For a mailbox you are authorised to manage
Use the genuine provider or supported mail app for the actual account. Outlook can display mail from several providers; its controls do not apply identically to every account or app version. Managed/work mail and quarantine need the responsible IT team’s process.
Step 1 of 8
In this guide
Identify the account and the kind of message
Identify the account and the kind of message
Check which mailbox received the message and which provider hosts it. Distinguish personal Gmail, Outlook.com, work Microsoft 365 and another service, even when all appear in the same app. Note whether the issue is unsolicited bulk mail, a scam asking for action, a known newsletter or wanted mail incorrectly filtered. Do not click links or download attachments to investigate.
Display names, logos and a familiar-looking address can be imitated. Verify an unexpected request through a known app, bookmark or existing contact reached independently, not by replying to the suspicious email. An inbox location is not a safety endorsement. If the message asks for passwords, codes, payment or remote access, use the phishing and fake website guide rather than treat it as ordinary marketing.
A sudden flood can make important alerts harder to find. Check relevant accounts through their genuine apps or known contact routes if you are concerned, without opening the flood’s links. Unexpected sent mail, changed access or unfamiliar forwarding needs the account-compromise response; spam alone is not proof that your own account was hacked. Keep relevant safe evidence and workplace requirements before deleting an incident message.
Match the action to the real account and message type. Keep active account/payment/device response separate from ordinary inbox cleanup.
Report junk or phishing without following its links
Report junk or phishing without following its links
For ordinary unwanted mail in Gmail on a computer, select the message in the list and use Report spam. Google explains that reporting or moving a message to Spam sends it a copy that may be analysed. Follow the responsible organisation’s reporting/privacy process for work or sensitive mail rather than forwarding it to an arbitrary service. Google’s spam instructions show the current controls.
For a suspected scam, use the genuine provider’s phishing report option where available. In supported Outlook versions, use the message’s Report menu and choose phishing or junk as appropriate; the exact menu depends on the app/account. Microsoft distinguishes phishing reporting and blocking. Reporting phishing does not itself necessarily add the sender to the blocked list.
Report only the intended message, without following its link, replying, enabling content or releasing an unknown quarantine item. Preserve evidence if the responsible incident process needs it. Reporting helps the provider handle the message; it does not guarantee all future similar mail blocked, reverse exposed information or finish an account incident. If the source keeps returning, review the targeted block control or ask the responsible team.
Confirm the correct report action, not the message’s own buttons. Provider reporting, sender blocking and incident recovery are separate outcomes.
Block the identified sender through the actual provider
Block the identified sender through the actual provider
Use the supported control for the actual mailbox. In Gmail, the message’s own Gmail More menu near Reply offers Block sender; blocked mail goes to Spam. To review an existing block without opening the message again, use Settings, See all settings, Filters and Blocked Addresses. Google explains blocking and unblocking. This is the genuine app menu, not a button inside the email body.
For supported accounts in new Outlook/Outlook web, choose the intended account, then Settings, Mail, Junk email and its blocked-sender controls. Save a targeted entry as the current instructions require. Microsoft says new Outlook does not support this sender-block feature for third-party accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo or iCloud; use that provider’s controls instead. Check the exact version/account instructions before changing another list.
Prefer a specific confirmed source over a broad domain block. Blocking an entire common mail provider can hide wanted mail, and attackers can change or spoof addresses. Do not add your own address or a required business domain indiscriminately. If the setting is unavailable, managed or ineffective, record the provider/app and symptom for help. A blocked address is not proof its owner was responsible for the scam or that their account was compromised.
Check the correct mailbox/list and expected junk handling. A changing/spoofed source can defeat a single address block; avoid escalating to broad blocks that hide required mail.
More checks5 detailed checks
Stop a verified legitimate subscription
Stop a verified legitimate subscription
If you recognise a genuine newsletter or marketing subscription you no longer want, use the verified sender’s unsubscribe method or contact/preferences route reached independently. Some providers show their own Unsubscribe control beside a supported mailing-list sender. Check that this is the intended subscription, not an essential account/security notification you still need.
Do not click an unsubscribe link in an unverified scam or supply new passwords, payment details or one-time codes to stop it. Open the known business site/app or use an existing verified contact instead. ACMA explains legitimate marketing unsubscribe and spam handling, including why unverified links need caution. Reporting a genuine newsletter as phishing and unsubscribing from a scam are not interchangeable actions.
Record the request if needed and check whether unwanted marketing continues after the legitimate processing period. If it persists, use an appropriate sender block or the genuine provider/ACMA guidance for the situation. Do not pay an unsolicited contact to remove your address from every spam list or assume changing your whole email address is the first solution. Future signups should reflect the marketing consent you actually intend.
