Our lives are filled with spam. It has many names and comes in many forms, from email to snail mail to text messages and more. With the help of technology, as well as some clever thinking, it's not too difficult to filter out all the unwanted crap in your life. Here's how to do it.
This guide covers all kinds of services that are targeted by spam in some fashion. You can read the whole guide, or you can just click on the topic you want from the list below to skip to that section.
Calls
Whether your mobile or landline is plagued by telemarketers or you semi-regularly receive the same unwanted caller, there are a few things you can do to block out phone spammers. We'll take a look at your mobile options first, and then a few things you can do to put a stop to landline spam.
Use Google Voice
Setting up a
Google Voice account is the easiest way to block unwanted calls. Any annoying callers can be blocked quickly and easily via the Google Voice web app. You just log in, find a text message they sent, click the "more" link by that message, and choose "Block caller."
However, blocking calls on your Google Voice number is only useful if that's where you're receiving them. If the calls are coming to your mobile number, you can
port that number to Google Voice so you have access to all its services. If you'd rather not hand your number over to Google, or you're also receiving phone spam on your landline, read on for some alternatives.
Use an App
Android users have quite a few options to block unwanted callers, and all are free. Of the bunch, we like
DroidBlock because it's simple, it can block specific numbers
and unknown callers, and it can send an SMS reply to let spammers know that they're being filtered.
Unfortunately iPhone users must be
jailbreak their device in order to use a proper blocking solution, but those who do should check out
iBlackList. Although it's a $12 solution, it's extremely comprehensive. Not only can you block calls, but you can even send an automatic text reply to anyone being filtered to make them aware of their fate.
Block Landline Calls with *60
For starters, sign up for the official
Do Not Call list if you haven't already. It can help significantly, though it doesn't completely prevent telemarketers from calling. Additionally, it does absolutely nothing against other types of calls you want to block on your landline phone.
What you can use, however, is *60. If it isn't already included as a part of your phone service, just call your provider and ask if they offer it. Dialing the *60 code will allow you to enter a number you want to block. When that number calls you, the phone simply will not ring. That's all there is to it.
Text Messages
There are plenty of reasons you might end up with unwanted text messages, whether you've got a creepy stalker or some advertising service got a hold of your number. Nowadays, text message scams are especially popular and you may receive a handful of those as well. Whatever type of spam you're getting, the blocking methods are the same.
Use Google Voice
Like with calls, setting up a
Google Voice account is the easiest way to filter out unwanted text messages. Any offending texters can be blocked quickly and easily via the Google Voice web app. You just log in, find a text message they sent, click the "more" link by that message, and choose "Block caller."
However, blocking text messages on your Google Voice number is only useful if that's where you're receiving them. If the texts are being sent to your mobile phone's number instead, you can
port that number to Google Voice so you have access to all its services. If you'd rather not hand your number over to Google, however, read on for some alternatives.
Use an App
Android users have quite a few options to block unwanted texters.
Handcent SMS and
BlackList are two free filters.
PrivacyStar will cost you a few bucks per months, but if their app doesn't successfully block the offending texter you can contact them and they'll take care of the problem for you. (PrivacyStar is also available for BlackBerry.)
Like with calls, iPhone users should check out
iBlackList (assuming they've
jailbroken their device). Although it's a $12 solution, it's extremely comprehensive. Not only can you block texts, but you can even send an automatic reply to anyone being filtered to make them aware of their fate.
Email
Email spam is a much smaller problem that it used to be, now that most email services have pretty smart algorithms that filter out most of the crap for you. But there's the email known as bacn, which encompasses things like newsletters because they aren't quite spam and yet you still probably don't want them. Additionally, you may want to focus on some email more than others, and even features like Google's Priority Inbox won't always do the job. Here's what will.
Create a Whitelist Filter
If your email service or app provides filtering options, you should consider making a whitelist that sorts your email by priority. All you need to do is create a filter that is designed to ignore important messages and leave them in the inbox,
but move everything else into a secondary folder (or label, if you're a Gmail user). This way only email senders you've designated as important will show up in your inbox and you can check the secondary folder when you have a bit more time. Whitelists have the disadvantage of being too strict, but since you'll be checking both your primary and now secondary inbox you won't have to worry too much about that. The filter isn't set in stone, either, so you'll be able to update it as needed until it's working great for you.
Get Rid of Newsletters and Ads You Don't Want
Sometimes you sign up for newsletters unintentionally and you find yourself stuck with a bunch of mail you don't want to read. You can get rid of it quickly by doing a quick search for the word "unsubscribe" and creating a filter that automatically deletes emails with that word in it. Of course, that system is imperfect because it's possible—however unlikely—that it will catch a message that's not a newsletter. Alternatively, you can use a service like
Unroll.me that's designed to find all the newsletters in your inbox and help you easily unsubscribe without hassle. (Note: This service only works with popular online email providers, not any IMAP inbox, and is currently in closed beta. In the meantime you can sign up for an invite. If you use
this link you'll be placed on the priority list.) Gmail users can also employ the
Unsubscribe.com button to easily unsubscribe from mailing lists with one click when they want out. It requires more manual work, but gets the job done all the same.
