Phish Vs. Spam

The main difference between spam and phish is the sender’s intent. 

Spam mail is unsolicited and unwanted junk mainly sent out in bulk. The reason that spam is commonly used by companies is because it's an easy way to promote their business. Sending out spam mail in bulk is inexpensive. This is because it’s a relatively cheap service that can be bought monthly in the email market. Email marketing agencies specialize in creating email addresses based on the buyer's request.

Both malspam and phishing are two different types of social engineering. With malspam, the sender is trying to use any means necessary to install malicious content onto your device. On the other hand, phishing attempts are more focused on getting you to leak sensitive information about yourself.

Malspam emails are crafted to look exactly like typical spam emails. Examples of malspam include fake invoices, delivery notifications, bank impersonation scams, and offers for non-existent jobs. These messages often contain links or attachments that, when clicked or opened, install malware like ransomware, trojans, or spyware.

Phishing emails have more of a malicious aspect to them opposed to spam mail. With phishing attempts the scammers are trying to steal something from you. A few things they could be looking for are your identity, money, or having you provide sensitive information about yourself and/or others. More detailed information about malicious links can be found on our webpage. 

If you receive an email and suspect it to be phish, you should report it to phish@kent.edu.  Look for the tell-tale signs of phishing like generalized greetings, hyperlinks that go to unusual or suspicious websites, an unfamiliar sender, a sense of urgency, and offers that are too good to be true.

If you receive a spam email, you can deal with it in several different ways. The easiest way to remove spam from your inbox is to delete it. If you do not wish to receive further communications from the sender, we recommend that you block the sender. Blocking the sender will relocate their messages to your junk folder. If you wish to be more thorough, you can create a rule for your inbox for new messages to go straight to your deleted items folder. Do not click any links within spam emails. Clicking these links may put you into a list to receive more messages from the company. If you’re unsure of how to handle a specific spam email, you can still report it to us and we can provide instructions on how to deal with it appropriately.

If an unsubscribe link is present within the body of the email, do not press it. Instead, go through the steps in your mailbox to block the sender. Clicking unsubscribe may put your email on a list meant for accounts that actively check their inbox. As a result of clicking an unsubscribe option, you may receive further contact from these businesses.
 

Here are some examples of what spam emails may look like.

The example above comes from parent comapny My Education Discount and is an advertisement for HP's products and their education program for staff members. Their goal is to have you purchase their products, but their intentions are not malicious. The company is not directly associated with Kent State University.

This example is from the company School and College Listings, a website which collects information from various schools and groups at those schools to provide information to those who may need it. This specific email was sent to request an update on information that will be shown to the public. Again, the intentions of the email are not malicious and the company is not directly associated with Kent State University.