How to Block Phishing Emails in Gmail
How to Block Phishing Emails in Gmail

How to Block Emails: A Comprehensive Guide

Unwanted emails are not something that anyone likes to receive. Spam emails can be dangerous and even contain malware. It’s just annoying to receive messages from unknown senders.

Statista reports that spam messages accounted to 45.1% of all email traffic in March 2021. In 2020, 306.4 million emails were sent daily, which includes billions of marketing emails.

Although promotional messages can seem innocent at first, too many could flood your inbox. Malicious emails can also contain dangerous software or links. They can be activated and infiltrate your computer once opened.

We’ll show you how to prevent unwanted email from being sent from your computer or your email provider.

  • What is an unwanted email?
  • Why do I get unwanted emails?
  • How to Avoid Unwanted Emails
  • Unsubscribe vs. Filter Unwanted Emails
  • How can you block email?

What is an unwanted email?

Let’s find out the most commonly unsolicited emails before we attempt to delete them from our inbox.

  • Spam email: Also known by junk mail, spam emails are bulk messages sent to subscribers. Usually, these messages are for promotional purposes.
  • Intentional or forced subscriptions: A service might use some tricks to trick you into signing up for messages.
  • Phishing email: These emails pretend to be marketing emails, but they contain malware that can stealthily install itself on your device. This malicious software can spy on you and gather your personal information. This information can be used later for online crimes such as identity theft.
  • Emails without a sender: Known as ghost email to iOs users, these “no-sender” and “no-subject” emails could be the result of a system error.
  • Unwanted personal communication: These messages are sent by someone you know and to which you do not intend to reply. It could be an acquaintance asking for money or a former lover trying to get in touch. They’re either asking for a loan or trying to reach out to a past lover.

These emails are why?

It’s common to receive spam and phishing emails from unscrupulous websites.

What is the point of being spammed? Good question. These are some of the most common reasons:

  • Inadvertently, you subscribed to the company newsletter.
  • Your email address has been posted to a public forum.
  • Data breach occurred when a company had access to your email details.
  • You may have clicked on malicious emails in the past.

Hackers could steal your email address by stealing it from legitimate organizations and services. Then, they can sell that information to cybercriminals in order to scam you. (This isn’t the only scary thing hackers could do to your email address. Businesses and advertisers can also share public contact list information in order to send mass marketing emails.

Most email providers, including Gmail, iPhone and Outlook, Yahoo!, Hotmail and AOL, allow users to block spam or junk mail from their services. According to Theresa Payton (CEO of Fortalice Solutions), a cybersecurity company, “Blocking spam can often be as simple as notifying you provider by marking something spam.” This step-by-step guide will help you block all emails from each mail server.

How to Block Emails on Gmail

Web browser

  1. Block the sender’s email by opening it
  2. Click the three-dot icon “More”, located in the upper right corner
  3. Click “Block”

App

  1. Block the sender’s email by opening it
  2. Tap the three-dot icon “More”, located in the upper right corner
  3. Select “Block Sender”

How to Block Emails on iPhone

  1. Open the Mail app
  2. Block the sender’s email by opening it
  3. Tap the name of the sender
  4. Tap the address next to the header
  5. Select “Block This Contact”
  6. Confirm that you wish to block the contact

How to Block Outlook Emails

Web browser

  1. Block the sender’s email by opening it
  2. Click the three horizontal dots at the top-right corner.
  3. Choose “Block”

App

  1. Block the sender’s email by opening it
  2. Tap the three-dot icon at the top right corner
  3. Select “Move To Spam”

Desktop

  1. Right-click an email sent by the sender you wish to block
  2. Click “Junk” > “Block Sender”

How to Block Yahoo Mails

Web browser

  1. Block the sender’s email by opening it
  2. Click the three dots icon at the top right of your email
  3. Click “Block Sender”

App

  1. Tap the menu at the top left corner
  2. Select “Tools” >”Filters”
  3. Tap the “+” icon at the top right corner
  4. Select a name to be the new filter
  5. In the “Sender” field, type the email address that you wish to block.

How to Block Hotmail Emails

  1. Click “Home” > Parameter > “View All Outlook Settings”.
  2. Click “Email” > ‘Junk Email’ > “Filters”
  3. Under “Blocked Senders”, type the name of the sender.

How to Block Emails from AOL

  1. Click “Options/Mail Setting” under your username
  2. Click on the “Block Senders” tab
  3. Please enter the email address that you wish to block
  4. Click on the “+” icon
  5. Select “Save Settings”.

What to do when you get a suspicious email

Avoiding suspicious emails is the best way to avoid hackers and thieves. James E. Lee, chief operative officer of Identity Theft Resource Center, says that as long as you do not click on any unsolicited links, attachments or download files, you will have done everything you can to prevent any attacks on your computer and your data.

Payton suggests that you contact the sender if you are unsure about the attachment or link. You can also run the attachment through VirusTotal which is a free online service that scans URLs and suspicious files for malware detection. Be aware of the warning signs that you might be falling for a scam.

