It’s a safe bet that no one out there likes email spam. We all hate those unwanted, sometimes offensive, email messages that seem to fill up our inboxes. Spam often occurs when users visit unsecure or unsafe sites and fill out forms with information. Those sites, in turn, then take that information and sell it to companies. Unfortunately, even some safe sites that say they won’t sell your information, often do. So what can we do to eliminate spam?

Use two different email accounts. Create a professional account first. This should generally be your name followed by the email service. The next one should be the one you will use when you will be submitting your information online.

Never open email messages from people and address you don’t recognize. Spammers have systems that can actually know when you’ve opened the message, and they will start sending you more emails.

Use an email spy filter. These systems let you create a contact list and keyword lists that will flag spam. Many email systems have these filters in place for your use.

Don’t use your professional address to register or purchase anything on line. This is where the secondary email comes into play. Check both address accounts daily.

Don’t send forwarded emails. Spammers will sometimes send out jokes and such to fish for more contacts. They send out these emails, you forward them and now the spammers not only have your email address, but those individuals to which you sent the message.