Technology

What is Spam? The Purpose of Spam Messages on Messenger, Facebook, Email

What is Spam? What is the purpose of spam messages? Many of us have heard the word "spam" but may not know its meaning. If you are also unaware, then don't skip this article as FPT Shop will help you understand spam thoroughly.

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25 October, 2023

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Spam is a familiar term to technology product users. It is present everywhere from Facebook, Messenger, Email to websites, Skype, Zing,… However, many people still have a vague understanding of what Spam is. In this article, FPT Shop will answer all your questions about Spam.

What is Spam?

Spam is short for Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages, simply understood as annoying messages that make the recipient feel uncomfortable and frustrated. This form often appears in SMS, Facebook, Messenger, Email, Zalo,… with content that is usually advertisements for products, services, or unclear content.

In addition to advertising content, these spam messages may also contain links or malware. Lightly, they cause annoyance and discomfort, and more seriously, they can cause property damage if you click on those links.

Advantages and disadvantages of Spam

Advantages of spam

According to the definition above, Spam is not something that has good advantages, only brings annoyance to users. However, if used properly, Spam can bring certain benefits in marketing activities.

Specifically, Spam helps businesses provide and disseminate information quickly. With this method, businesses can send messages to multiple customers at the same time instead of sending to each person individually, thereby saving time and increasing efficiency.

Additionally, Spam also helps businesses introduce their products and services to a wider range of customers. If the right potential customer file is determined, it will create significant opportunities for the business.

Disadvantages of spam

For businesses and sellers, Spam brings benefits, but for message recipients, it is the opposite. They often find it annoying to receive these messages, and may ignore or delete them without even reading.

Spamming messages with useless information wastes the recipient’s time. In addition, websites that frequently use spam are likely to be blacklisted by Google and may have their accounts permanently deleted.

What does Spam in messages, Gmail, Facebook, Messenger mean?

Now that we’ve answered the question “What is Spam,” let’s find out what forms of spam exist. Spam nowadays comes in many different forms and appears on multiple platforms, most notably in messages, Messenger, Facebook, and Gmail. Let’s explore each type further.

Spam on Facebook

Spam on Facebook simply means when similar content is repeated multiple times. There are two main forms:

Spam comments on Facebook: Some users create fake Facebook accounts to comment on unrelated products/services.
Spam posts on Facebook: If you befriend fake Facebook accounts, your news feed will be flooded with spam posts about the products and services of those fake accounts.

Spam on Gmail

Spam on Gmail is the sending of unwanted email advertisements for products/services without the recipient’s consent.

Spam on Gmail not only causes annoyance but also sometimes filters out important emails, especially if it is your primary Gmail account used for work. Even more dangerous are spam emails containing unauthorized links, scams, or storing malware for your computer, which can cause harm if clicked.

Spam in messages

Spam messages (SMS spam) are the sending of advertising messages to multiple phone numbers without the recipient’s consent. This form is quite common with content usually being advertising for loan services. In recent years, mobile network providers have implemented services to block spam and unwanted messages, but they still appear less frequently.

Spamming website content

Spamming website content involves copying the main content and then posting it on multiple websites and linking them together to enhance the original content. Compared to the above types of spam, this method may not cause much annoyance to users, but it dilutes search results when searching for information.

Spam on Messenger

Similar to messaging apps like Messages, Zalo, and Facebook, Messenger also has spam messages. Spam on Messenger is usually advertising, sales, prize-winning messages, loan offers,… and sometimes even messages containing links or malware. These messages make users feel annoyed and can distract them due to frequent incoming messages.

Spam on TikTok

Spam on TikTok is the practice of artificially increasing the number of likes on a video in order to make it more popular and attract more viewers. These videos are often for advertising purposes or to build an audience.

How to block Spam quickly and effectively

After understanding what Spam is, you may be wondering if there is a way to block Spam. The answer is yes, and each platform has different ways to block Spam. Specifically:

Blocking spam messages

For SMS spam, you can contact your network provider for assistance.

Blocking spam on Gmail

Gmail currently has features to block spam emails and advertisements, here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Access Gmail, then on the homepage interface, find the Email you believe is spam. Then click on the three dots > Select Filter messages like this.

Step 2: A dialog box will appear. In the From section, enter the email address you want to block, then click Create filter.

Step 3: Another popup window will appear, choose Delete the conversation> Click Create filter to remove all emails from that address that are sent to you.

Blocking spam on Facebook

Blocking spam on Facebook on a computer

Step 1: Log in to Facebook on your computer > Click on your profile picture in the top right corner of the screen > Select Settings & Privacy.

Step 2: Select Settings.

Step 3: Select Privacy, in the How people can find and contact you section, click on the Edit next to each item you want to limit, such as: Who can send friend requests, Who can see your friend list,…

Step 4: There will be many options such as Public, Everyone, Only me,… It is best to choose the Friends or Only me mode for the highest level of security and limiting access for outsiders.

Blocking spam on Facebook on a mobile device

Step 1: Access Facebook on your mobile device, tap on the three horizontal lines (Menu) > Select Settings & Privacy > Select Privacy shortcuts > Select Review privacy shortcuts.

Step 2: Choose Who can look you up using the phone number you provided? and email address you provided? > Select Continue.

Step 4: Then change the options like when performed on a computer, including:

Who can send friend requests to you?
Who can look you up using your phone number or email address?
Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?

It is best to set it to Friends or Only me.

Blocking spam on Messenger

Currently, Messenger has a feature to move messages from strangers to the Message Requests folder. Only when you accept the message can they start messaging you, so there is no need to worry about being bothered by strangers.

In the case you want to report a Facebook account in the message request section, here’s how to do it:

Marking Messenger spam messages on a computer

Step 1: Access Facebook on your computer > Then click on the Messenger icon to access your message list.

Step 2. Click on the conversation that you believe is spam.

Step 3. In the displayed chat window, click on the dropdown arrow to the right of the account name, then select This person isn’t active on Messenger.

Step 4. In the Report window, choose one of the reasons for reporting the message as spam. For each selected reason, you will be asked to provide additional information about the violation. Click on relevant behavior description and you will be taken to the next window.

Now you can choose one of the three available options: Turn off conversation, Turn off messages or Report conversation. Or if you don’t want to choose any option, simply click Done to finish.

Note: For each different reported spam message, the provided behavior options and execution options will vary.

Marking Messenger Spam on a mobile device

Similar to on a computer, if you’re using the Messenger app on your mobile device, you can perform the same steps to mark a message as spam. Here’s how:

Step 1: Open the Messenger app on your mobile device, then access the spam message you want to mark.

Step 2: Tap on the account name in the top bar to switch to the detail page.

Step 3: Select the Something’s Wrong option. Then select the reason you want to report. For each reason you choose, such as Fraud or deceit, Unwanted message,… there will be additional information for you to choose and describe the violating behavior.

Step 4: Finally, press Contribute to complete.

Temporary Conclusion

The article has answered your question “What is Spam” as well as some common forms of Spam nowadays. Hopefully, this information will help you block spam and avoid being bothered.

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