A GON Reader Asks

Hi Maria,

Thank you for so many easy-to-do and practical tips. I always read your newsletter. This is one newsletter I want to keep getting in my inbox. In your recent message concerning how to stop unsolicited calls, you gave some good suggestions. Can you please also offer any tips/advice on how to stop unsolicited email?

No matter how many times I block an email or report it as phishing, it still keeps coming. Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo...they are all the same. They have all these features to block a sender, report phishing, etc. But none of them work. And these junk email messages pile on so quick. I am so tired of cleaning the junk. Please can you offer any tips in stopping these? Thanks in advance for your help.

This Reader Question was submitted by:

--Mera Sathiya


Maria Gracia responds...

Hi Mera,

I think we can all relate to your feelings of frustration about unsolicited/spam email. I don't know anyone who has managed to avoid it totally. With the email service I use, spam is automatically filtered into a folder (at least a lot of it is) with rules and filters I set up, and by indicating to my service what is spam and what isn't. I have to skim through my junk mail folder daily to ensure nothing ended up in there that isn't junk...and then I have to delete the rest.

If you have so much spam that it's out of control and taking up way too much of your time, and I know this is a drastic suggestion, you may want to change your email address and start fresh. If you do this, only give your email address to your trusted family members and friends.

Then, the very best way to deal with unsolicited email is prevention.

When you visit a site you want to receive email from, or where you have done some shopping, read carefully as you go through. Often you find little boxes you must check if you do NOT want to get email/advertisements from them and their affiliates. (i.e., they are going to give your name to other companies).

Be careful with 'unsubscribe' options. If the email comes from a site you trust, maybe a cooking site that no longer interests you, for example, you can probably safely hit the unsubscribe link. But if it is a site that you never visited, and especially if the email messages are ones for diet aids, get rich quick, etc., send them to spam or delete, without opening them.

Some spam is set up so that if all you do is open the email, the word is sent that yours is a viable email address to send more to.

Many email programs do filter a lot of spam away from your inbox into a spam folder. (Sometimes good stuff ends up in your spam folder, it pays to check periodically). Most email programs have a box or icon you can click on, or you may be able to right-click, and send the unsolicited mail to the junk box. Sometimes mail programs 'learn' what is unwanted and automatically send it there. Sometimes.

Of course, never publish your email address online. I saw someone do this on Facebook recently, telling someone to email her at her Gmail address. She just gave her email to the world. Make sure your email address is set to private on whatever social media sites you use, or visible to 'friends only.'

If you get an email that appears to be from your bank or another entity you do business with, don't click on a link to go there. Go to your browser and type in their address and go directly to the site.

Finally, you might consider separate email addresses for different purposes. Perhaps set up one for those places where you shop online and for blog or newsletter sites you want to hear from, and another for personal email only from family and friends. Re-doing all your email is a big job, but it might keep your most important inbox more free of spam.

If I have more information on this subject in the future, I will certainly include it in my newsletter. If anyone reading this has found a method that works really well for them, please reply and fill us in.

Thanks so much for writing!

--Maria

Just a very quick shout out to let you know that my latest issue of Anything and Everything is now available. It's the FEBRUARY 2020 issue and I know you're going to love it. Check it out:

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Household Chore Hazards
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In celebration of Valentine's Day, my challenge to you is to "love thy neighbor" in the best way you can. Here are 7 ideas

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And remember...Being organized creates a happier, healthier, more fulfilling life!

Warmly,

Maria Gracia
Get Organized Now!

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