Snail Mail
The majority of the mail you receive in the real world probably consists of catalogs, coupons, and other advertisements you don't really care about. It's not only annoying, but completely wasteful. The best solutions will cost you a little money, but they're worth the small fees. Here's what you can do.
Employ a Junk Mail Blocking Service
If you're willing to pay a small fee (generally $20-30) to clean out your physical mailbox, services like
Greendimes,
41 Pounds, and
Stop the Junk Mail can take care of the problem for you. All you do is provide a information about you and your problem address and the services will make the necessary calls to get you off of junk and grey mail lists. While they won't be able to stop 100% of the unwanted mail you receive, the reduction rates are usually between 85 and 90%. That's a big difference.
Use a Mail Filtering Service
If you're really willing to throw some money at the problem—$20 per month, to be exact—you should check out
Earth Class Mail. You can forward all your mail to them and they'll put it into their web app so you can view it like email. They'll open and scan your mail by request, or physically mail it to you if you'd prefer. While this won't eliminate the spam in your physical inbox, it'll reduce the recycling process to about two clicks.
Label Your Unwanted Mail
If you want to attempt to prevent delivery from certain senders, you can do this the old fashioned way. Simply mark your mail with "RETURN TO SENDER" and leave it for the postman the next day. While this method won't ensure you don't receive mail from certain senders, with persistence it will encourage it. And if you're receiving mail for a former resident, you can simply mark that with "MOVED" instead.
Get Rid of Phonebooks
Not all unwanted deliveries come from the post office, and one of the worst offenders is the phone book. It requires a lot of paper and ink to print and most of us done need them anymore. Nonetheless, they just keep coming. If you want to stop your phone book delivery,
The Daily Green suggests opting out at
Yellow Pages Goes Green and the
National Yellow Pages Consumer Choice and Opt-Out Site. Unfortunately, opting out on both of those sites won't always do the trick. Some local publishers will not honor those lists and you'll need to call them directly to avoid delivery.
Social Media
The more popular social media becomes, the more it becomes a target for spam. Twitter and Facebook are two popular targets. Here's how to stop unwanted communication on both.
Facebook
Facebook is actually very good at filtering spam if you're using it the way Zuckerberg intended. If you only friend people you know, your primary Facebook inbox will only contain messages from those people. Any other messages will end up in a
secondary inbox. In general, this system works very well but if you can't seem to get rid of a problem "friend" on Facebook you can just block them. You begin by visiting your
Privacy Settings page. From there, choose the type of blocking you want. You can add a friend to your Restricted list, which will only allow them to see public updates. (It'll be like they've subscribed to you but aren't really friends with you.) You can also block a user using their name or email address. Additionally, you can block event and app invites if you don't want them. Just fill in the required information for whatever type of blocking you need and you'll be all set.
Twitter
Twitter doesn't do much to preemptively dispatch spam messages, but you can do a few things to lower your chances of becoming a target and definitely block unwanted senders should they come along. The
Social Media Examiner suggests opting out of Twitter promotional services. SocialOomph is a popular one, and you can opt out of their messages by following
@optmeout, waiting for
@optmeout to automatically follow you back, sending
@optmeout a direct message, and then unfollowing
@optmeout. Additionally, you can use spam-blocking services to seek out Twitter spammers and rmeove them.
StopTweet only requires a quick sign-in to Twitter, a few choices, and it'll remove any spammers it finds that are following you. If you do end up with Twitter spam that opting our or spam-scanning doesn't catch, it's very easy to block the sender manually. Just visit their Twitter page, click the menu with the silhouette of a person, and choose "Block _____." (See the image to the right for an example.)
Humans
It feels cynical to admit to feeling this way, but let's be honest: Sometimes your fellow human beings are the source of unwanted solicitation in real life. You have the power to simply ignore anyone you want—say that person on the street who's handing out "personality tests" that are in reality screening tools for potential candidates in their sleazy cult (this happens all the time in Los Angeles)—but it's not always that easy. If you've got a strip of solicitation-heavy sidewalk you regularly stroll down, something as simple as a pair of headphones can do wonders separating you from the onslaught of IRL spam (and who doesn't love music on a walk?).
Human de-spamming is less a matter of removing the spam—you can't, thankfully, click a button to get rid of another human being—and more a matter of handling, ignoring, or avoiding. A simple set of headphones can go a long way, but if you've got a strong enough constitution to just ignore the person waiving a flyer in your face, that certainly works, as well. Feel free to share what's worked best for your human de-spamming, along with what's worked or hasn't in other spam-filled areas in your life, in the comments.
