Technology
Is it safe to unsubscribe from spam you didn’t sign up for?
We’ve all been there: Trying to clean out our inbox only to find that the same sketchy emails keep showing up, even after clicking “unsubscribe.” Robert from Danville, Virginia, wrote in with a question that many of us can relate to.
“When you unsubscribe to a junk email that you know you didn’t authorize, do you really unsubscribe and no longer get [emails]? I scroll to the bottom of the email and process the ‘unsubscribe’ function and even block the email using the block option within my email. Seems the same emails reappear. Is unsubscribing worth my time? Any remedies?” he wrote.
Robert, you’re not alone in asking this, and the trust is more complicated (and frustrating) than you might think. While unsubscribing can work in some cases, there are situations where it might actually make things worse. Let’s break down when it’s safe to unsubscribe, when it’s not and what you can do instead to take back control of your inbox.
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Beware of scammers (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
The truth about unsubscribing from spam you didn’t sign up for
Unsubscribing isn’t always safe, especially with spam. If an email is from a legitimate business, like a store you bought something from or a newsletter you signed up for, it’s usually OK to unsubscribe. These companies are bound by email marketing laws and will typically remove you. However, emails that you never signed up for are completely different. Here are the key differences.
Legit email
- Comes from a known business or service
- Usually has a working unsubscribe link
- Opt-out request is honored
Spam/scam email
- Comes from unknown or random sources
- “Unsubscribe” link might be fake or used to track clicks
- Clicking may confirm your email is active and invite more spam
Email app on smartphone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
HOW TO STOP PROMOTIONAL EMAILS WHERE YOU CAN’T UNSUBSCRIBE
When not to click ‘unsubscribe’
Not all unsubscribe links are safe. In fact, clicking on one in a suspicious email can make things worse by signaling to spammers that your address is active.
Avoid clicking unsubscribe if:
- The sender is unfamiliar, or the message feels unrelated to anything you’ve signed up for
- The email contains typos, bad formatting or vague greetings like “Dear customer”
- The sender address looks weird (e.g., winbignow@marketingzone.biz)
- The “unsubscribe” link redirects to a strange URL
In these cases, clicking unsubscribe might invite even more junk mail instead of stopping it.
THE ‘UNSUBSCRIBE’ EMAIL SCAM IS TARGETING AMERICANS
Better ways to fight spam
Here’s what you should do instead to counteract spam.
1) Mark it as spam or phishing: Every email provider (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) has a “report spam” button. Use it. This feature trains your inbox to recognize and filter future junk. It also helps others by flagging known spam sources all while not tipping off the spammer.
2) Block the sender (but know it’s temporary): Blocking a sender can help, but temporarily, because spammers often use rotating addresses. It’s a continuous game, but it still has short-term value.
How to block senders on major email platforms:
- Gmail: Open the email > Click the three-dot menu > Block [sender]
- Outlook: Open the message > Click the three-dot menu > Block or Report
- Yahoo Mail: Open the email > Click the three-dot menu > Block sender
- Apple Mail (iCloud): Tap the sender’s name > Block this Contact
3) Use your email’s built-in alias or disposable tools: Before switching to a third-party service, it’s worth checking what your current email provider already offers. Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo have handy tricks for separating junk from legit messages without signing up for anything new.
Here’s how it works with the major platforms.
- Gmail: Add a plus sign (+) and a keyword to your regular address when signing up (e.g., yourname+shopping@gmail.com). The email will still arrive in your inbox, but now you can see who leaked your info and create filters to organize or block it.
- Yahoo Mail (Plus users): You can create up to 500 disposable email addresses. These are full of alternate addresses that you can disable or remove if they start getting spammed.
- Outlook: Microsoft lets you create and manage “alias” addresses linked to your existing Outlook account. These aliases can be used to send and receive email and help keep your primary address private.
This trick is great for organizing your inbox, tracking how your email is being used and filtering out spam before it becomes a problem. Check out the full how-to guide here: How to create a disposable email address.
Gmail on a tablet (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
4) Upgrade to a spam-killer inbox service: Anonymous email tricks are a smart move, but if you want full control over spam, privacy and organization, a dedicated alias email service is the way to go.
An alias email address is an additional address that forwards to your primary inbox. It lets you receive messages without ever exposing your real email. By using different aliases for online sign-ups, shopping, newsletters and more, you can easily manage incoming mail and instantly shut off spam by deleting an alias whenever needed.
Creating multiple aliases also protects your real email address from being flooded with junk or compromised in a data breach. It’s one of the easiest ways to stay organized and secure online.
Want to find the best secure and private email services? Check out my full review here.
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5) Use a burner email service for short-term sign-ups: If you want an extra layer of separation from your personal inbox, burner email services are a great option. They create temporary email addresses you can use for quick sign-ups with no commitment and no spam in your real inbox.
Burner emails are especially useful for:
- Free trials
- Giveaways
- Sketchy sites
- One-time forms or downloads
You can refer to a comprehensive list of popular temporary email services that generate disposable addresses lasting from minutes to hours, which offer features like anonymous inboxes, attachment support, browser extensions and easy expiration to protect your privacy and reduce spam.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Unsubscribing from suspicious emails can do more harm than good, so it’s best to mark them as spam and block the sender instead. Use your email provider’s built-in tools to filter messages and create aliases to track where spam is coming from. For short-term sign-ups, disposable email services are a great way to protect your real inbox. And if you want long-term control and privacy, switching to a secure email service is the best way to keep your inbox clean.
