Customer support
George Miloradovich
Researcher, Copywriter & Usecase Interviewer
January 16, 2025
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Every day, millions of people face a flood of unwanted messages in their inboxes. Recent data shows that spam emails make up nearly 45% of all email traffic worldwide, with the average U.S professional receiving 80-120 messages daily, based on various sources. This isn't just annoying – it's a serious security concern that can lead to data breaches, financial losses, and compromised personal information.
In 2024 alone, spam-related scams resulted in over $1,03 trillion in losses globally, with phishing attacks becoming increasingly sophisticated. Modern spam goes far beyond traditional junk mail, using AI content and deep fakes to appear more legitimate than ever. Latenode offers its guide on spam email protection and an automation scenario for filtering & tagging Intercom emails.
Spam threats range from mildly annoying to devastating. Unwanted marketing might simply clutter your inbox, phishing attacks and malware delivery can lead to serious consequences like theft of identity or data. Understanding these different types and their risk levels forms the foundation of protection – after all, knowing what to look for makes stopping it easier.
What makes modern spam really dangerous is its ability to adapt and evolve. AI now helps spammers create highly convincing messages that can fool even experienced users. These emails often contain perfect grammar, legitimate-looking sender addresses, and personalized content.
Spam attacks rarely come in isolation. A seemingly harmless marketing email might be part of a larger campaign designed to gather information about user behavior and email activity. Spammers often use tracking pixels and hidden links to verify whether emails are being opened, helping them refine their targeting.
Stopping spam needs a systematic approach, smart email habits, and proper security settings. While it's impossible to remove all spam instantly, you can dramatically cut down unwanted email spam within days using proven protection methods.
Start with your email provider's built-in tools, which have become surprisingly sophisticated at detecting and filtering spam messages. Modern email services use AI and machine learning to analyze patterns, helping to catch even cleverly disguised mail. For example, Gmail’s spam email filter allows only about 0.1% of spam emails to reach users' inboxes.
Check your spam folder weekly, because some good mails might end up there occasionally, but never open suspicious attachments or click unknown links. Mark obvious spam using reporting tools, which helps improve filtering accuracy. Remember to never respond to spam emails, as this confirms your address is active.
The challenge touches on businesses even more. Recently, a user on our forum shared that they faced a massive influx of unclear messages that threatened to overwhelm their Intercom systems. So, they implemented advanced filtering using a scenario on Latenode. Below, we share a breakdown that is a good jump-off point for your automation.
Intercom, despite being one of the best customer support platforms out there, has a downside: their powerful chat and ticket system lacks customizable filtering. Without automatic spam email exclusion or proper marking tools, any support team gets swamped. Sound familiar? It's the same headache many users face, just on a larger scale.
The solution comes through smart automation and AI-powered filtering. It’s fascinating how ChatGPT and JavaScript can be a clever bond to spot spam patterns! The system in the scenario knows how to automatically classify incoming messages, tag suspicious ones, and handle them appropriately – all without you messing with it.
The best part? The same principles work for personal email protection. This scenario is not limited to email: it can handle basically anything Intercom connects to within its own ecosystem - from SMS and Facebook messenger to website chats and LinkedIn messages. Let’s break it down!
Message Capture & Filtering
When a new message arrives into your Intercom inbox, it goes through the SetVariables node and then the automated assistant based on ChatGPT-4o Mini springs into action. It looks at two things:
It decides if the message is spam or not. No maybes, just a clear True or False.
Handling the spam mail
Once the system makes its decision, it chooses the path for handling the message. If a conversation gets flagged as spam, the scenario activates a series of Javascript functions:
Setting this up is straightforward. The AI assistant handles the JavaScript configuration. Need to add a spam tag? Just tell the system what you want in plain English, and it creates all the necessary connections, fields and custom parameters. All that's left is plugging in a few basic settings – like fitting the final piece in a pre-built puzzle.
Retrieving admin_id and tag_id
Getting admin and tag IDs – essential pieces for the system – happens automatically through dedicated JS nodes, both created by the AI assistant.
Notifications
For non-spam messages, the scenario includes a notification channel setup. This is either Slack, Telegram, or Discord. The latter needs a JS node for formatting the text and an HTTP request to its API for sending the message.
The end result? A powerful spam-fighting tool on Latenode that transforms the Intercom workspace. The manual filtering gets replaced by an efficient scenario that lets teams focus on what really counts – genuine user support. One execution of the scenario takes less than 30 seconds, or just $0.0019 per message, based on our pricing model.
Now, let’s move on to why you’re getting spam emails in the first place.
Spam flooding your inbox often comes down to everyday online behaviors that unknowingly expose your email address. Every time you sign up for an online store, enter a contest, or download "free" content, your email address potentially lands in databases that spammers can access.
Even something as simple as posting your email address on social media or a public website makes it a target for automated data scraping tools that constantly scan the internet.
The more places you share your data, the more likely it ends up in unwanted hands. Data breaches pose another risk: when companies experience security incidents, customer databases often leak onto the dark web. In 2024 alone, over 2.9 billion email addresses appeared in various data breaches, creating a goldmine for spammers.
Additionally, when you respond to spam emails – even unsubscribe from obvious junk – you're confirming your address is active, making it more valuable to spammers.
Common ways your email gets on spam lists:
Today's attackers craft messages that prey on common anxieties – urgent account issues, suspicious banking activity, or government notifications that demand immediate attention. These emails often arrive at carefully chosen times, like early morning or late evening, when recipients are more likely to act hastily rather than think critically.
Even experienced users can be fooled by this sophisticated blend of timing, psychology, and precise impersonation.
The most dangerous spam combines several subtle elements that make it convincing. Scammers now monitor news cycles and business trends, incorporating recent events and real company names into their messages. They've mastered the art of digital mimicry, copying legitimate email styles down to the smallest details – from fonts to service signatures.
The tools, techniques, and signs covered in this guide provide everything needed to take control of your inbox. While completely eliminating spam might be impossible, you can reduce it dramatically by implementing proper filters, maintaining good email habits, and staying vigilant about security – perhaps with the help of AI automation on Latenode.
Start with basic protection measures, then gradually add more advanced features as you get comfortable. Most importantly, keep your protection methods updated – what works against spam today might need adjustment tomorrow as spammers develop new tactics.
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