Spam is an inappropriate attempt to use an email address, as a broadcast or advertising medium by sending the same message to any number of people who do not want or ask for the message. Spam is often an irritant to people and can cause email to become slower as the Internet Service Provider (ISP) networks are forced to process millions of spam email messages. Spam can also cause your email to download more slowly as you receive more and more of these messages.

Companies can get your email address through a variety of ways. Many will purchase mailing lists from online database sites or other 'spamming' companies. Your name can be added into these databases when you share your email address online. For example, these companies may scan newsgroups and websites to collect email addresses that have been posted. Another method is sending emails to automatically generated email addresses at common domains, eg. aa1234@domain.com, aa1235@domain.com, etc.

Bell MTS Mail helps keep junk mail out of your inbox by integrating a combination of Cloudmark, Spamhaus, and Return Path into the Bell MTS Mail platform.

There is nothing you need to do to enable the spam and virus protection. It is already included as part of your Bell MTS Mail service.

• Do not post your email address publicly.
• Use a separate email address to sign up for anything online so that spam doesn't go to your main email address.
• Many email programs have built-in tools that block or filter messages. To learn how these features work, check the online help files for your email software.
• If you signed up for emails from a company that you no longer wish to receive emails from, scroll to the bottom of the email, look for an Unsubscribe option and click it. Sometimes there are a few steps to this process, but the company should stop sending you emails within 48 hours.
• Do not respond to spam emails. Responding lets the spammers know that your email address is valid and they will continue to use this address and sell it to other companies.