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Email spam: a practical guide

Understand unwanted email, check filtered messages safely and create a simple routine for protecting important travel or business correspondence.

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Digital travel essentials

What is email spam?

Email spam is unsolicited email, often called junk or bulk email. Filtering tools move messages that appear unwanted into a separate folder, but legitimate messages can occasionally be misclassified.

If an expected booking message, enquiry or travel update does not arrive, checking the spam or junk folder is a useful first step. Avoid opening unexpected attachments or links until you are confident about the sender.

Managing your email filters

There are two common ways to review messages caught by a filter. The right option depends on your email provider and the mail app you use.

  1. Check the spam folder online. This lets you mark individual messages as safe and return them to the inbox. The drawback is that you need to remember to check regularly.
  2. Download filtered messages to a separate folder. This can make review easier in a desktop mail app, but it may increase download time and expose you to more unwanted content.
Safety note: Never disable filtering permanently just to locate one message. If you temporarily change a setting, review the result promptly and restore protection afterwards.

A careful process for reviewing all messages

Use these general steps as a checklist. Labels vary between providers and applications, so use the current help documentation for your specific account when a menu name differs.

1

Sign in through your email provider’s official website or open your trusted mail application.

2

Open Settings, Mail Settings or Preferences, then locate Spam, Junk or Filtering.

3

Review the available options for delivering filtered messages. Prefer a setting that labels suspected spam rather than removing protection altogether.

4

Save changes, then send a test message from a trusted account if you need to confirm delivery.

Laptop showing an email workspace beside a notebook

Organise messages marked as spam

A mail rule can move messages with a clear label into a review folder. For example, you might create a rule that detects a provider’s spam marker in the subject line and moves the message to a folder named Review.

1

Open the Rules, Filters or Message Rules area of your mail application.

2

Create a new rule and choose a subject or sender condition.

3

Set the action to move matching messages into a separate review folder.

4

Name the rule clearly, save it and check that it behaves as expected.

Review the folder periodically. Move genuine messages back to the inbox and delete the remaining unwanted messages without opening suspicious attachments or following unknown links.

Good email habits while travelling

  • Check spam before assuming a booking or enquiry has been lost.
  • Use strong, unique passwords and multi-factor authentication where available.
  • Keep your email application and device software updated.
  • Be cautious with urgent payment requests, password prompts and unfamiliar attachments.
  • When using shared Wi-Fi, avoid signing in through links received in unexpected messages.

Read more traveller tips

Common questions

Email and spam basics

Why might a genuine message go to spam?

Filters assess patterns such as sender reputation, message content and delivery behaviour. A legitimate message can resemble bulk mail or come from a new sender.

Should I turn off my spam filter?

Usually not. It is safer to keep filtering active and use a trusted sender list, a review folder or the provider’s “not spam” option.

What should I do when I find a genuine message?

Mark it as not spam or move it to the inbox, then add the sender to your contacts or safe-sender list if appropriate.

Is it safe to open every message in the spam folder?

No. Avoid attachments and links in suspicious messages. If you need to inspect one, verify the sender through a separate, trusted channel first.

How often should I check the spam folder?

Check it when you are expecting something important and as part of a regular email routine. Delete unwanted messages after reviewing them.