Have you found a trick that actually helps stop spam? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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When Oregon resident Isabelle Reksopuro heard Google was gobbling up public land to fuel its data centers in her home state, she didn’t initially know what to believe. “There’s a lot of misinformation about data centers,” she said. “Google has denied taking that land.”
Technically, she explains, The Dalles, a city near the Washington state border, sought to reclaim that land, “and Google is just a big, unnamed power user.” The city had in fact asked for ownership of a 150-acre portion of Mount Hood National Forest, claiming it needs access to Mount Hood’s watershed to meet municipal needs as its population — 16,010 as of the 2020 census — grows. But critics, including environmentalists, say the city is trying to secure more water for Google, which has a sprawling data center campus in The Dalles that already consumes about one-third of the city’s water supply.
This controversy made Reksopuro curious about the backlash to data centers being built in other communities. So Reksopuro, a student at the University of Washington who studies the connections between tech and public policy, decided to map it out. Using information collected by Epoch AI and data scraped from legislation on data centers, she built an interactive map tracking AI policy around the world. She designed it to be simple enough for anyone to use. “I wanted it to be something that my younger sisters could play through and explore to understand what are the data centers in the area and what’s actually being done about it,” Reksopuro said. She hoped to shift their opinions that way, “instead of like, through TikTok.”
Four times a day, the map searches for new sources and checks them against the existing database Reksopuro built out. “Once it does that, it will write a new summary, add it to the news feed, and populate it on the sidebar,” she said. “I wanted it to be self-updating, since I’m also a student.”
Reksopuro isn’t against data centers, but she thinks tech giants benefit from a lack of transparency around data center policies. “Right now, it’s this really opaque thing — and all of a sudden, there’s a facility,” she said. “I think that if people knew about data centers beforehand, it would give them leverage. They would be able to negotiate: ask for job training programs, tax revenue, environmental monitoring, things to improve their community.”
UCF commencement speaker Gloria Caulfield (University of Central Florida via Storyful)
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IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
– UCF graduates clobber commencement speaker with boos after she says AI is the ‘next Industrial Revolution’
– OPINION: DIRECTOR KASH PATEL: We brought the FBI out of the past and into the AI age
– OpenAI backs creation of global AI governance body led by the U.S. that would include China as a member
TOUGH CROWD: During a recent commencement ceremony at the University of Central Florida, a speaker was met with loud boos from the graduating class after declaring that artificial intelligence represents the next industrial revolution. Fox News Digital reporting captures this tense cultural moment, illustrating the mixed public sentiment and skepticism surrounding AI’s growing footprint in daily life.
A statue on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. (iStock)
BADGE MEETS BYTE: Reflecting on the modernization of national security in a Fox News op-ed, FBI Director Kash Patel explores how the bureau must adapt its strategies to address modern threats and advance beyond the artificial intelligence age.
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FBI Director Kash Patel listened as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke during a press conference at the Department of Justice on April 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
STRATEGY RESET: Tech giant Cisco is planning to eliminate thousands of jobs as the company shifts its primary focus to accelerate its artificial intelligence initiatives, a move that comes despite the company beating earnings expectations. Fox News Digital reporting details the corporate restructuring and broader economic trends pushing legacy tech firms to aggressively pivot toward AI.
ROAD HAZARD: Waymo is issuing a sweeping recall of its autonomous vehicle fleet following a concerning incident that highlighted significant safety issues with the self-driving technology. Fox News Digital reporting outlines the specifics of the recall, the nature of the safety flaw, and what this setback means for the future of fully autonomous transportation on public roads.
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
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Microsoft Edge is adding a new feature that will allow its Copilot AI chatbot to gather information from all of your open tabs. When you start a conversation with Copilot, you can ask the chatbot questions about what’s in your tabs, compare the products you’re looking at, summarize your open articles, and more.
In its announcement, Microsoft says you can “select which experiences you want or leave off the ones you don’t.” The company is retiring Copilot Mode as well, which could similarly draw information from your tabs but offered some agentic features, like the ability to book a reservation on your behalf. Microsoft has since folded these agentic capabilities into its “Browse with Copilot” tool.
Several other AI features are coming to Edge, including an AI-powered “Study and Learn” mode that can turn the article you’re looking at into a study session or interactive quiz. There’s a new tool that turns your tabs into AI-powered podcasts as well, similar to what you’d find on NotebookLM, and an AI writing assistant that will pop up when you start entering text on a webpage.
You can also give Copilot permission to access your browsing history to provide more “relevant, high-quality answers,” according to Microsoft. Copilot in Edge on desktop and mobile will come with “long-term memory” as well, which can tailor its responses based on your previous conversations. And, when you open up a new tab, you’ll see a redesigned page that combines chat, search, and web navigation, along with the Journeys feature, which uses AI to organize your browsing history into categories that you can revisit.
Meanwhile, an update to Edge’s mobile app will allow you to share your screen with Copilot and talk through the questions about what you’re seeing. Microsoft says you’ll see “clear visual cues” when Copilot is active, “so you know when it’s taking an action, helping, listening, or viewing.”
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