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World desk5 min

How to Block Phishing Emails and Reduce Spam in Gmail and Outlook

Report, block and unsubscribe do different jobs. Here are the exact steps in Gmail, Outlook.com, new Outlook, classic Outlook and mobile, plus how to recover legitimate mail.
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Three actions deal with unwanted email, and they do different jobs. Report a suspicious message to the provider. Block a repeat sender so future messages go to Spam or Junk. Unsubscribe only from a mailing list you recognize and signed up for. Mixing them up is the usual reason junk keeps arriving. In Outlook, reporting phishing does not block the sender. Outlook’s controls also differ by version and account type, so identify yours first.

Which action to use

Situation Best action What it does
Unsolicited promotion or junk Report spam (Gmail) or Junk (Outlook) Moves the message and gives the provider a signal about similar mail
Message asks for passwords, payment or personal details Report phishing Flags the message as a suspected credential-theft attempt
Same sender keeps returning Block Routes future mail from that sender to Spam or Junk. It does not stop the sender from sending.
Newsletter you recognize Unsubscribe Asks the sender to stop. Avoid it for messages you suspect are scams.
Real mail landed in Spam or Junk Not spam / Not junk, safe sender Corrects the filter for that sender

Blocking does not answer the question “does blocking a sender stop them from emailing me?” in the way people hope. The sender can still send. Their messages are simply diverted to Spam or Junk.

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Check a suspicious message safely

Do not reply or open links while you are deciding. Google’s guidance is to compare the sender’s address with the display name, check the message’s authentication details, and inspect links before opening them. If a message asks for personal information and you do not trust it, report it as phishing. See Google’s guide to avoiding and reporting phishing emails.

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Gmail

How do I report spam in Gmail?

  1. Select the message in Gmail on a computer.
  2. Choose Report spam.

Gmail moves the message to Spam, and Google says reporting helps it identify similar spam more efficiently. Google may receive and analyze a copy of a message when you report it or move it into Spam. Details are in Google’s spam reporting instructions.

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How do I block phishing emails in Gmail?

Report and block are two separate steps. First report the message as phishing:

  1. Open the suspicious message. Do not click anything inside it.
  2. Select More, then Report phishing.

To also divert later messages from that address, block the sender:

  1. Open one of the sender’s messages.
  2. Select More, then Block [sender].

Future messages from that sender go to Spam. To review or undo blocks, go to Settings > See all settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses. Unblocking sends future mail from that address back to the inbox. The Android app uses the same message-level More menu. See Google’s block instructions.

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Phishers often change addresses, so blocking is a weak defense on its own. Reporting and careful checking matter more.

Why are legitimate emails going to spam?

Filters sometimes misclassify real mail. In Spam, open the message and choose Not spam. Google says future mail from that sender then will not go to Spam. Adding the sender to Google Contacts or creating a filter also helps. If a known contact’s mail suddenly looks like spam, their account may have been compromised. Confirm with them through another channel before trusting it.

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Outlook: identify your version first

  • Outlook.com (web) and new Outlook for Windows: blocking and safe senders live in Settings.
  • Outlook mobile (Android, iOS): reporting is in the message menu.
  • Classic Outlook: has its own Junk Email Filter and lists. Microsoft states that the classic steps do not apply to new Outlook.

Block a sender or domain in Outlook.com and new Outlook

  1. Select the account you want to change.
  2. Open Settings > Mail > Junk email.
  3. Add an address under Blocked senders, or a domain under Blocked domains.
  4. Save.

Messages from those entries move to Junk Email. A domain block catches every address at that domain, which is useful against a spammer cycling through addresses. It can also catch legitimate senders on a shared domain, so prefer a single address when unsure. Per Microsoft’s page on blocking and unblocking senders, new Outlook does not support this blocking feature for third-party accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo or iCloud. Block those senders through the provider that hosts the mailbox. The same page says Junk Email in Outlook.com and new Outlook is automatically removed after 14 days and cannot be recovered afterward, so check it before then.

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How do I report a phishing email in Outlook?

In Outlook.com, select the message, then choose Report > Report phishing. Microsoft notes this reports the sender but does not stop further messages, so add the sender to Blocked senders separately if you want that. See Phishing and suspicious behavior in Outlook.

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In Outlook for Android or iOS:

  1. Select the email.
  2. Open the three-dot menu and choose Report Junk.
  3. Pick Junk, Phishing, or Block Sender.

These are separate choices, so pick the one that matches your goal. Microsoft describes them in How do I report phishing or junk email?

How do I stop spam emails in Outlook?

Combine the tools: report junk and phishing, block repeat senders or domains, and keep Safe Senders narrow so real mail is not filtered. Review Junk Email regularly and move false positives back to the inbox.

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Safe senders in Outlook.com

Outlook.com’s Safe Senders list tells Outlook to treat listed senders as trusted. Add only addresses you trust, because entries lower filtering for those senders. Microsoft explains the feature in Safe Senders in Outlook.com.

Classic Outlook

Classic Outlook’s Junk Email Filter moves suspected junk to the Junk Email folder instead of preventing delivery. You can change the filtering level and manage the Safe Senders and Blocked Senders lists. Safe-sender entries exempt those addresses from junk treatment. Microsoft advises reviewing the folder and moving wrongly filtered mail back or marking it Not Junk. For Exchange or Exchange Online accounts, safe-domain entries may not be honored as you expect, so behavior is not identical across configurations. See Microsoft’s overview of the classic Junk Email Filter.

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Address block or domain block?

  • Address: precise and low risk. It fails when the sender rotates addresses.
  • Domain: broader coverage in Outlook.com and new Outlook. It risks catching legitimate senders on the same domain.

A routine that works

  1. Do not click or reply to anything suspicious.
  2. Report it as phishing or spam.
  3. Block the sender if they keep returning, remembering that it only diverts mail.
  4. Unsubscribe only from lists you recognize.
  5. Skim Spam or Junk every so often for false positives. In Outlook.com and new Outlook, do it within 14 days.

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