spam emails

Outlook treats unwanted email primarily by filtering it, not by automatically eliminating the sender account.

• Suspected junk or spam is typically moved to the Junk Email folder.
• In Outlook, blocking a sender or domain usually means future messages from that sender are sent to Junk Email.
• In Outlook.com and Outlook on the web, blocked senders and domains are added to the blocked list and messages are moved to Junk Email.
• In classic Outlook, the Junk Email Filter does not stop delivery; it evaluates incoming messages and moves suspected spam to Junk Email.

For reported spam:

• Reporting spam helps improve Microsoft filtering, but it does not mean the sender account is automatically removed or permanently shut down.
• For Microsoft 365 organizations, if a message is classified as Spam or High confidence spam, what happens depends on the anti-spam policy configured for the organization.
• If a sender is blocked at the Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online admin level, messages can be rejected or treated as spam before they reach the mailbox, depending on configuration.

Retention behavior:

• In Outlook on the web, Outlook.com, and new Outlook for Windows, email in Junk Email is automatically removed after 14 days and cannot be recovered after that.
• In the Outlook support article for Outlook, junk email is retained for 30 days before automatic deletion.

If a legitimate message is being treated as junk, the sender or domain can be added to Safe senders and domains so it does not go to the Junk folder.

• Filter junk email and spam in Outlook
• Overview of the Junk Email Filter in classic Outlook
• Block or unblock senders in Outlook
• What's the difference between junk email and bulk email in cloud organizations?
• Permanently Blocking Junk Emails - Microsoft Q&A