How to avoid getting spam/unwanted email

Do not waste your time unsubscribing to every spam email that you receive. Kujawa states that you could accidentally click on malicious links and it can also be “a small band-aid on an even larger wound.” Experts recommend that you create two separate email accounts if you get a lot spam. One to send marketing emails and one for private messages with family and friends. Payton suggests using Proton Mail, an email service with a stronger spam filter.

Once you’ve created a new email account, limit the information you share with others. Lee advises that you only share your personal information with trusted organizations, and only when it is necessary. Lee also recommends that you protect your accounts using privacy tools such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) if it is possible. You can steal secrets from people who have never been hacked to stay ahead of hackers.

How to Avoid Unwanted Emails

These are some tips to help you avoid receiving unsolicited emails.

  • Learn the fine print in terms and conditions of websites and apps.

Perhaps you are checking the auto-subscribe option in these text boxes.

  • Only sign up for trusted websites or companies.

Trusted brands are best if you want to receive newsletters or other promotional messages. Reputable companies won’t spam subscribers and are less likely be involved in data breaches.

  • Do not engage with spammers.

You might be tempted to respond to spammers in an effort to stop them from sending you emails. It is best to not provoke them.

  • Use a disposable email.

Another option tech-savvy people use is to use a different email address to sign up for new websites. This is a disposable email that is not connected to your personal accounts. If your security is compromised, you can just abandon the email address. It doesn’t pose any risk to other online accounts.

  • Do not reveal your private email address to public domain websites or other social media groups

Spammers, bots, and scanners are always looking for email addresses online. You can limit the number of people who can view your email address to a select group of contacts if you don’t mind sharing it on social media.

Unsubscribe vs. Filter Unwanted Emails

How can you tell if the email is legitimate? There are certain tell-tale signs to look out for when spotting phishing emails, including an unclear or unprofessional-looking subject line. Headlines that convey urgency or danger in return for money (“You’re in danger!” You can also shout “scam” by requesting money immediately

IT professionals recommend that you delete or mark these emails as spam. Because clicking on Unsubscribe will let them know that someone is using your email address. This could encourage the person who has your email address to send you junk mail.

Legitimate promotional messages, on the other hand use the company email. They may instead use BankABC@gmail.com or Updates@BankABC.com.

You can report suspicious emails to your email provider if you believe they are phishing. Google provides specific reporting pages for Harassment from a Gmail User and Spam, Impersonation, Phishing messages, and Non-Phishing Suspicious Communications.

How can you block email?

Yes, you can unsubscribe from spammers and block email addresses. Each email provider and device is different, but we will give you the steps-by-step instructions.

How do I block emails from Gmail

  1. Unsolicited party’s message can be opened
  2. Click the More option in the upper right corner. Or the three vertical lines
  3. Click Block [sender]
  4. If you wish to report the message, click on the Report as Spam button

Android users can block others from their phones by following the above steps.

Follow the same steps if you wish to unblock the sender. Instead of clicking Block, click on the Unblock button.

How to Block Emails from Outlook and Hotmail

  1. You can choose a message from an unwanted sender that you wish to block
  2. Select Message > Junk mail from the Outlook menu bar
  3. Click on Block sender. Outlook will then add the sender’s email address into its blocked list. It will filter out future messages from them.

To undo the action, go to Junk Mail Preferences. Click on the Blocked Email Senders tab and then select Remove Select Sender.

How do you block Yahoo! emails?

  1. Yahoo! Yahoo! Mail: Click on the gear icon to select Settings> Block Addresses
  2. Select Block in the Address Field
  3. Enter the email address that you wish to block and click Block.

If you receive unsolicited email from an individual or organization, you can contact Yahoo’s customer care.

How to Block Emails on iPhone and iPad

You can block unsolicited emails with iOS13 or iPadOS by using the Mail app, Contacts, or both.

Blocking unsolicited emails with iPhone Contacts

  1. You must ensure that the email address of the person to be blocked is entered in the Contacts app. You should add the sender to the Contacts app if it isn’t there.
  2. Open your Settings app > Threadingoptions. Tap Block Sender Option
  3. Click on Block and then select Add New
  4. Click on the contact that you have created to block the email sender.
  5. Allow mail to be stored in iCloud, so that it can be synchronized across all of your Apple devices.

Blocking unsolicited emails with the Mail app

  1. Send an email to the unwelcome contact
  2. Click on the name to view the sender
  3. Tap from in the header, and select Block this Contact

You can unblock senders using Settings> Mail > Block. Simply search for the sender’s name and hit Unblock.

How can I block someone permanently from emailing?

You should not have any problems with particular senders if you’ve followed the steps.

How does a blocked sender know that they are blocked?

They won’t be notified if you block them. They won’t be notified that you have removed their messages from your inbox. If they attempt to send anything, their emails will go to spam.

While they can’t see your messages, they might suspect that you have blocked them.

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