How to Stop Spam Emails Once and For All

Why You're Getting So Much Spam

Understanding the enemy helps you fight it:

• Data breaches expose your email to spammer lists
• Public posting (forums, social media) gets harvested by bots
• Purchased lists circulate among marketers
• "Legitimate" signups sell your address to partners
• Dictionary attacks guess common email formats (firstname.lastname@)

Once your address is out there, it's out there. The goal shifts from prevention to management.

Method 1: Use Your Email Provider's Spam Filter

Every major email provider includes spam filtering:

Gmail: Automatically filters suspected spam. Improve it by reporting spam manually—click the stop sign icon on unwanted messages.

Outlook: Uses SmartScreen filtering. Mark spam as junk to train the filter.

Apple Mail: Enable "Filter spam" in preferences. Mark spam manually for better accuracy.

Yahoo: Automatic filtering with manual spam reporting.

These filters catch 95-99% of obvious spam. The problem is the remaining 1-5%, plus "legitimate" emails you never asked for.

Method 2: Unsubscribe Aggressively

For commercial emails, the unsubscribe link is your friend:

• Look at the bottom of the email for "Unsubscribe" or "Manage preferences"
• Gmail and Outlook often surface this link at the top of the message
• Give it 10 days to take effect (legally required under CAN-SPAM)

Warning: Only unsubscribe from legitimate senders. Clicking unsubscribe in actual spam confirms your address is active, potentially increasing spam.

Method 3: Block Specific Senders

When the same sender keeps bothering you:

Gmail: Open email → three dots → Block [sender]

Outlook: Right-click message → Block → Block sender

Apple Mail: Select message → Mail menu → Block Contact

Blocked senders go straight to trash or spam.

Method 4: Create Filters and Rules

Set up automatic handling for email matching certain criteria:

• From specific domains → delete
• Containing certain words → archive
• To your +alias address → label and skip inbox

This works well for predictable spam patterns.

Method 5: Use a Secondary Email Address

Keep your primary address private:

• Use a secondary address for signups, purchases, and anything public
• Forward important messages to your main inbox
• Let the secondary address absorb the spam

Services like SimpleLogin or AnonAddy create unlimited aliases that forward to your real address.

Method 6: Report Spam to Authorities

For illegal spam (phishing, scams):

• Forward to spam@uce.gov (FTC)
• Report phishing to your email provider
• Report to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (reportphishing@apwg.org)

This doesn't stop your immediate spam problem, but it helps the broader ecosystem.

Why Nothing Truly Stops Spam

Here's the hard truth: every method above is a defensive measure against an offensive that never ends.

Spam exists because sending email is free. A spammer can blast a million messages for pennies. Even if only 0.01% convert, they profit. Your time—spent deleting, filtering, unsubscribing—costs you but nothing to them.

Traditional spam-fighting treats this like a technical problem. Better filters, smarter algorithms, more sophisticated blocking. But the economics remain broken.

The Only Way to Stop 100% of Spam

What if sending email to you wasn't free?

inbux changes the fundamental equation. Strangers who want to reach your inbox pay a price you set. Not your existing contacts—just cold outreach from people you don't know.

Think about what this means:

• Recruiters who want your attention pay for the privilege
• Salespeople invest in reaching you, making them consider whether you're actually a fit
• Spammers can't afford to blast millions of addresses when each one costs money

The emails worth sending still get sent. The ones that aren't? They stop existing.

This isn't about filtering spam into a different folder. It's about eliminating the economic incentive to send it in the first place.

Your inbox becomes yours again.

Learn how an email paywall works, or discover how an email gatekeeper can protect your inbox.