filter effectiveness and causing important messages to be missorted.

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• Periodically check your spam folder for legitimate emails that were misclassified, and mark false positives as not spam to train the filter.2

Draft emails by writing content and attaching files before having all necessary information.

It allows you to be proactive while waiting for other inputs.

• Coworkors might become suspicious if you draft the whole email too quickly after receiving the final piece.

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Create an email rule to automatically move messages containing the word 'Friday' or 'Black Friday' into a specific folder.

This keeps all such emails trapped in one place so you know where they are.

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• Create a folder in your email with rules to automatically move online receipts there.1
• Label and archive marketing emails using rules instead of deleting them.1

Perform a manual unsubscribe session to remove unwanted newsletters from your inbox.

Unwanted emails bury important messages quickly.

• Some companies continue sending emails even after you unsubscribe.
• Using third-party bulk unsubscribe services may require giving them your data.

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Ask your mail carrier to place generic circulars in a basket rather than stuffing individual mailboxes.

You may be doing the carrier a favor.

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Avoid clicking links in unsolicited emails unless you specifically requested or expect them.

Links may lead to viruses or drive-by attacks that activate just by opening the page.

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Assume emails are permanent once sent, as recall features are unreliable if the recipient has already opened the message.

Your chances of successfully recalling an email are slight.

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Tackle the longest conversation threads first when returning from a trip.

They are often already resolved or represent your highest priority if unsolved after many emails.

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Discard junk mail immediately upon entry to prevent clutter buildup.

It creates a mess.

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Query your inbox for 'unsubscribe' to locate and handle newsletter sign-ups collectively.

This method isolates mailers that usually include this term in their footer.

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Be cautious when using 'Reply All', especially in company-wide threads, to avoid creating email storms.

Accidental reply-alls can trigger cascading responses from all recipients of the original email.

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Avoid purchasing smart appliances.

They are generally insecure, more expensive to repair, and unnecessary.

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set up rules to automatically move or delete automated responses from ticketing and CRM systems that you monitor directly elsewhere

to prevent these system-generated messages from spamming your mailbox

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Be aware that unsubscribing from unknown emails may confirm your address is valid to scammers.

Scammers may use the act of unsubscribing to verify active email addresses.

• There are other ways for senders to track if an email was opened.

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Do not provide your Social Security Number when opting out of credit card offers online, as it is not required.

The Social Security Number field is not required for opting out.

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Search your inbox for 'COVID' to identify mailing lists that sent pandemic-related updates so you can unsubscribe.

It shows a list of every company's mailing lists you are subscribed to.

• Not helpful if the useless ones don't send COVID mail.

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Visit AAA offices in person to request removal from their mailing list if calling does not work.

Calling didn't seem to work for one person, but visiting resulted in no further mail.

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Investigate the source of unwanted direct mail by checking fine print or addresses, then contact the sender directly to request removal from their lists.

Many direct mailers do not honor standard opt-out requests.

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Long-press or hover over unsubscribe links to verify the URL points to a legitimate company domain before clicking.

Unsubscribe links can be malware.

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Do not enter your real name when unsubscribing from spam emails.

This is often a trick to gather personal information.

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Look up the company producing circulars, often found in fine print on the flyer, and contact them directly to unsubscribe.

One user stopped receiving a specific circular after sending one email to the producer.

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Use the unsubscribe link for legitimate brands you no longer want to hear from, and report unknown or suspicious senders as spam.

Reporting spam negatively impacts the sender's reputation score tracked by email systems.

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Check the sender's email address for legitimacy, looking out for generic names or randomly generated characters.

Scammers may claim to be from major companies but use addresses that look like random code.

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Contact companies you do business with to opt out of data sharing and marketing via their privacy policies or account preferences.

to reduce junk mail and calls

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Do not use bulk unsubscribe searches on work email accounts.

Companies often use mailing list services for internal communications, so this action may delete important emails.

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Recognize that some spam comes from legitimate mailing list software where unsubscribe links actually function correctly.

It is easy for spammers to use this software.

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Discuss charitable gifting and subscription practices with household members to prevent accidental sign-ups.

These entities often make money by reselling email and phone lists.

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Check the footer of promotional emails for inconsistencies, such as being from a different country than expected.

Scam emails may use footers from regions other than the recipient's location.

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Unsubscribe directly from legitimate businesses to prevent their transactional or important emails from being incorrectly filtered into spam folders.

Failing to unsubscribe can cause future legitimate business emails to be sent to spam.

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Expect that some companies, such as Discover Card or car insurance providers, may continue sending mail even after you have opted out.

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