Unicode as address

Question

I am getting spam in my email junk folder from what is called unicode. How do you block a unicode email?

Answer 1

@R J Kimms said

I am getting spam in my email junk folder

If the Spam is being delivered to your Junk folder (not your Inbox) - There is no way to stop it or automatically delete it, no matter where it came from or if it is using Unicode characters in the From. This is a long standing complaint from numerous users, myself included.

All I can suggest is that you look at the Answer by "Hornblower409 Apr 2026"
at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/a/12737900
in https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5867493/

That Answer has instructions for how to vote for some Feature Request that would give users more control over their Junk folder and some suggestions for MANUAL processes you can use to pick out and Delete any "known" Spam from the Junk folder so you don't have so much to sift thru looking for legitimate emails.

Answer 2

Because these messages already reach the Junk folder, blocking “Unicode” will not remove them from Junk; identify and block the actual sender address or domain, or create a rule for a stable pattern if the address keeps changing.

“Unicode” is probably the display name, not the sender’s email address. It may also refer to the character encoding used to display text. Outlook cannot block Unicode encodings through its Blocked Encodings List.^1^

Block the actual address or domain

1. Select the message without opening links or attachments.
2. Inspect the sender details to find the complete email address after the displayed name “Unicode.”
   • With a work or school account in Outlook on the web, hovering over the sender is documented to reveal the address.^2^
   • With a personal Outlook.com account, open the sender details in the message and note the full address.
3. Go to Settings → Mail → Junk email.
4. Under Blocked senders, enter the complete address and select Add.
5. If multiple messages come from different addresses at the same domain, add the domain under Blocked domains instead.
6. Select Save.^3^

Blocking does not prevent delivery; Outlook moves matching messages to Junk. Therefore, it offers little additional benefit when the messages are already there.

If the address keeps changing

If “Unicode” remains consistent but the addresses or domains vary:

1. Go to Settings → Mail → Rules → Add new rule.
2. Choose an available condition matching a stable characteristic, such as:
   • the sender address includes a recurring domain;
   • the sender/display name matches “Unicode,” if that condition appears in your interface; or
   • the subject or body contains a distinctive phrase.
3. Choose Delete or Move to Junk.
4. Add exceptions for legitimate messages where necessary, then save.

Rules based on stable patterns are more practical than repeatedly blocking changing addresses.^4^ A delete action normally moves messages to Deleted Items rather than permanently bypassing Outlook’s folders.

Report suspicious messages

If a message asks for credentials, money, or clicking an unexpected link:

1. Select it in the message list.
2. Choose Report → Report phishing.

Reporting helps Microsoft evaluate the sender, but it does not block future messages by itself.^2^

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References

1. Block a mail sender
2. Phishing and suspicious behavior in Outlook | Microsoft Support
3. Block or unblock senders in Outlook
4. How to block SPAM from Hotmail - Microsoft Q&A