How to avoid replying to spammy contacts
By now you have probably encountered your fair share of spam emails and messages and as tempting as they may seem, they might do more harm than good. These spam contacts will always offer you something that seems like such an amazing opportunity and you may feel that it’s too good to pass up. When receiving these spam emails you should always question who is contacting you and how it benefits them if you “won that competition” or if you are “winning thousands of rands”. In this guide we will break down what you should look out for and how to avoid replying to these spammy contacts.
Identifying spammy contacts
Spam contacts can be categorised as messages and emails from unfamiliar senders, generic greetings, offers that are too good to be true and messages that have an urgent or threatening tone. These messages will often use generic greetings such as Dear Ma’am /Sir or Dear User and they will prompt you to provide your contact and personal information in order for you to receive your prize or to gain access to your inheritance – from this seemingly distant relative that you have never heard of.
Email and messaging apps
Often, a spam email will come from an address that looks suspicious or doesn’t match the supposed sender. Lookout for any misspellings in the email itself. Poor grammar and spellings can be a sign of spam. Friend requests from users that have no mutuals with you and whom you have no connection to, might be spam accounts trying to send you a message. You should never share any of your personal information with unknown contacts.
Telephone Calls
If you receive a telephone call from an unknown number requesting for your personal information, you should never share that willingly. Oftentimes these scammers will use pressure tactics such as trying to convince you that someone else is trying to hack into your banking account and that they can assist you in restoring it – but you need to give them your passwords and personal information for them to fix the issue. When you notice that the unknown caller has a robotic voice, you should end the call and block that number as it may be a spam number.
Protecting yourself
You can activate spam filters on your email account to filter out potential spam messages. You can block unknown phone numbers and callers that have a robotic voice, as these are spam callers. You should never respond to any spam messages or emails that are being sent from unknown contacts and again, never share your personal or financial information online. You should never click on any links that are being sent from a spam email or message as this might lead you to an unsecure website that won’t have a secure encryption that protects your personal data.
When it comes to spam and spammy contacts the best thing that you can do is to avoid interacting with them, report them and block them, to ensure that they won’t have access to you in the future. By being proactive and cautious, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling prey to spammy contacts. If you have your doubts about a message or email that you have received, remember that it is safer to not respond.
