MY E-MAIL IS BEING FLOODED WITH EXTORTION SPAM!!!

Question

My e-mail is being flooded with spam extortion e-mails. I've tried blocking, setting rules and NOTHING is stopping them. I've reported THOAUSANDS of these by now an you're not doing anything about it other than giving me the runaround. Outlook is a MICROSOFT product and would like to know why you can't fix this?!?

Answer 1

Hi John - Paul Young,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand how frustrating and exhausting this situation is, especially when your inbox is being flooded with extortion spam and none of the recommended filtering or rule‑based steps have helped.

Since you’ve already tried all the standard Outlook and Junk Email configuration options without improvement, there are no additional client‑side steps that can be effectively applied from the forum.

Please also be advised that contributors on this forum do not have access to Microsoft’s internal spam‑filtering or mailbox protection systems, and it isn’t possible here to adjust, reset, or override how spam is handled at the service level. When spam filtering does not behave as expected after all supported steps are applied, the only remaining option is to have the issue reviewed directly by Microsoft Support.

Please follow the steps below to contact Microsoft Support for further assistance:

1, Visit the Microsoft Support contact page: Contact - Microsoft Support  

2, In the search bar provided on the page, type "Outlook issue" and press Enter.  

3, Click on the "Get Help" button that appears.  

4, Scroll down the page until you see and click on the "Contact Support" option.  

5, When prompted to select your product or service, choose "Other Products".  

6, For the category, choose "Outlook".  

7, Look for and click on "Chat with a support agent in your web browser".  

8, Confirm your personal email when prompted - this is the email Microsoft will use to communicate with you during and after the support session.  

9, When connected, clearly explain your situation. Be concise but include all relevant details  

I hope this helps you reach the right team for further assistance.

Answer 2

Outlook’s junk mail protection reduces spam but cannot completely stop all unwanted messages, especially when spammers constantly change addresses and tactics. However, several built‑in controls in classic Outlook and the Outlook service can help reduce the volume and impact of these extortion messages.

Use and tune the Junk Email Filter in classic Outlook

1. In classic Outlook, on the Home tab, select Junk > Junk E-mail Options.
2. On the Options tab, increase the protection level (for example from No Automatic Filtering or Low to High) so more suspicious messages are moved to Junk E-mail automatically.
3. Regularly empty the Junk E-mail folder so these messages are deleted and not acted on.

Block senders and domains

1. In classic Outlook, right‑click one of the extortion messages in your Inbox.
2. Point to Junk, then choose Block Sender to add that address to the Blocked Senders list.
3. To review or manage blocked senders, on the Home tab select Junk > Junk E-mail Options and open the Blocked Senders tab to add/remove addresses or domains.

Use Safe Senders to protect legitimate mail Because aggressive junk filtering can sometimes catch wanted mail, add trusted contacts and domains to Safe Senders so they are not treated as junk:

1. In Outlook, right‑click a message from a trusted sender.
2. Point to Junk, then select Never Block Sender to add them to Safe Senders.

If using Outlook.com or Outlook on the web with classic Outlook If the account behind classic Outlook is Outlook.com/Hotmail/Live:

1. Sign in to Outlook.com.
2. Select Settings > Mail > Junk email.
3. Under Blocked senders and domains, add any recurring extortion addresses or domains.
4. Under Safe senders and domains, add addresses and domains that must never go to Junk so you can keep the filter level higher without losing legitimate mail.

General anti‑spam practices Microsoft’s filters in Outlook and Exchange use many signals to detect spam and extortion attempts, but some legitimate mail can be filtered and some spam can get through. When that happens:

• Continue marking these messages as junk in Outlook so the filters learn their characteristics.
• Avoid opening external content in suspicious messages; Outlook can block automatic picture downloads and other external content that spammers use as web beacons.
• Turn off read receipts to avoid confirming that the address is active to spammers.

These steps do not eliminate all extortion spam, but they give more control over what reaches the Inbox and help Outlook’s filters classify similar future messages as junk.

---

References:

• 10 tips on how to help reduce spam
• Filter junk email and spam in Outlook
• Description of the policy for how e-mail is filtered by the junk e-mail filters in Outlook or in Exchange Server