How do I report spam or phishing emails?

For customers using ProofPoint, please see this guide instead. Otherwise, continue reading! 

The Report Message add-in works with Outlook to allow you to report suspicious messages to Microsoft as well as manage how your Microsoft 365 email account treats these messages. 

Messages that your Microsoft 365 email account marks as junk are automatically moved to your Junk Email folder. However, spammers and phishing attempts are continually evolving. If you receive a junk email in your inbox, you can use the Report Message add-in to send the message to Microsoft to help us improve our spam filters. If you find an email in your Junk Email folder that's not spam, you can use the Report Message add-in to mark it as a legitimate email, move the message to your Inbox, and report the false positive to help Microsoft improve our spam filters. 

Report a message 

The Report Message button looks like this:

If you choose the Report Message button on the ribbon, you'll see several different options. 

• Junk
• Phishing
• Not Junk
• Options
• Help

If you choose Junk, Phishing, or Not Junk, you'll have the option to send a copy of the message to Microsoft, along with your classification of the message. This is optional. To turn off the option to send a copy of the message to Microsoft, choose Options and then follow the steps listed here >> 

What's Junk email?

Junk email messages are typically referred to as spam. These are messages that you don't want to receive that may be advertising products you don't use or find offensive. If you choose the Junk option, a copy of the message may be sent to Microsoft to help update our spam filters, and the message will be moved from your Inbox to your Junk Email folder. 

Note: If it's a newsletter or other mass communication from an organization you like or support, but you just don't want their emails anymore, you may want to click the Unsubscribe link in the email before reporting it as Junk. 

What's phishing?

Phishing is the practice of luring you into disclosing personal information, such as bank account numbers and passwords. Often phishing messages look legitimate, but have deceptive links that actually open fake websites. If you select Phishing, a copy of your message may be sent to Microsoft to help update our filters, and the message will be moved from your Inbox to your Junk Email folder. 

What's a legitimate email?

If you know the sender and you're expecting the message, or if you receive a message that's mistakenly marked as junk, you can use the Report Message add-in to mark the message as Not Junk. This will move the message from the Junk Email folder back to your Inbox. 

Report Message add-in options

Choosing Options from the Report Message button allows you to choose whether messages are automatically sent to Microsoft when they're reported as junk or phishing attempts. 

Change your Report Message options

1. Choose Options from the Report Message button on the Ribbon.
2. Select one of the following options:
• Always send a copy of the message to Microsoft
• Never send a copy of the message to Microsoft
• Ask before sending a copy of the message to Microsoft
3. Once you've made your selection, choose Save. You'll see the following message in the InfoBar in the message header confirming your changes were saved successfully. 

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Related:

• How do I check my quarantined email list?
• How do I block senders or add emails to the safe senders list?
• Privacy and Security Guidelines
• Is this spam, a phishing attempt, or a legitimate email?
• How do I report spam or phishing emails?
• Is this a virus?