We all know that familiar feeling of frustration that occurs when too many spam or junk emails are filling up your inbox. Email advertisements and marketing campaigns from companies can be a pain, especially if their emails are overshadowing important communications because of their overwhelming volume. Plus, sometimes it feels impossible to get your email off of a company’s mailing list if you no longer wish to receive unnecessary emails from them. Some people have come to believe that clicking an unsubscribe button in an email will only lead to more spam emails, since that company now knows that you are checking that email. So, is it worth it to click the unsubscribe link?
Clicking The Unsubscribe Link
In most cases, it is ok to click the unsubscribe link in an email. After clicking that link, the sender should be able to remove your email manually or automatically from their mailing list, and you will no longer receive the unwanted emails. In many countries, vendors who participate in marketing via mail are required by law to offer a clear and convenient way that their customers can withdraw their information from the company’s mailing list. Plus, the request must be completed in a timely manner. It is extremely common for businesses to fulfill this requirement by including an ‘unsubscribe’ button or link at the very bottom of an email. Some of these links, when clicked, will automatically unsubscribe your email, while others might require additional steps. Either way, by the end of the process, you should no longer be receiving emails from that vendor.
There may be some sketchy figures, though, who could complicate this process. Clicking the unsubscribe button on a legitimate, trusted sender’s email shouldn’t cause any problems. However, if the sender is not legitimate, the unsubscribe link may be fraudulent. This is just another one of the ways that cybercriminals have figured out how to deceive you into clicking on a fraudulent link and leading your computer to a compromised website or a virus download. If you are not confident that the email is legitimate, do not click any links and report the email address if you feel it is necessary.
Sometimes criminals may not infect the unsubscribe button with a fraudulent link, but instead will use it as a way to confirm the legitimacy of your email. By clicking the unsubscribe button on one of those emails, you are letting the cybercriminal know that your email address is valid and active and they will continue to target your address. In any case, be on the lookout for illegitimate emails and do not interact with them if you are not sure of their validity – simply delete and/or blacklist them via spam filtering.
Unsubscribe Loopholes and Fraud Prevention
If a company that had your information on a mailing list sold or gave that list to another company, they are not required to take any action to remove your email from the second company’s list if you unsubscribe from theirs. Unsubscribing from their list means that they themselves can no longer send you emails, but that does not prevent any emails from companies that they provided with your email address from continuing to send emails. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for these companies to give your email address to other third parties or affiliates and you will have to unsubscribe from each one of them whenever you receive a new email.
Additionally, even if a company is sending you legitimate emails, they may be able to find loopholes that allow them to ignore your unsubscribe requests. For example, the law in the US states that vendors can continue to send you emails if the email is “transactional” or supports a mutual “relationship.” Some companies will abuse this rule and continue to send unwanted emails- in this case, there is not much you can do other than ignore or block them. You also can report that they are in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act by filing a complaint with the FTC, and they may be fined for each violation that occurred.
You may be able to prevent all of this by simply marking the email as spam in your own inbox instead of trying to unsubscribe. The unsubscribe button should be safe on legitimate emails, but if you are hesitant or unsure about clicking it, then marking it as spam is another option. If needed, you can also set up an email filter that can automatically remove spam emails from your inbox rather than clicking unsubscribe or manually marking them as spam. If you are ever unsure about the legitimacy of a link, there are several ways to check it without clicking on it, including hovering over it to see if the link that pops up looks familiar. The web address that pops up with the hover should be associated with the company, with correctly spelled titles of course.
Here at Blue Oak, we can give you all the resources you need in order to unsubscribe from emails or mark them as spam, as well as guide you through identifying and eliminating fraudulent emails and keeping your systems safe. We offer a wide variety of services, including email encryption, hosting, archiving, and spam filtering, of course. We know just what you need to maintain the online security of your business. And, in the unfortunate event of a security breach, we will be right by your side, ready to make things right.
Read our last post here: Two Factor Authentication Apps: Beware of Scams
