Read This Before Hitting That 'Unsubscribe' Button
Signing up for an email list is sometimes a great way to get a big discount or some other perks that an organization may offer. However, more often than not, one may find their inbox flooded with emails from brands they once bought from, which can be annoying. It's only normal to want to hit that unsubscribe button, but is it safe?
The unsubscribe button, when accessed within legitimate emails can be a secure way to remove a recipient's email address from the organization's mailing list.
"There are legitimate parties that utilize an unsubscribe button [that] will unsubscribe you, but … there are also parties who are scammers, who use that to confirm your email address is correct," cybersecurity expert Joseph Steinberg told Nexstar.
"The worst possible thing you could do if someone is a real spammer is to tell someone that yes, this email address is valuable, and this is a real person. Your email address just became much more valuable to them," he added.
According to experts, this may be a way by which spammers identify active emails. "Getting flooded with more spam is the least of your problems," said Steinberg, co-author of "Cybersecurity for Dummies."
By clicking that unsubscribe button, you may also make your device susceptible to malware. "They may craft an email attempting to scam you out of money or tell you that a relative is in danger, or who knows what else," Steinberg added.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, there are a few ways by which you can recognize red flags. The commission also asked customers to reduce the amount of emails by an email provider with a strong spam filter. Customers were also advised to not share their primary email address.
Experts also advised users to report unsolicited messages as spam, if they are recurring and persistent. "Usually there’s a button on your email system to flag something as spam, and that information will be fed to the anti-spam engine. These engines are getting better, and eventually, they’ll help filter out those emails," Steinberg added.
This doesn't mean that you can rely on your spam filter at all times. It's still important to always be cautious and not trust something just because it's in your inbox. Steinberg also talked about how, these scammers can simply use their hacking skills to get into somebody's mailbox, which can also surpass any spam filters.
"Remember: [Scammers] can get your email address by hacking, or the data breaches you hear about,” Steinberg added. “It’s always going to happen. It’s a question of how you manage it," he added.
Several things can happen to the user if they decide to hit on that fishy subscribe button. They often use these phony buttons that lead people to malicious websites that can steal their information and more. Clicking on these phony buttons can also lead to your mailbox getting flooded with even more spam messages.
Moreover, some hackers can also be able to spy on you if you ever end up clicking on the shady unsubscribe button. The best thing to do is ignore the unsolicited emails. Experts also advise to simply block the email address or not click anything if possible.
