Guide: How to Report Phishing and Spam Emails in Outlook Desktop App

Reporting spam and phishing emails helps improve email security and helps to prevent future attacks. You can follow this guide to report these types of emails using the Outlook desktop app.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Identify if an Email is Spam or Phishing

Understanding the difference between spam and phishing emails is crucial for accurate reporting.

• Spam Email: Unwanted, unsolicited emails often trying to sell you something. These emails usually come from unknown senders and can be persistent.
• Phishing Email: Fraudulent emails attempting to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, or credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity. These emails often contain urgent messages, request personal information, or have suspicious links/attachments.

Indicators of Spam:

• Frequent, irrelevant advertisements.
• Offers that seem too good to be true.
• No personalization in the email.

Indicators of Phishing:

• Suspicious Sender Information
  • Unknown Sender: Emails from unfamiliar sources or addresses that don't match the purported organization.
  • Spoofed Addresses: Email addresses that look similar to legitimate ones but have minor alterations (e.g., support@micrsoft.com instead of support@microsoft.com).
• Generic greeting or lack of personalization
• Spelling mistakes
• Urgent or threatening language (e.g., "Your account will be closed unless you act now").
• Unusual requests, legitimate companies rarely ask for sensitive information via email
• Requests for personal information (e.g., passwords, social security numbers).
• Suspicious links (hover over links to see the actual URL) or attachments.

2. Open the Email in Outlook

• Navigate to your Inbox and select the suspicious email by clicking on it.

3. Report the Email

With the email open, follow these steps:

For Phishing Emails:

• Select the Report Message button from the top right of the toolbar in Outlook.
• From the drop-down menu, select Phishing.
• A new window will appear, confirming you want to report the message as phishing. Select the Report button.

For Spam Emails:

• Select the Report Message button from the top right of the toolbar in Outlook.
• From the drop-down menu, select Junk.
• A new window will appear, confirming you want to report the message as junk. Select the Report button.

Reported as junk: The messages are moved to the Junk Email folder.
Reported as phishing: The messages are deleted.

4. Confirmation and Reporting

• The message will be reported to your 365 administrator as well as Microsoft.
• This helps improve the detection of these types of emails, enhancing overall email security.

5. Block the Sender (Optional)

If you would like to block a sender to prevent future emails from them:

• Right-click the email.
• Highlight Junk in the context menu.
• Select Block Sender.

Additional Tips:

• Be Cautious: Do not click on any links or download attachments from suspicious emails. You can hover over links to see the full URL. 
• Verify with the Sender: Contact the company directly using a trusted contact method to verify the email's legitimacy. Do not attempt to verify the email's legitimacy by replying to the suspicious email. We suggest calling a contact from the company on a known good number. 
• Educate Yourself: Learn more about recognizing phishing and spam emails to stay vigilant.

By following these steps, you can help protect yourself and others from spam and phishing threats. Reporting these emails to Microsoft and your IT department not only helps keep your inbox clean but also contributes to broader efforts to combat email fraud.