Our email accounts can quickly become overwhelming. Suddenly, it seems, there are 100-plus daily messages to sort through. Answer, delete or ignore? Messages can get lost and important information overlooked. Scamming through email has become so sophisticated that it can trick even a digital-savvy person. Also, digital junk mail has become as bothersome as all of the holiday catalogs that are now starting to appear in our snail-mail boxes. It’s just plain irksome how much time is eaten up with email.

Here are some suggestions to help bring the explosion of emails under control.

3 ways to clean up your inbox

1. Use the search function in your email program. This strategy works well when you receive emails from a company or organization on a regular basis. For example, if you subscribe to a newspaper and get daily email alerts or if you’ve purchased an item online and then receive sales notices every other day, you can delete a bunch all at once.

Enter the name of the company/organization in the search window and tap or click return. Your inbox should display all of the emails from that source. Delete them by highlighting them and then tapping/clicking the trash can icon or the delete button on your device.

Unfortunately, the search function is in a different place in your email depending on your email provider and your device. On the Gmail app, you will probably find it at the top of the list of messages. On other devices or with different email providers, look for the magnifying glass (universal search icon) at the top of the email screen.

Using the search function helps get rid of many messages at one time.

2. Unsubscribe. Often you can unsubscribe from repetitive emails — companies, political parties, nonprofits, organizations and so on. Heaven help anyone who has donated to an organization or person running for office. Requests for additional funds seem to arrive daily.

You may need a magnifying glass to find the unsubscribe button. Sometimes, it is right at the top of the message next to the sender’s name. Other times, you will find it at the very bottom of the message. Guaranteed, it will be in tiny print.

Unfortunately, mailing lists are traded and sold among companies, organizations and political entities. You may unsubscribe to one list and then find a similar sales pitch or request for money arriving from a similar source.

3. Register at the Direct Marketing Association’s consumer website, dmachoice.org. You will find a link to their Email Preference Service. Signing up with this group will help reduce the number of unsolicited commercial emails that appear in your inbox. You can also sign up to reduce promotional snail-mail material such as catalogs and sales brochures. There is a small administrative fee, and the service lasts 10 years.

2 ways to manage your existing email

1. Start using folders in your email service. Email providers usually offer the option to move email messages to a folder. For example, I receive many emails from my retired educators association with important information about upcoming meetings and legislative issues. Because these messages become buried amongst the other multiple emails in my inbox, it is easy to lose track of them and retrieve the exact message I want.

I created a folder to which I automatically move the messages when they arrive. That way, all of the emails from that group are together.

Naturally, each email provider’s process is a bit different. However, if you look at the small icons at the top of your inbox, you will probably see a tiny folder. Tap or click on it, and you should see the option to create a new folder or to move a message to a previously created folder. On your phone, you may have to tap the three parallel lines or three dots that offer more choices.

2. Consider having more than one email account. This suggestion may sound counterintuitive when attempting to make email more manageable and less frustrating. However, additional email addresses mean you can have different purposes for each one.

When I was teaching, I had three accounts. Gmail was for personal and school emails, and I used my Yahoo address when I ordered something online. All of the subsequent promotional messages from companies went to it. My third email address was an iCloud account that I used for the online professional literature I subscribed to. I checked my Gmail account daily and the others once a week. This approach helped me keep track of all of the information coming my way.

Major red flag indicating an email scam

Two and a half percent of spam emails are scams; 73% of those are phishing emails. But what does a phishing email look like?

They look very realistic as if they are from a reputable company like Amazon, Norton, UPS, the USPS and so on. They urge you to take immediate action. Personal information, passwords and other login data are requested. The greeting may be a bit unusual. They have links or attachments that you are directed to click on. There may be spelling and grammar mistakes. Also, carefully examine the return address. Even though it looks authentic, there is often an additional work or abbreviation in it.

In the last two weeks, I have received emails telling me that a package had arrived at the warehouse, but the address was incomplete and could not be delivered. The scary part is that I was expecting a package, and so I had to stop and think. I deleted the message because it was such an odd request. My package arrived. I have also received phishing emails from Norton telling me my anti-virus plan needed to renewing. Since I don’t have a Norton account, I knew it was a scam.

The whole point of these phishing expeditions is to gather personal information to sell to criminal organizations involved in theft identity. Delete these emails. If you have a question, contact the company directly by phone. DO NOT click on any links or attachments.

Email is a wonderful way to stay connected and receive important information. In 2023, the amount of email coming through our inboxes is enormous, thus sometimes becoming a trial rather than a blessing. One has to keep up with cleaning out and managing all inboxes or become mired in a multitude of messages.

BoomerTECH Adventures (boomertechadventures.com) provides expert guidance and resources to help Boomers and older adults develop competence and confidence using their Apple devices. Boomers themselves, BoomerTECH Adventures rely on their skills as educators to create experiences that meet individual needs through videos, Zoom presentations, tech tips and timely blog posts.

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