Email spam is unsolicited bulk messages sent by email. By 2014, spam accounted for around 90% of total email traffic. First spam email sent by Gary Thuerk in 1978 to 600 people
Hormel Foods introduced Spam in 1937 as processed canned pork and ham. Product gained popularity during World War II as military rationed meat. Over 150 million pounds of Spam were purchased by U.S. military. Product reached 41 countries by 2003, with 100+ trademarked products
Spam includes emails, text messages, and website comments. Many spam messages have malicious intent to steal personal information. Types include ads, chain letters, spoofing, hoaxes, and malware warnings. Spammers collect credit card information from thousands of recipients
Discord defines spam as automated account creation for malicious content. Generated accounts comprise majority of spam through automation. Compromised accounts remove normal users' access for spam sharing. Human-operated accounts are long-lasting spam actors
Gmail's spam filters automatically send unwanted emails to the spam folder. Desktop users find spam folder in left pane, mobile users in More menu. Spam messages automatically delete after 30 days. Emptying spam folder frees up mailbox space and removes security risks
Spam folder is located in Gmail's left sidebar or Outlook's Junk Email folder. Spam folder can be hidden by default in Gmail web app. Spam emails can be deleted individually or all at once