My Outlook inbox is suddenly getting a ton of spam and I don't know how to stop it

Anonymous
2022-10-25T16:57:23+00:00

Last week, my personal Outlook email started getting ~50 spam emails per day. I barely ever use this email address, so I am not sure how or why this began to happen. How can I stop all of this spam from getting to my inbox?

I have been flagging all of the emails as spam, but it doesn't seem to be stopping the influx of emails I am getting.

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For business

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

328 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2025-02-04T14:59:21+00:00

    I have the same problem, it started maybe a year or more ago... I get many spam mails in my Hotmail inbox every day (sometimes up to 50!) and flagging them as spam or phishing doesn't seem to help... Assistance would be very much appreciated, I have had this email address for 10+ years and would hate to have to change it!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2024-09-30T10:55:05+00:00

    All of a sudden I’m getting 60 plus scam emails per day. Your suggestion to block them individually is ridiculous: like playing whack-a-mole.

    Please give me instructions on how to close down this email account. Too frustrating to use.

    Angie

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2024-09-06T18:38:01+00:00

    PLEASE.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2024-09-05T10:43:54+00:00

    Thank you Rob ☺️

    That is the exact problem - I believe I unknowingly must have ticked or unticked a box and found myself on some mailing list !!!

    The problem now is exactly like you say - how do I identify who is selling it and how to remove myself from the list…..

    Surely there must be a way? If anybody can help, would be most grateful.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  5. Anonymous
    2024-09-05T10:33:16+00:00

    The issue appears to be with Microsoft's spam heuristics algorithm. Often spam seems to bypass their filters. I assume either they have an "I'm too busy, just let it pass" rule, or there is something in specific emails that seems to break their algorithm.

    I have downloaded all the spam emails from my paid hotmail.com inbox and uploaded them to several open-source IMAP filters, and they picked up and filtered 100% of the emails that the Microsoft filter passed into my inbox. The spam score in each case was REALLY HIGH.

    Some examples passed into my Hotmail inbox:

    • Emails purportedly to be from Microsoft but with <no sender address>, saying "your device is under attack, all your files will be deleted"
    • Various Antivirus emails telling me my subscription has lapsed

    I have a friend who works for Microsoft and he said it's a running joke inside the company about how poor their spam filter has become. It used to be pretty much watertight.

    Come on MS, realise there is a problem, and FIX IT!!!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments