Email spam is the unwanted, unsolicited emails you get from companies that don’t know you and can be dangerous or contain computer viruses. Spam blockers are great for keeping most of it out of your inbox, but you should always be on the lookout for suspicious messages. This article will teach you five easy ways to check if an email is spam.

How to check if an email is spam first thing you should do is check the sender name (the part before the @ symbol). If the name is a bunch of numbers or a domain that you don’t recognize it is probably spam. You can also see if the email address is spelled correctly and if it looks like it has been altered. Many spammers forge sender names to make it look like a legitimate company or a friend.

Stay Safe: The Best Tools and Techniques for Checking If an Email is Spam

Another good way to tell if an email is spam is to look at the subject line. Common spam topics include money, investments, new treatments, sex or information about packages you never ordered. If the message sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Additionally, a professional organization would not request personal details or a link from you over email. Finally, rampant grammatical errors and strange punctuation are typically signs of spam.

The last step is to open the message and review the contents. If it is spam, delete it and report it to your Internet Service Provider. If it is not spam, you can mark it as such by clicking the ellipsis in the upper right corner and selecting “Mark as spam.” Then, all emails from this sender will be automatically directed to your Spam folder, where they will stay for seven days before being deleted.