Spam
Spam emails are emails that you receive that you haven’t asked for and that you don’t want. They are usually sent from people or organisations that you don’t know, and may be trying to sell you something, get you to pass on a chain letter, or asking you to send your personal details or some money to someone you don’t know. Sometimes they can also link to a website that has viruses or trojans that will infect your computer.
What should I do if I receive spam?
Never reply to spam. Each spam email is usually sent to thousands of different email addresses in the hope that one person will reply. If you reply to a spammer, they then know that your email address is real, and they will continue to send you a lot more spam (and may even pass on your address to other spammers).
Sometimes spammers are sneaky and say ‘if you don’t want anymore emails from me, send me an email to tell me’. Instead of stopping the emails, spammers then know that a person checks this email address and they send even more spam.
Don’t click on any links that are in spam emails. Your computer can get a virus or trojan if you do this.
If you receive an email from someone you don’t know and you think it might be spam, just press delete. Some email programmes also have spam-filters. Ask your parent/caregiver if spam filters are set on your computer.
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