Spamming definition
Spamming refers to the act of sending unsolicited messages, often excessively, about a product or service. Spam messages are sent by email, SMS, or social media.
Types of spamming:
- Email spamming. The most common type of spamming, email spamming, consists of sending messages to promote fake or illegal products and services to a large group of people who haven’t subscribed to these emails.
- SMS spamming. Promoting fake products by sending unsolicited text messages.
- Social media spamming. The use of bots to flood social media feeds with messages and links to illegal products, scams, and malware.
- Comment spamming. A spammer uses platforms like YouTube to pretend to be the original video creator. They reply to comments and urge users to reach out by contacting their private numbers.
- Robocalling. The use of automated systems to call people and play pre-recorded messages about services, products, and scams.
How to defend against spamming
- When filling out forms with your phone or email address, don’t put anything when you can.
- Be cautious before opening any messages from unknown senders.
- Use temporary email addresses when registering to services you’re only using once.
- Opt out of promotional emails.
- If you get a spam message, report it.
