Outlook.com issue would phishing/spam, please read details.

Question

For several months, I have been receiving a large amount of email. I have been marking them as Phishing. My email address is clearly in the "To" line. Many of the repeat offenders I have added to "Block Senders and Domains". But there are so many. I get upwards of a 1000 every few days. For safe senders like Microsoft, Marriott, and Amazon, for example, I have had to "Safe senders and domains".

Turning on "Strict" for "Inbox mail handling" would not be a good option as I would most likely miss important emails.

Is there someone in support that can help me with this problem?

Answer 1

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me. It sounds like your email address may have ended up on a leaked or spam list, which explains the huge volume of phishing and junk messages you’re receiving. Blocking individual senders usually doesn’t help because spammers constantly change addresses, and while marking emails as phishing does improve Microsoft’s filters, it won’t stop the flood right away.

The best approach is to keep your current filtering settings rather than switching to “Strict,” since that could block important messages. Continue marking phishing emails so the system learns over time. You can also set up advanced rules to automatically move suspicious emails to Junk or delete them based on keywords or domains that appear repeatedly.

It’s great that you already have two-factor authentication enabled that adds an extra layer of security even if your email address is public. Your plan to transition to an alias is smart. Once most of your contacts use the new address, you can stop using the old one.

If you want to make the alias your main sign-in address, you can do that in your Microsoft account settings without creating a new account. Here’s the link to manage aliases: Manage aliases in Microsoft account.

"Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes.

Kind regards

Edward

Answer 2

Hi,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft community and sharing the details. It sounds like you’re dealing with a huge wave of spam and phishing emails, even after using tools like “Mark as Phishing,” “Block Senders,” and “Safe Senders.” Unfortunately, when the volume is this high, thousands every few days blocking individual addresses doesn’t help much because spammers constantly change domains.

There are a few things you can try without turning on “Strict” filtering, since that could cause you to miss important emails. Instead of blocking senders one by one, set up rules based on patterns like subject lines, keywords, or domains so those messages go straight to Junk or get deleted automatically.

It’s also a good idea to enable two-step verification and check your account security, because a sudden spike in spam can mean your address is on a leaked list. Keep marking messages as phishing this helps Microsoft improve its filters and you can also forward samples to ******@office365.microsoft.com for analysis.

Features like Focused Inbox can help keep legitimate emails

visible, and Sweep can quickly clear out repetitive spam from the same sender. If the problem continues, you might consider creating a new alias for important communications while keeping your current address for less critical mail.

Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes.

Kind regards,

Edward

Answer 3

It sounds like you're experiencing a significant issue with phishing and spam emails in your Outlook.com account. Here are some steps you can take to help mitigate this problem:

1. Continue Reporting Phishing: Keep marking suspicious emails as phishing. This helps Microsoft improve their filtering systems.
2. Use Block Senders: Since you've already added repeat offenders to your Block Senders list, continue to do this for any new spam emails you receive.
3. Review Safe Senders: Ensure that legitimate senders like Microsoft, Marriott, and Amazon are correctly added to your Safe Senders list to prevent them from being marked as spam.
4. Check Junk Email Folder: Regularly check your Junk Email folder to ensure that legitimate emails are not being misclassified.
5. Consider Using Filters: You can create custom rules in Outlook.com to automatically move emails from specific senders or with certain keywords to the Junk folder.
6. Contact Support: If the issue persists, consider reaching out to Microsoft Support for further assistance. They may be able to provide additional solutions or insights into your specific situation.

Turning on "Strict" settings might indeed lead to missing important emails, so it’s wise to explore other filtering options before making that change.

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References:

• How to protect against phishing attacks
• Create sender allowlists for cloud mailboxes