You probably shouldn’t click that email ‘unsubscribe’ link. Here’s what to do instead

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Why it matters

A Fast Company article published January 17, 2026, warns against clicking "unsubscribe" links in spam or suspicious emails, as they often confirm email addresses as active to spammers or redirect to phishing sites for credential theft and malware deployment[INPUT][1][2]. Cybersecurity analyses, including a DNSFilter report cited in Wall Street Journal coverage, reveal that 1 in every 644 such links leads to malicious content, escalating risks from spam validation to identity theft[1][2].

Key figures include TK Keanini, CTO of DNSFilter, who quantified the phishing rate in recent WSJ interviews, alongside experts like Michael Bargury of Zenity; no specific companies beyond spammers or impersonators (e.g., fake bank sites) are targeted, though legitimate ones like Netflix or Chase are deemed safer[INPUT][1][2]. Email providers such as Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook, and Yahoo offer built-in blocking or list-unsubscribe headers as alternatives[INPUT][1].

This advice stems from ongoing phishing tactics exploiting email breaches and data sales, with heightened visibility from DNSFilter's new report amid rising spam volumes; it's newsworthy now due to the report's fresh statistics and WSJ amplification, urging blocks, spam filters, aliases (e.g., Apple's Hide My Email, Proton's SimpleLogin), over risky clicks[INPUT][1][2][3].

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