Spam and phishing emails are dangerous — you can lose money or become a victim of identity theft. Despite that, junk mail can also be creative and, although unintentionally, insanely funny.
We dived into the depths of the internet and selected 22 ridiculous — but sometimes interesting! — spam masterpieces. We kept the screenshots safe to browse here, but treat any similar email in your own inbox as suspicious: don’t click links, download attachments, or reply just to see what happens.
1. Putting “art” into “scam artist”🎨
Word salad in spam emails is not a new thing. It can be traced back to the 1990s and the internet’s oldest mystery — people are still making up conspiracy theories about Markovian Parallax Denigrate messages on Usenet. Now, spammers use gibberish to bypass filters. This trick is called Bayesian poisoning. It works like this. Bayesian spam filters are based on probability. For example, if an email contains a lot of words that were frequently found in spam emails, the filter will decide that this email is likely spam. By adding random words, spammers kill two birds with one stone:
- Decrease the probability of their emails being marked as spam by an ESP
- Confuse the filters by turning previously innocent words into spammy words
The trick is still around: word-salad spam still appears because random text can make filters and recipients work harder.
Spam or modern poetry? I guess, you’ll never know! But when they said “Donnes sticks me with came”, I felt feelings… Fun fact: this particular word salad is actually a butchered excerpt from Moonfleet, an adventure novel by J. Meade Falkner.
2. Harry Potter roleplay 🧙♂️
Harry Potter is still an instantly recognizable pop-culture reference, so the scammer seems to know the audience they are trying to bait — where are Ravenclaw and Slytherin though?
Also, using Harry Potter houses as codes for different answers to the email is a pretty creative tactic, we’re impressed!
3. Academic spam 👩🔬
If something is too good to be true, it probably is. So, if you receive an email that offers you to publish your academic work with 50% royalties, it’s most likely spam.
A predatory journal offers to publish an article about predatory publishing, nothing sus about that.
4. No kink-shaming but… 🍌
Spam filters keep improving — so do spammers! They go out of their way to write the most ridiculous email copies possible both to avoid spam folders and attract readers’ attention. This email definitely does both.
First things first, what in the high school essay is this introduction? Secondly, this email is the definition of TMI — do people not have boundaries now?
5. Blackmail gone wrong 🤦♀️
Sextortion is one of the most popular email scamming tactics. It’s scary, it’s not hard to make it look plausible even for the least gullible users. This one though is not a good attempt.
Not only does this scammer mention a video but attaches a .txt file to the email, but they also spread straight-up medical disinformation.
6. The fine art of preheaders 🎭
Preheaders are just as important as subject lines — they make or break the first impression and open rates. And, judging by this screenshot we found on Reddit, email marketers can learn a thing or two from email scammers.
Drexel University is a legit organization, by the way — and we’re pretty positive they don’t have anyone from the Targaryen family at their dean’s office. Good clickbait though!
7. A “hilarious” invoice 🙃
Scams mentioning Amazon are another popular email fraud scheme. These include fake gift cards claiming emails, fake delivery notifications — and, of course, invoices. This subject line is a dead giveaway.
Yeah, giving money to a scammer is to some extent hilarious — especially this one. A very legit Gmail address, how plausible. Do better next time!
8. I want to belief 🛸
If you get an email from a celebrity, it’s most likely a scam — especially if it looks like this:
There’s a lot to unpack here. The Nigerian prince style “sir/ma” introduction, a weird reason for imprisonment, impressively bad spelling, and the hilarious sign-off as a cherry on top. I don’t know about you but I don’t “belief” a single word in this email.
9. What’s the opposite of trust issues? 😨
Money transfer scams are still popular. Such emails have different backstories — most of them are related to banking of some kind. This one is about an American soldier. It’s relatively well-written compared to many spam emails with garbled English — except for a few details.
There’s no way someone was searching for a random person to trust $17.8 million — if anything, we’re jealous of this character’s naivety.
10. Thanks but no 😷
This one is a basic fake survey spam email. It suggests completing an online survey for money — and something else.
We have no idea what the process of accepting the local coronavirus would look like — and we don’t want to find out.
11. The accidentally leftist subject line 🚩
Fake Norton subscription-renewal emails are a familiar phishing template — this email is one of many examples where the details give the scam away. And, as happens with many fake no-reply emails from legitimate companies, the devil is in the details.
Technically, using someone’s labor for your own good is exploitation — is this scammer onto something?
12. When math is not mathing 🔢
This scam email that pretends to be an official message from The University of Texas at Arlington definitely was not proofread before sending.
Are we at 90% or 98%? An enticing question, for sure!
13. I think; therefore, I spam 🤔
To sound more convincing and avoid spam filters, frauds keep improving their eloquence. Sometimes it takes a ridiculous and oddly philosophical turn — like here:
You know, when someone tells you they’re not a scammer, they most likely are? We’d suggest this scammer take the Turing test.
