How do spammers get my email address?

There are lots of ways for spammers to obtain your address.

• Any public source of information will do - they look everywhere and anywhere. This includes social media sites such as Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. Web pages are the most common source.

• Some email lists, news groups, etc. can make your addresses visible and open to being harvested.

• Website breaches may expose mass amounts of email lists.

• Dumb luck. Specifically for users who have a common name as an email address, a hacker may just guess it.

• Addresses are sold as often as possible, especially those that are known to be affiliated with a person.

If you receive an email from someone you don't know, do not click on any of the links. This is a good way for the spammers to validate the address, send you more messages, and sell it as a known good address to other spammers. If you are unsure of the validity of a suspicious message, report it to security@umbc.edu.