Last month, I drove out to see a café owner in Watchet who'd nearly fallen for a fake invoice scam. She'd received what looked like a genuine bill from her coffee supplier, complete with their logo and everything. Something didn't feel right though, so she forwarded it to me. Good job she did — it was a sophisticated phishing attempt that would've cost her £850.

This isn't unusual. I'm seeing more and more spam targeting small businesses across Somerset, and the scammers are getting cleverer. After 40 years in this game, I've learned how to stop spam emails business owners receive before they cause real damage. Let me share what actually works.

Why Spam Emails Are More Than Just Annoying

When I started in computing back in the mid-80s, spam was mostly about dodgy pills and Nigerian princes. These days? It's a different beast entirely. The criminals have got smart, and they're specifically targeting small businesses because they know we're busy and might not spot the warning signs.

A plumber I work with in Taunton clicked on what he thought was a delivery notification two months ago. Within hours, his entire customer database was encrypted by ransomware. He lost three weeks' worth of bookings and had to pay me to rebuild everything from scratch. All from one click.

Reality check: 91% of cyber attacks start with a phishing email. That's not scaremongering — that's data from the National Cyber Security Centre.

The real cost isn't just money. It's the time you lose, the stress it causes, and the damage to your reputation if customer data gets stolen. I've seen businesses in Bridgwater lose loyal customers because their email got hacked and used to send spam.

The Most Common Spam Targeting Somerset Businesses

Here's what I'm seeing land in my customers' inboxes:

Fake Invoice Scams

These are the ones that nearly caught my Watchet café owner. They look exactly like real invoices from suppliers you actually use. The scammers research your business first — they know who supplies your coffee, your cleaning products, even your accountant. Scary stuff.

HMRC and Government Impersonations

About six months ago, a B&B owner in Minehead forwarded me an email claiming to be from HMRC about a tax refund. The email looked perfect — right logos, professional language, the lot. But HMRC never sends refund notifications by email. Ever.

Domain Renewal Scams

This one really gets my goat. Scammers send official-looking emails saying your domain name is about to expire. A shop owner in Williton paid £200 to "renew" her domain through one of these. She actually renewed it with some dodgy company in China, not her real registrar. Took me weeks to sort that mess out.

£245 million

That's how much UK businesses lost to email fraud last year, according to Action Fraud. Small businesses made up 68% of victims.

Simple Steps to Stop Spam Emails in Their Tracks

Right, enough doom and gloom. Here's what you can actually do about it. These aren't complicated tech solutions — they're practical steps any business owner can implement.

Set Up Proper Spam Filters

If you're using Gmail or Outlook for your business email (and most of my customers are), you're not using the spam filters properly. I guarantee it. Last week, I showed a holiday cottage owner near Exmoor how to set up rules in Gmail. Five minutes' work, and her spam dropped by 80%.

Go into your email settings and look for "Filters" or "Rules". Create filters for common spam words, but be careful — I once had a customer who filtered out "invoice" and missed genuine bills for three months!

Use a Separate Email for Online Shopping

This is dead simple but hardly anyone does it. Set up a free Gmail account just for online purchases, newsletter sign-ups, and anywhere else that might sell your email address. Keep your main business email for actual business. A garage owner in Bridgwater started doing this — his spam dropped to almost zero within a month.

Train Your Team (Even If It's Just You)

The weakest link in any security system is the human behind the keyboard. I tell all my customers the same thing: if an email seems odd, it probably is. Forward it to me, and I'll check it for free. Takes me 30 seconds, could save you thousands.

My golden rule: Legitimate companies don't email you asking for passwords, bank details, or urgent payments. If in doubt, pick up the phone and call them directly — using a number from their official website, not the email.

Advanced Protection That's Worth the Effort

Once you've got the basics sorted, there are a few more technical things worth doing. Don't worry — they're not as complicated as they sound.

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Records

These are email authentication methods that stop scammers from pretending to be you. Sounds technical, but it's just a few lines of text added to your domain settings. A couple of months back, I set these up for a restaurant in Taunton. Not only did it stop scammers impersonating them, but their genuine emails stopped ending up in customers' spam folders. Win-win.

Two-Factor Authentication

I bang on about this to every customer. Add two-factor authentication to your email account. Yes, it's a tiny bit more hassle logging in. But it's like having a deadbolt on your front door — worth the extra second it takes.

Professional Email Hosting

If you're still using dave@gmail.com for your business, we need to talk. Professional email hosting with your own domain (like dave@yourbusiness.co.uk) isn't expensive — about £5 a month — and it includes much better spam protection than free accounts. Plus, you look more professional.

What to Do When Spam Gets Through

Even with all these protections, some spam will get through. Here's what to do:

If you've clicked a link or given out information, act fast. Change your passwords immediately, check your bank accounts, and run a virus scan. Then give someone like me a call — we can check what damage might have been done.

The Human Touch Still Matters

You know what really frustrates me? These big London agencies selling expensive email security systems to small businesses who don't need them. A fish and chip shop in Watchet doesn't need the same security as a bank. They need practical, affordable protection that actually works.

That's why I still drive out to see every customer. Sitting down with a cup of tea and going through your actual emails, showing you what to look for — that's worth more than any fancy software. Earlier this year, I spent an afternoon with a B&B owner near Porlock, just going through her spam folder and explaining the tricks scammers use. She hasn't fallen for a scam since.

Free offer: If you're reading this and you're worried about an email, forward it to me. I'll take a look and tell you if it's legitimate. No charge, no sales pitch. It's just what good neighbours do.

The truth is, stopping spam emails isn't about having the most expensive tools or the latest technology. It's about being smart, staying alert, and knowing who to trust. After 40 years in this business, I've seen every scam going. The techniques change, but the basics remain the same: if it seems too good to be true, or too urgent to check, it's probably spam.

Your business email is like your shop's front door — you need to know who you're letting in. Take the time to set up proper protection, train yourself to spot the warning signs, and don't be embarrassed to ask for help when you need it. That's what I'm here for.

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