Outlook font makes it difficult for user's to detect phishing email addresses

Question

The default font in Outlook desktop app and web, make it more difficult for everyday users to easily detect a phishing email when the domain is using letters that cannot be distinguished from one another.

Real example: Excelis Automation is a real company, some phishing group decided to buy the domain "exceiisautomation.com" and when they write emails, they set up their profile to use an uppercase/capital "i" so that it looks like an "L" so that any mail program that uses fonts such as Calibri, Arial, etc., cannot differentiate between them.

If you just look at it (example screenshots below), there is no way to tell that the word is Exceiis unless you copy and paste the email address into notepad or text editor and change the font to something like Courier New, Consolas, Terminal, Verdana, Times New Roman, etc.

Basically, all fonts that do not differentiate the uppercase "i" from the lower-case L, are aiding phishing groups, plain and simple.

I know this is a long shot, but if someone has any contacts in the Outlook dev team, please make them aware of this design flaw.

This next screenshot is just showing how Calibri (one of the default fonts) makes it difficult to tell the "i" and "L" apart.

And finally, a screenshot showing 4 different fonts that are actually a little better at differentiating the two letters apart, which helps a user distinguish a real domain from a fake one by seeing that.
(one is written as Excelis and one as Exceiis)

Answer 1

Dear @checkVT Support,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. I understand your concern, and I’m happy to assist you.

You’ve raised a valid point, when certain fonts do not clearly distinguish characters like uppercase “I” and lowercase “l”, it can make it harder for everyday users to identify spoofed or phishing email addresses. The example you shared makes sense, and I completely understand why this is worrying from a security standpoint.

However, as a forum moderator, I want to clarify that I am not part of the Outlook product engineering team and I cannot make changes directly to Outlook’s font design or UI behavior. This forum is a user‑to‑user community, and while we can help explain issues, share guidance, and collect feedback, we cannot modify product features from here.

If you would like to formally raise this feedback to the Outlook development team, the best approach is to submit it through official channels where the product teams actively review customer requests. Many users have successfully influenced product decisions by submitting feedback this way.

You can submit feedback directly to Microsoft via the Outlook app (Help > Give feedback), or through Feedback Hub by 

Go to: Microsoft 365 Feedback Hub > Send Feedback > Describe your proposal in detail.   

Sharing your experience through this channel is the most impactful way to advocate for a change that would benefit you and other users.

Thank you again for your patience and for bringing this to our attention. While I can't change the product's design, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions about its current functionality. Your perspective is important, and I’m confident it will support the continued development of the Outlook experience.

If you need any further assistance, feel free to reach out. We're here to help. Thank you very much for your understanding and your cooperation.