If you've started to receive an endless flow of junk email, you may be the victim of spam bombing. This is a tactic used by bad actors and hackers to distract you from seeing emails that really are important to you. This can also be an indication that another login account has been compromised.

Why is this happening?

There are many reasons why a bad actor may try to flood your inbox with emails:

• To distract you from seeing an important email
• To hide confirmation emails for financial transactions
• To hide or bury confirmation emails for services and products that were charged to you
• To gain control of your email address with the hope that you will become frustrated and abandon it

What can I do about it?

Even though spam attacks typically end in about a week, there are things you can do to manage it.

• Mark spam and mailing lists.
• Create filters to keep your inbox clear.
• Create strong and unique passwords for your accounts.
• Check credit card and bank statements for illegitimate transactions.
• Log in to your shopping accounts to make sure orders weren't falsely placed.
• Check and secure all of your accounts (i.e. email, stores, bank accounts, etc.).

Tip icon.Concerned your AOL account has been compromised? - Learn how to recognize a hacked account.