How to tell if the email I'm getting is a scam or a legitimate Microsoft email

Hi, Sylvia,

Phishing emails are very common on the Internet. There's a support page introducing some common ways to Protect yourself from phishing - Microsoft Support

Please have a check and I recommend that you should always beware of those emails with suspicious senders, especially when the content involves issues related to your account/password/billings.

There are also methods to block email coming from a specific sender, see:

Block Outlook email from a specific sender - Microsoft Support

However, it's obvious that this method only works if you already have a phishing sender's address. There are countless phishing senders out there, they often use automated bulk emailing tools to attempt to defraud a large number of users. You will not be able to block all of them. There may be some third-party software claiming that they can help you avoid these emails, while they do work in some or most situations, but I still think that the best way to protect yourself is to be careful and vigilant.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Best Regards,

William.Y | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Hello, William,

Thank you for your advice.

How do I stop scam emails from coming through? Apart from Microsoft's built in security protections, I do not have any other anti-virus software loaded on my computer. Do I still need extra anti-virus software from a company like, say, Norton?

Regards

Sylvia MF30

Hello Christian,

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

Please check the sender address to make sure whether an email is a scam or legitimate from Microsoft. Legitimate Microsoft emails always have a @microsoft.com in sender address. If you suspect you've received a scam email, you can follow the steps below to report:

Report phishing and suspicious emails in Outlook for admins - Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | Microsoft Learn

If you are not sure about how to check the sender, see:

View internet message headers in Outlook - Microsoft Support

In the header message, you'll find a string containing “From:”.

If you still cannot figure out this issue, you can consider sending a screenshot of the email with us. We will help you check it out.

Best Regards,

William.Y | Microsoft Community Support Specialist