Spam diagnostic
Sudden Spam Diagnostic: Why Your Inbox Got Hit
If you suddenly get much more spam, the likely causes are a recent data breach, a scraped public address, a merchant or newsletter sharing your email, or a spammer confirming that your inbox is active. The fix is to protect the primary inbox, use unique aliases for future signups, and shut off only the alias that leaks.
Updated
Five-question diagnostic
- Did the spam start right after a new signup, quote request, webinar, giveaway, or download? The source is likely that recent form or a broker attached to it.
- Are the messages about many unrelated products? Your address may have been sold or appended to a marketing list.
- Are old breached-account themes showing up, such as password warnings or crypto threats? Check whether the address appeared in a known breach.
- Is the address posted on a website, resume, marketplace, or social profile? Scrapers may have collected it.
- Did the spam increase after clicking unsubscribe or replying? That may have confirmed the address is active.
What to do today
- Do not reply to obvious spam or click unsubscribe links from senders you do not recognize.
- Mark junk in your mail client so the filter learns from the new pattern.
- Search recent signups and receipts to narrow the likely source.
- Move future signups to unique aliases so the next leak identifies itself.
How aliases prevent the mystery next time
Use a different alias for each store, app, newsletter, marketplace, and trial. If one alias starts receiving unrelated mail, the label tells you where the address escaped, and you can suspend that one address without changing your real inbox.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I getting so much spam all of a sudden?
The most common reasons are a data breach, a public address being scraped, a recent signup source sharing your email, or interaction with a spam message confirming that your inbox is active.
Can I find exactly who sold my email?
Only if each sender had a unique address or alias. Without that, you can make an educated guess from timing and message themes, but you usually cannot prove the source.