Do you rush to unsubscribe from pesky spam emails as soon as they turn up in your inbox? Recent reports suggest that it might be a good idea to hesitate. There’s a new scam surrounding the attempt to unsubscribe from emails, and it’s a surprise this particular feature has not been misused before. The Wall Street Journal was the first to bring attention to the fact that unsubscribe links were proving to be a phishing risk, with experts warning that clicking on it could lead to further problems.
Clicking on any content or link in an email has long been seen as a dangerous proposition, possibly leading to another harmful webpage or initiating the download of malicious content. While we’ve spent enough time online to know not to click on the flashy signs and irresistible offers, there are more ways for scammers to take advantage of an unsuspecting user.
Be careful about unsubscribing from emails—simple links might not be as innocent as you think. (Image: Freepik)
Beware—The “Unsubscribe from Email” Link Could Be a Scam
The unsubscribe link phishing risk was brought to the forefront by WSJ, which reported on an assessment from DNSFilter. The report found that one in every 644 clicks on an unsubscribe link has been found to lead to some form of harmful content. In some cases, clicking on the link simply alters scammers to an active email ID that they can exploit to some degree.
This may sound like a simple matter, but it alerts the scammers to your activity and sets a bigger target on your inbox for more tailored scams. It gives scammers the incentive to narrow down on your details and build a more complete profile on you to send more content your way that you might not parse through carefully each time. After all, if they can get you to click on the unsubscribe email warning once, they can bring you to do it again and lead you to a different, more risky platform.
In other, more malicious cases, being a victim to the “unsubscribe from email” scam could directly lead to dangerous outcomes such as phishing attempts on fake web pages or the installation of malware. Charles Henderson from security firm Coalfire told WSJ that the “unsubscribe” links that ask you to enter your password to complete the action could be a serious threat to your account, giving scammers exactly what they need to access your real account.
Experts Warn Against “Unsubscribe” Scams—What Should You Do Instead?
The report on the “unsubscribe” phishing scam making its way around in 2025 is meant to alert users to a subtle but noteworthy scam. So should you just let you inbox fill with emails you didn’t ask for? Not at all. Not only would this make it harder to avoid interacting with unwanted emails but your inbox would soon fill up with junk and force you to purchase additional space. No one wants that. There are a few different ways to handle such emails.
Go To The Website And Unsubscribe Yourself
If you want to unsubscribe from email notifications, the best way is to open up the website on your own in a separate browser and find the notification settings directly. This should help you put a stop to all the categories of emails and updates you want to block. Only try this with trusted websites so you don’t end up spending time on websites that are problematic in their own right.
Filter Out Unwanted Emails
If the emails are arriving from a suspicious source or a website you don’t remember signing up for, you can use the built-in function in your email account to filter out all emails from the source. You can set all the emails to get sent straight to your spam folder, from where you can select the emails and delete them without having to interact with their content.
Use Built-In Unsubscribe Functions in Your Email
Platforms like Gmail also offer a built in “unsubscribe” option that you can use to unsubscribe from a website’s emailing list. The button is often visible at the top of the email in the header, near the email id. In some cases, you can unsubscribe directly and Gmail will send an email from your account to the website to remove you from the mailing list.
In other cases, it will redirect you to the website to unsubscribe. If you don’t trust the email source, it’s best to just filter the emails to spam and mass delete them to avoid interacting with the website or alerting the sender to activity on your account.
The Unsubscribe Link Comes with a Phishing Risk, Click Responsibly
This new “unsubscribe” email scam may look like a silly little problem, but it’s best to avoid unnecessary risks when you can. If there’s a way to keep yourself off the radar when it comes to malicious forces, it’s easier to just take the route that helps you steer clear of them.
This advice may not filter down to your older family members or younger kids, so it’s up to you to warn them against clicking on any unsubscribe links, suspicious or not. Spread the word and stay safe online.
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