How to avoid and prevent spam

In this article

Spam is unsolicited junk mail or marketing emails which you haven’t agreed to receive.

 

Marketing material sent by companies that you’ve given your email address or phone number to, and where you've consented to receiving marketing messages is not spam.

Spam email tips:

  1. only give your email address to people you know and trust

  2. try setting up a separate email account for shopping online or registering with websites or forums, keeping your 'main' email address confidential

  3. if a website asks you for your email address, they want to use it for something – make sure you know what

  4. read the terms of use and privacy policy of any site before telling them your address

  5. look for a checkbox that lets you opt-in or opt-out of marketing messages when registering on a website. Your email address could end up in the hands of marketing departments all over the globe

  6. never respond to a spam email – this can verify your address to spammers. If you recognise it as spam, delete it immediately

  7. never click the 'Unsubscribe' or 'Remove from mailing list' link in spam emails – this can verify your address to spammers or be used to collect details from your computer, install malicious programs or redirect you to explicit web pages
Spam text tips:

  1. read any terms and conditions thoroughly before giving out your mobile phone number

  2. be careful when ticking boxes when you’re offered additional marketing messages – you should be able to opt out 

  3. never register with websites that promise to remove your details from spam lists – they’re not all legitimate and some use your details to send even more spam messages

  4. ignore messages if you’re unsure who they’ve come from 

  5. if you know the identity of the sender you can text STOP to the phone number or five-digit short code shown in the text message to opt out of future messages

  6. you should tell the sender if you experience a problem with opting out and allow them time to put things right

  7. don’t call the number in the text message as you may be charged at premium rate. If the message states to call or text a premium rate number or short code, you should report it to Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) (formerly ICSTIS)

If you receive a call from a company that you don’t know or don’t want to hear from, you should:

  1.  

    ask who’s phoning – the calling agent must give you the name of the caller and, if you ask for it, the address of the caller or a free phone number
  2.  

    tell them you no longer wish to receive live marketing or sales calls

How do I report spam messages?

How do I report spam messages?

Getting unwanted calls and texts? You can report them quickly and easily.

EE does not condone the sending of unsolicited commercial text messages without the recipient's consent. It’s unlawful business practice (and, obviously, quite irritating).

Reporting spam to EE:
  1.  

    to help keep these intrusive messages away, forward the message (including the phone number) to 7726.

    This will enable us to take early action to remove the numbers which are generating the spam from our network and help us shut down the spammers.

  2.  

    to stop all unsolicited sales or marketing calls, sign up to the Telephone Preference Service by texting TPS followed by your email address to 85095 (free of charge) or calling 0207 291 3320. 
  3.  

    you can also report instances of spam to the Information Commissioner’s Office or call them on 0303 123 1113.

> Find out more about nuisance calls and texts from Ofcom

> Find out more about blocking calls and text from your device

What is a scam?

What is a scam?

Scams are emails, texts, voice calls or other messages made to look and sound like they've come from a trusted company and are designed to get hold of your personal information.

> Find out more about how to avoid and prevent scams here

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