Flooded With Junk Emails

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Flooded With Junk Emails

Bob Olson 0

I have posted about this before, but I will try again.

My Junk folder is constantly filled with emails. I have tried using the "Report Phishing" and "Block" functions, but it seems the same ones keep coming back. I deleted all of them a few hours ago, and now I have 44 more.

I have also added them to my "Blocked Senders", but that does not seem to help. They just change the senders email address slightly (change a number or letter), so it does not get blocked.

Is anyone else having this problem? Is there anything I can do, other than change my email address which would be a large project having to update many contacts of my new address.

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Answer 1

John Jefferson Doyon 65,395 Independent Advisor

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

Thanks for sharing the troubleshooting steps you've already tried.

You can also change the level of protection in the Junk Email Filter using this steps:

In the same Settings (Settings > Mail > Junk email).
From there, you can select the "Strict" option. Please note that this will put all other messages into the Junk Email folder if they are not from the Safe Senders and Domains list. So, I suggest building your Safe Senders and Domains list first to allow known senders into your inbox.
You can also enable the option "Block attachments, pictures, and links from anyone not in my Safe Senders and Domains list" and in option "Trust email from my contacts".
Click "Save" and monitor if the issue will persist.

Also, did this start suddenly today, or has it been happening for a while? A sudden wave like this can sometimes mean your email was exposed somewhere.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Bob Olson 0 Reputation points

2026-03-24T13:24:53.5866667+00:00

Other "problems":

o When I was receiving emails from MS, I would copy them to a folder specifically for MS. When I look at that folder, the emails are all out of order. When I look at that folder, on the right top of screen, there is not an option to sort the emails by date. That option is there on other email folders, like my Inbox.

o I had accidentally blocked (or deleted ?) emails from another site. I was able to move one of the deleted emails for that sender to my Inbox. I don't know exactly what I did after that, but for that email I was able to select something that said "always move to my Inbox". Now I am getting emails from that address in my Inbox. I don't see that option when I move one of the MS emails to my Inbox. When I have time, I will delete one of the MS emails, then move it to my Inbox - hoping I will see the options to always move emails from the MS email address to my Inbox. I will update this post with the results.
John Jefferson Doyon 65,395 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-03-24T18:35:51.0433333+00:00
Thank you for letting me know.

This usually means the sort option is hidden or set differently.

If you haven't tried anything yet, please try this:

Open that folder

Look for "Filter" or "Sort" (top right or above the email list)

If you don’t see it, click the three dots (...) and check if sorting options appear

Make sure it is set to "Date"

If the option is missing only in that folder, it could be a view issue.

About the “Always move to Inbox” option:

That is basically a rule being suggested.

Instead of waiting for it to appear, you can create it manually:

Select one of the emails

Click the three dots (...)

Choose "Create rule"

Set condition: From = that sender

Action: Move to Inbox

This should consistently allow those emails.

Are the Microsoft emails coming from the exact same sender address each time, or do they slightly change? That can affect how rules work.

Answer 2

Outlook.com’s junk email filter is working as designed when those messages land in the Junk Email folder. Spammers frequently rotate sender addresses and domains, so blocking individual addresses or using “Report phishing” will not stop new, slightly changed variants from arriving; they will continue to be diverted to Junk rather than Inbox.

Available controls focus on where messages end up, not on preventing all junk from being received:

Verify junk filtering is enabled
1. In Outlook on the web, select Settings > Mail.
2. Under Options, select Block or allow.
3. Ensure Automatically filter junk email is selected, not Don’t move email to my Junk Email folder. This keeps suspected spam out of the Inbox.
Use Blocked Senders for patterns you recognize
1. In Block or allow, under Blocked senders, add domains or specific addresses that are consistently unwanted.
  - Example: to block all mail from a domain, enter contoso.com.
  - To block a specific sender, enter the full address (for example, someone@example.com).
2. Select Save. Messages from any address or domain in this list go directly to Junk.
Use Safe Senders to protect legitimate mail
1. In Block or allow, use Safe Senders and Recipients to add people and domains that must not go to Junk.
2. Optionally enable Trust email from my contacts so messages from contacts are treated as safe.
Consider stricter handling if too much gets to Inbox If spam starts leaking into the Inbox, the junk engine can sometimes be “reset” by toggling strictness (as reported in a similar Outlook.com case):
1. In Outlook.com, go to Settings → Email → Junk email and set incoming mail handling to Strict.
2. Save, sign out, sign back in, then set it back to Standard and save.
3. Allow a few hours for changes to take effect.
Understand limitations
- The built-in filter “diverts suspected spam to the Junk E-mail folder instead of your inbox”; it does not stop all junk from being delivered to the account.
- Because spammers constantly change addresses and domains, it is not possible to block every future sender individually.

If junk is staying in the Junk folder and not reaching the Inbox, the system is functioning as intended. The practical options are to keep junk filtering enabled, maintain Safe Senders for important contacts, and periodically empty the Junk folder.

References:

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Flooded With Junk Emails

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