Confirm the genuine subscription/channel before acting. Keep required transactional/security messages available, and handle unknown scam messages through reporting rather than their unsubscribe link.
Recover verified mail and check narrow exceptions
Recover verified mail and check narrow exceptions
Check Spam/Junk promptly for the expected message, using the correct mailbox and a known sender/contact to verify it independently. Do not assume it is safe because you expected a parcel, invoice or password email. If a legitimate item was incorrectly filtered, select that item and use Not spam in Gmail or the supported Not Junk/Move option in Outlook. Do not empty the folder while required messages or incident evidence may remain.
Review a specific existing blocked entry or rule affecting that sender. In Gmail, removing a message from Spam does not undo an explicit sender block; review Filters and Blocked Addresses too. In Outlook, Settings, Mail, Junk email contains supported safe/blocked settings for appropriate accounts. Microsoft’s current filtering instructions describe the applicable controls.
Use the narrowest justified correction with the responsible owner. Do not allow every sender, an entire common-provider domain or all attachments, turn off phishing/malware checks, or assume a safe-list entry authenticates future mail. Work quarantine and server policy may require the administrator; do not release a suspicious attachment or bypass management to get delivery. Missing mail may also involve retention, a rule or account access rather than spam filtering.
Verify the particular wanted message and any explicit block/rule. A Not spam click is not a universal allow rule, authentication guarantee or reason to trust the next message automatically.
Review existing rules without weakening protection
Review existing rules without weakening protection
Review the intended account’s current filters/rules, blocked entries and forwarding through its genuine settings. Note the purpose and owner of each relevant rule before changing it. A rule that deletes, forwards or marks large amounts of mail as safe can affect important correspondence. Preserve necessary work rules and ask the responsible team about unfamiliar managed settings.
If an unrecognised forwarding destination, deletion rule or account-access change appears, treat it as a possible account incident and use the recovery process promptly. Do not simply delete evidence and assume the account is secure. An email showing your own address can also be spoofed; the displayed From line alone does not prove someone logged into your account.
For a business-wide spam or impersonation problem, give the responsible mail administrator representative safely handled examples and their times. Provider filtering, quarantine and domain authentication may need investigation, but do not edit DNS, disable security policies or add a whole-domain bypass from a generic recipe. No client-side rule guarantees all phishing stopped or all wanted mail delivered.
Keep rule ownership and account security visible. A new filter should not hide an unexplained access change or replace a managed-mail investigation.
Verify wanted mail and keep controls under review
Verify wanted mail and keep controls under review
Review whether the intended provider setting was saved and the original unwanted source is handled as expected during ordinary use. Check a genuine expected message in the right Inbox/folder and review recent Spam/Junk for false positives. If a safe test is necessary, use a known contact and harmless content with their agreement, not the suspicious sender or a live phishing example.
Keep required account/security alerts and business correspondence accessible. If a legitimate message still fails, record the time, provider/account and exact symptom for the responsible team rather than repeatedly widen allow lists. A block that hides every new correspondent is not a useful outcome if you need enquiries, receipts or recovery messages.
When the targeted issue is addressed and wanted mail works, stop unnecessary changes. Review Junk/Spam appropriately before its actual retention period expires and monitor recurrence; do not assume every provider keeps it for the same number of days. Keep account protection and independent request verification in place. A quiet inbox is not proof that no account/device incident remains.
Finish the targeted mail-handling change after checking both unwanted and wanted messages. Continue any separate account/payment/device response and investigate recurrence without broad security exceptions.
Back to the symptom checkerWhen should you get spam or filtering help?
When should you get spam or filtering help?
Get help when wanted mail keeps disappearing, the provider controls are unavailable or managed, new rules/access are unexplained, or the problem affects a whole business domain. If you acted on a scam, contact the genuine bank/account/workplace owner promptly as appropriate; do not wait for spam cleanup to finish.
Our email support service can discuss the account/app and a suitable next step. Provide the provider/version, approximate times, actual symptom and relevant safely handled examples privately, following the organisation’s reporting process. Do not send passwords/codes or publish full sensitive emails in a public support post.
Agree the scope, access, preservation and normal-mail checks before changing filters, rules or managed settings. No support service or filtering product can promise every scam blocked, a restored account or every message delivered. Keep the provider/administrator’s actual limits and unresolved incident actions clear.
Keep private evidence and required mail intact while the specific filtering or incident gap is addressed. Installing a product or blocking one sender is not a completed security outcome.
