• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, January 8, 2015

Most of us receive spam every day, says a new report from MailJet by Rad Penchev, sharing some of the most commonly seen spammer lingo to help you protect yourself, and to also help avoid being mistaken for a spammer, or a phisher.

Generated by bots and sent in bulk, spam and phishing email is actually not all that creative, but it constantly adapts and changes in an attempt to outsmart email users, ISPs and ESPs, says the report. However, patterns emerge that Mailjet systematically gathers and analyzes to always stay one step ahead of bad senders.

While individual words won’t always get you in trouble as much as the subject line as a whole will, there are some that you should avoid using in your subject line, unless absolutely necessary, suggests the report.

Invoice

The word “invoice” is a phisher’s favorite. If you see this word in a subject line, there’s a chance they’re trying to bait you. Check the sender address to verify the email’s validity. billing@ex-ample.com is not the same as billing@example.com. Scammers try to profit out of our carelessness.

PayPal, Visa/MasterCard or any bank name

Any legitimate name can be used for phishing. Scammers often try to impersonate financial institutions by sending emails with the same color scheme and layout, redirecting to a mirrored site made to look almost exactly like the one it is spoofing. As a consumer, verify the sender address and domain name. As a marketer, use authentication tools DKIM and SPF to prevent spoofers from hurting your reputation.

Present/Lottery/Gift/Specially for you 

This is one you always see in your inbox, the “dear friend” scheme. Hundreds of thousands of emails are sent to people with a subject line claiming that you’ve won a big prize or that you’ve been selected for a sweepstakes you’ve never entered before. Scammers still send these by the millions since they are quick and easy to send.

Urgent/Desperate/Please Help

Variations of this “damsel in distress” scheme have made appearances over the years, where phishers pretend to be an affluent person from a far away country, who, being chased by wrongdoers, is forced to flee to a save haven. They have chosen you as the sole trustee of all their money and they promise great rewards for helping them open an account with a specific bank so that they can transfer their funds.

 asino/Free Spins/Deposit Bonus

Gambling spammers often send out campaigns that promise high return, free entry or double deposits. If it’s not a website you recognize, then straight to the spam folder.

Anthony Marnell, Mailjet's VP, North America, offers a compilation of words to help senders improve deliverability when crafting email copy. "In sending over 12 billion emails,” Marnell says “...we've seen good senders land in the spam folder when accidentally using words heavily used by spammers… “

For more about MailJet, please visit here.