How to stop spam emails in Gmail and Outlook

Step 1: Report spam instead of deleting it

Reporting is the single most useful action, because it teaches your provider's filter what you consider junk. Deleting a spam message removes it from view, but the filter learns nothing.

In Gmail

• Web: open or select the message and click the Report spam icon (an exclamation mark in a stop sign) in the toolbar.
• Gmail app: open the message, tap the three-dot menu, then Report spam.
• If the message is impersonating someone or asks for passwords or payment, use Report phishing from the three-dot menu instead.

In Outlook

• Outlook.com and new Outlook: select the message, then choose Report > Report junk (or Report phishing).
• Outlook mobile: open the message, tap the three-dot menu, and choose Report junk.
• In work or school accounts, your organization may provide its own report button. Use that so your IT team sees the message.

Also check the other direction. Once a week, glance at your Spam or Junk folder and mark any legitimate message as Not spam. That keeps the filter accurate.

Step 2: Unsubscribe from legitimate mailing lists

Much of what people call spam is actually marketing they signed up for years ago. For these, unsubscribing works and is safe.

Both Gmail and Outlook show an Unsubscribe option near the sender's name for many bulk senders. Since 2024, Google and Yahoo have required high-volume senders to support one-click unsubscribe and honor requests promptly, which makes this button far more reliable than it used to be. Gmail also offers a Manage subscriptions view in some versions that lists frequent senders so you can unsubscribe in bulk.

Type of email	Best action
Newsletter or store you recognize	Unsubscribe
Marketing from a company you never dealt with	Report spam
Prize, crypto, or "account suspended" message	Report phishing, never click
Message from a real contact's hacked account	Report phishing and tell the contact through another channel

Step 3: Block persistent senders

Blocking is useful for one sender who keeps coming back, such as a single company that ignores unsubscribe requests.

• Gmail: open the message, click the three-dot menu next to the reply arrow, and choose Block "sender name". Future messages from that address go to Spam.
• Outlook: select the message and choose Block (or Report > Block sender, depending on version). You can review your list under Settings > Mail > Junk email.

Step 4: Build filters for repeat patterns

Filters catch spam that rotates its sending address but repeats a domain, phrase, or subject line.

Gmail filter

1. Click the filter icon at the right end of the search bar.
2. Enter what to match: a domain in From (for example @example-deals.biz), or words in Has the words.
3. Click Create filter and choose Delete it or Skip the Inbox plus Apply the label.

Outlook rule

1. Go to Settings > Mail > Rules and choose Add new rule.
2. Set a condition such as From or Subject includes.
3. Choose an action such as Move to Junk or Delete, then save.

Be careful with broad words like "invoice" or "account". They can catch real mail. Filtering to a folder you check occasionally is safer than auto-deleting.

Step 5: Use safe senders so real mail isn't lost

Aggressive filtering can push important mail into Junk. Add your bank, school, doctor, and employer to your contacts (Gmail) or Safe senders list (Outlook: Settings > Mail > Junk email > Safe senders and domains). Contacts and safe senders are far less likely to be filtered.

Step 6: Stop handing out your main address

The most effective long-term fix is reducing how many companies and lists have your real address. Options, from simplest to most private:

• Plus addressing. Gmail and Outlook.com both deliver mail sent to yourname+anything@ your address. Sign up as yourname+shoes@gmail.com and you can filter on that tag later, or see who leaked it. Some spammers strip the tag, so this is a sorting tool more than a shield.
• A secondary address used only for shopping, sign-ups, and Wi-Fi portals.
• Email alias services. Apple's Hide My Email (with iCloud+), Firefox Relay, SimpleLogin, and DuckDuckGo Email Protection create unique forwarding addresses. If one alias starts receiving spam, you turn it off without affecting anything else.

Step 7: Check whether your address was in a breach

A sudden jump in spam often follows a data breach. The free service Have I Been Pwned (haveibeenpwned.com) lets you see which known breaches included your address. If your address appears, change the password on that site and anywhere you reused it, and turn on two-step verification for your email account. Your email account is the key to resetting everything else.

What not to do

• Don't reply to spam, even to say "stop". Replies confirm your address is active.
• Don't load remote images in suspicious mail if your app asks; images can work as tracking pixels. Gmail proxies images, but other apps may not.
• Don't forward spam to friends to ask if it's real. Look up the company's official site yourself instead.
• Don't pay for "spam blocker" apps that want full access to your mailbox unless you trust the company. Built-in tools are free and handle most cases.