14. Email scams lowering their stakes 📉
The “You won a lottery” email fraud scheme has been around for a long time. But, we guess, tough times call for tough measures — that’s why the current version of this scam seems to look like this.
Now, instead of “You won a million dollars” scammers want us to claim a drill. Is that the state of the economy or working on the niche market?
15. The art of introduction 🤝
Remember the Dear Sir/Madam thing from the Nigerian prince email scam? This spam email put a twist on it.
Although “Dear Brother” is more exclusionary gender-wise, at least it sounds friendly — almost like we’re talking to a cult leader.
16. Attn pls ⚡
Email subject lines should be short and concise to display correctly on mobile devices. This email scammer, as you can see, took this advice literally.
Apparently, Warren gave away too much money so he can’t afford vowels.
17. Customer appreciation 😍
Thank you emails are important for building rapport with customers. This scammer knows it — and took it too far.
Nothing is impossible — except for us not noticing that the order IDs in the subject and in the email body don’t match.
18. Spam or ARG? 🤯
This email might be the beginning of an alternate reality game or a trap spammers use to find out if your address is active. But, jokes and theories aside, it’s actually scary.
Remember the Black Mirror episode called “Shut Up And Dance”? It started in a similar fashion.
19. The pick-me spam email 🙏
This spam email is a great example of how to not write clickbait subject lines.
hello from this incredibly ominous spam email pic.twitter.com/3Swb6C5H4S
— Janel Comeau (@VeryBadLlama) April 17, 2021
Thanks but no — this one sounds pathetic. If you’re a scam artist, confidence is your weapon!
20. Let’s Eat Grandma 💀
Spam emails are infamous for their garbled English. Weird vocabulary choices, odd spelling and grammar help with bypassing spam filters and fish out the readers who are not gullible enough. But sometimes, this trick takes a funny turn. We found this one particularly hilarious.
Ok, I’m confused. If I’m dead, whose money I inherited and how can I email you back? If I get millions of dollars, how can I become a billionaire? And if my aunt is dying, why are you offering me the money that is technically still hers? Who’s dead anyway?
Also, “monies” sounds like something Angelica from Rugrats would say, no offense.
21. Thanks for the invite!
Using a project name or a page name to address someone — classic. In this case, scammers sent a fake invitation to That’s Noncence blog… and addressed it accordingly, which gave the scam away immediately.
If this isn’t nonsense, then what is, right? By the way, this “elaborate” scheme is created to get to the Facebook Business page. So if you are ever invited to a podcast — check twice and don’t provide anything other than your time, charm, and perfectly timed jokes.
22. Finally! 😌
Ladies and gentlemen, may we present to you, the spam email to end all spam emails!
Whether you’re with “them” or not, we do not recommend clicking on any of these buttons.
How to enjoy funny spam emails safely
Reading screenshots is fine; interacting with real spam is not. If a message in your own inbox looks suspicious, don’t click links, open attachments, reply, call numbers from the email, or share personal or payment information.
Use the boring-but-safe routine instead:
- Check the sender name and domain before trusting the message.
- Treat urgent money requests, unexpected invoices, prizes, threats, and attachment prompts as red flags.
- Mark the message as spam or phishing in your email client.
- Report serious phishing attempts to the FTC or follow CISA guidance for suspicious messages.
- Delete the email after reporting it.
FAQ
Are funny spam emails safe to open just because they look harmless or entertaining?
No. Spam and phishing emails can lead to money loss or identity theft, even when they seem ridiculous or creative. Treat similar emails in your inbox as suspicious and do not click links, download attachments, or reply just to see what happens.
Why do some spam emails use strange, bad, or nonsensical wording?
Spammers use gibberish or word salad to bypass spam filters. This technique, called Bayesian poisoning, adds random words to confuse filters and reduce the chance that the message will be marked as spam.
What should I do if I receive a suspicious email?
Treat it as suspicious and avoid interacting with it. Don’t click links, download attachments, or reply, since even a strange-looking message can still be dangerous.
Can legitimate marketing emails end up in spam filters?
Yes. The content explains that spam filters work by probability, so messages with words that look spammy can be flagged even when the email is not obviously malicious. Random or awkward wording can make both filters and recipients work harder.
How can marketers avoid making emails look like spam?
The content suggests that random text and word-salad style copy can make emails seem spammy and trigger filters. Clear, natural wording is safer than stuffing messages with unrelated words or bizarre phrasing that confuses spam filters.
Wrapping up
Although spam emails can be hilarious, clicking the links, downloading attachments or replying to them may lead to financial losses, data breaches or catching a Trojan. Look but don’t touch! For example, you can safely look through our selection of funny spam emails — we hoped you enjoyed it ❤️
And, before we go, marketers can learn a serious lesson from these funny examples: make your sender name recognizable, keep your lists permission-based, avoid suspicious-looking copy, and test campaigns before sending. Selzy helps you manage contacts, segment audiences, check spam risks, and track campaign performance — so your emails have a better chance of reaching the inbox. Start free to try it out.
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