Random tokens keep showing up in my wallet

Every few weeks, a random token I have never heard of appears in my wallet.

I know I shouldn't interact with these tokens, as they are usually scams. What I do not understand is why anyone would spend money sending them to thousands of wallets.

Are they hoping people will try to sell the tokens and somehow fall for a scam? Or are they just trying to identify active wallets so they can target them later?

Also, is there any risk from simply receiving these tokens, even if I never interact with them? Or is it safe to just ignore them?