Phishing emails can show in your inbox disguised in many ways. From poorly written emails asking you to claim your prize from a lottery ticket you didn’t even buy, to extremely realistic impersonations of trusted providers. No matter the case, there are common factors that can help you spot these unwanted emails:
- Wrong email address: Check the sender’s email address carefully. Scammers frequently utilize slightly altered or fraudulent email addresses that resemble real ones.
- Sense of urgency: when you read a phishing email, you will notice it will prompt you to take action almost immediately, either by clicking on a link or submitting personal info. They may use phrases like “claim your prize today before the offer expires”.
- Spelling and grammar errors: Many phishing emails involve language errors. Legitimate businesses often adhere to higher standards of language and communication.
You must understand the major components of a phishing e-mail so that even if you are targeted with a completely different approach, you can still identify it as phishing.
You May Also Like
Learn to set out of office status in Outlook
Here’s how to find unread emails in your Outlook inbox.
How to Report a Phishing Email with the Outlook Desktop App
If you receive an e-mail that appears to be a phishing attempt, do not click on anything in the email, not even pictures.
Instead, utilize the “Report Message” option in Outlook. When you report the email as phishing, Outlook removes it from your inbox and this action also alerts Microsoft to help train their automated phishing detection systems.
The steps explained in this section apply to the latest version of Outlook, also known as the “new OutLook ribbon”. Make sure to verify if you have this option applied. To verify, check the toggle in the top right section of the desktop version.
Step 1: Select the email you wish to report
Step 2: Click the report button in the top bar
Step 3: Click report phishing
How to Report Phishing in Outlook on Mobile
You don’t have to wait till you are back at the office to report that suspicious message, you can do it directly from Outlook’s mobile app.
Here’s How You Can Do It:
Step 1: Find the email you want to report and then click on the three dots next to the trash bin.
Step 2: This will bring up a drop-down menu; pick “Report Junk”.
Step 3: Choose to report the message as either junk or phishing.
Does Reporting Phishing in Outlook Block the Sender?
Reporting phishing in Outlook does not automatically block the sender, but it does help Microsoft investigate and prevent future phishing attempts. To block the sender, you need to take an additional step after reporting the email as phishing.
Here are the steps you can follow to report and block phishing emails in Outlook:
- Select the email you want to report as phishing.
- Click on the “Junk” button in the toolbar and choose “Phishing” from the dropdown menu. This will submit the email to Microsoft and delete it from your inbox.
- Click on the “Junk” button again and choose “Block” from the dropdown menu. This will add the sender to your blocked senders list and prevent future emails from that address.
You can also use spam filters to automatically see junk emails or move phishing emails to your junk email folder.
Summing Up
Don’t let phishing emails compromise your online safety. These malicious messages can look very convincing, but they have common signs that you can spot, such as a wrong sender address, pressure to act quickly, or spelling and grammar errors. If you receive a serious phishing message or email, remember not to click on anything in it.
Instead, report it using Outlook’s built-in feature, either on your desktop or mobile app. This will delete the email from your inbox and alert Microsoft to improve their phishing detection. If you need help educating your teams to detect phishing messages or how to enhance your IT security, check out our tailored Microsoft 365 support services and see how we can assist you.
