large amount of junk email

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large amount of junk email

paula rudd 25

The past week it seems I have a barrage of junk mail. I'm not doing anything or opening pages. I block the emails, report the phishing emails & still get a ton-over 50 a day. I used to get maybe 10. Whats up & how can I block them. I have Windows 11. Thanks

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Answer 1

Hi,

You can try this: start by checking if your email address was recently exposed in a data breach using Microsoft’s "Have I Been Pwned" site, since a sudden surge in spam usually means your address got picked up by automated mailing lists. Then, in Windows 11 Mail or Outlook, go to Settings > Junk Email > Filters and set filtering to "High" or "Exclusive" so only known contacts and safe senders come through. Add trusted addresses to your Safe Senders list, and continue marking new junk as "Phishing" instead of just deleting it, this helps train Microsoft’s spam filters. Also, avoid unsubscribing directly from suspicious messages, since that can confirm your address is active. Lastly, if spam continues even after tightening filters, consider creating a new alias or forwarding through a more secure address. Have you noticed whether these junk emails share a similar sender name or subject line pattern?

Kind regards,

paula rudd 25 Reputation points

2025-11-02T13:14:31.1733333+00:00

Instead of deleting/block, I just kept reporting everything as phishing & it droped from at least 50 a day to around 10. Thank you.

Answer 2

It sounds like you're experiencing a significant increase in junk email, which can be frustrating. Here are some steps you can take to help reduce the amount of junk mail you receive:

Use the Block Sender Feature: In your email client (like Outlook), you can add the senders of junk emails to your block list. This will prevent their emails from reaching your inbox.
Report Junk and Phishing Emails: Continue to report any junk or phishing emails you receive. In Outlook, you can select the email and use the "Report Message" feature to mark it as junk or phishing. This helps improve the filtering for all users.
Adjust Anti-Spam Settings: If you're using Microsoft Defender for Office 365, you can configure anti-spam policies to be more aggressive. This includes adjusting the bulk mail filtering settings to better catch unwanted emails. You can temporarily increase the phishing email threshold in your anti-phishing policy to make it more sensitive to potential threats.
Review Your Email Subscriptions: Sometimes, you may have inadvertently subscribed to mailing lists. Review your subscriptions and unsubscribe from any that you no longer wish to receive.
Use Safe Links and Safe Attachments: Ensure that Safe Links and Safe Attachments features are enabled in Microsoft Defender for Office 365, as they provide additional layers of protection against malicious content in emails.
Educate Yourself on Phishing: Familiarize yourself with common phishing tactics so you can better identify suspicious emails before they become a problem.

By implementing these strategies, you should see a reduction in the amount of junk email you receive. If the problem persists, consider reaching out to your email provider for further assistance.

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