Tired of getting spam emails in Outlook? Clearing out hundreds of unwanted emails from your inbox can be infuriating, especially when it feels like there’s no end to them. What’s worse, it leaves you at risk of opening your device up to malware, viruses, and more harmful software from cybercriminals trying to steal your private data and financial information – and all it takes is a simple click.
Also known as junk mail or spam mail, spam email is unsolicited email messages often sent in bulk to a large group of recipients. Spam is often used for financial purposes, consisting of harmless messages from advertisers about consumer products you may be interested in. However, scammers take advantage of spam by sending out large-scale email campaigns to steal money. Whether it’s to obtain your personal information or to infect your device with a virus, ransomware, or other types of malware, cybercriminals utilize spam as a form of phishing to plunder your hard-earned cash.
Fortunately, Microsoft Outlook has countermeasures in place to stop junk mail from crowding your inbox. In fact, the email client has different levels of spam mail protection that users can adjust. However, threat actors find ways to keep spam from being detected, and that’s when you need to do some blocking of your own. Read on to find out how to block spam email in Outlook.
How to block email addresses in Outlook
Opening a spam email in Outlook can lead to even more spam filling your inbox. If the same email address appears to be sending you unwanted messages, you can block the sender’s address for good.
- Open Microsoft Outlook on your device.
- Right-click the email of the address your wish to block.
- Select Block and click Block sender.
The email address will no longer be able to send you spam. This is a good way to permanently stop receiving unsolicited messages from a specific sender, especially if they are harmful.
How to report email as spam in Outlook
Deleting spam is a good way to clean up your inbox and keep malicious messages out of reach, but that won’t stop spam mail from being sent. The good news is Outlook can learn what should be categorized as junk mail if you mark spam as junk.
- Open Microsoft Outlook on your device.
- Right-click the email of the address your wish to report.
- Select Report and click Report junk/Report phishing.
This will stop senders from dispatching any annoying or malicious mail you would normally receive in your inbox. Harmless advertising emails can be reported as junk, but signs of a sender trying
How to change your email privacy settings in Outlook
You can also stop junk mail coming in the first place by heading to Outlook’s privacy settings and removing access from any apps that keep sending you spam. This is a good way to get rid of any unfamiliar apps that looks suspicious.
- Open Microsoft Outlook on your device.
- Click on your account icon located at the upper-right corner.
- Select My Microsoft account.
- Click on Privacy and then Privacy Dashboard.
- Under Apps and services, select View app access details and remove access to apps you no longer need or don’t trust.
Use antivirus software to block malicious email
It can be tricky to determine what spam email is, as hackers can disguise themselves as trustworthy companies to fool you into clicking on these malicious messages. Emails can contain harmful links or attachments filled with malware, which you never want on your device. The good news is you can let one of the best antivirus software services do all the legwork for you, as they have security and privacy features to protect your Gmail.
Services such as Avast One, McAfee, Norton, and more have email protection tools that block malicious links and attachments. To make sure spam email stops any malware damaging your device, or to keep you safe from threat actors hacking your phone through texting and more, make sure to set yourself up with an antivirus.
