What if you woke up tomorrow to find hundreds of emails in your inbox, emails thanking you for signing up for newsletters, for joining forums, or for things you can’t even figure out because they’re written in different languages? If this happens, you’ve been “email bombed,“a victim of "subscription bombing.” There could be several reasons you’ve been email bombed:
- • As a prank. There might be someone out there who dislikes you enough to make you miserable by giving you an online mess to clean up.
- • Malicious links. Sometimes email bombs are used to trick you into clicking on malicious links buried in the “unsubscribe” portion of the text. Once that happens, your computer is compromised.
- • Distraction. This is the most likely — and dangerous — possibility. Someone has compromised a credit card or store account and made some illicit purchases, so they seek to bury those confirmations or alerts under hundreds of unsolicited emails.
Bottom line: If you’re unexpectedly deluged by an email bomb, don’t assume it’s a prank or a mistake — assume you’re under attack. So what do you do next? There’s not much you can do to stop it, but you should immediately change all your passwords and set up as many extra security features as possible, including two-factor authorizations. You’ll also have to keep reviewing the emails as they roll in, because email bombs aren’t always set off at exactly the same time as the fraudulent charge or invasion of an account. It can be exhausting, but that’s why the tactic is used. If you give up and let critical emails slip through, you’re letting the scammers win. Eventually, the tide of emails will subside and whoever targeted you will move on to someone else. As long as you don’t let the bomb distract you, you’ll be fine.
