Choose the action that matches the message: report unsolicited junk, report suspected phishing, block a persistent sender, or unsubscribe from a mailing list you recognize. Check the spam folder when an expected message is missing. These actions solve different problems.
Begin in the mailbox provider’s own app or website. An additional filtering app may ask for substantial access to your email, so first learn the controls your provider already offers. Workplace mail may also be governed by an administrator’s policies.
Decide what kind of message you have
On small screens, scroll the table horizontally. Keyboard users can focus the table region and use the arrow keys.
| Situation | First action | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Unsolicited bulk junk | Use Report spam or the provider’s equivalent. | It classifies the message and can inform provider filtering. |
| Unexpected request for credentials or payment | Use the phishing-report action and verify through a known separate channel. | A familiar display name alone does not establish the sender. |
| A newsletter you knowingly joined | Use a trusted subscription-management route. | It asks a legitimate publisher to stop the subscription. |
| Repeated mail from one unwanted sender | Use the mailbox’s block control. | It applies handling to that sender; changing sender addresses can evade the rule. |
| An expected message is missing | Search all relevant folders, then review Spam or Junk. | Delivery, filtering and mailbox rules require different fixes. |
For a suspicious message, avoid its links, attachments and reply path. Open the organization’s known website or app, or use a contact route you already trust. Google’s phishing guidance describes these checks and the Gmail reporting route.
Use Gmail’s reporting and recovery controls
In Gmail on a computer, select the unwanted email and choose Report spam. For a phishing attempt, open the message’s More menu and choose Report phishing. Menu placement differs in mobile apps. Follow the instructions for your device rather than assuming every client has the same actions.
To recover a legitimate message, open More → Spam, select it and choose Not spam. Confirm the message is now available where expected. Google documents reporting, recovery and automatic deletion after 30 days in its Gmail spam instructions; review an expected missing message before that retention period passes.
Reporting can disclose the message to the provider for analysis. Google states that reporting or moving mail to Spam sends it a copy. Use your organization’s approved reporting process for sensitive work email. A normal forwarded message may also lose evidence an administrator needs; ask which submission method they use.
Trace a missing legitimate message
- Confirm the account and exact recipient address. Check whether the sender received a delivery failure.
- Search by sender and a distinctive subject term in all relevant folders, including Trash or Deleted Items.
- Inspect Spam or Junk, blocked senders, inbox rules and forwarding settings. A rule that moves mail can resemble a filtering problem.
- If the message is legitimate, use the provider’s correction control and ask for a fresh, harmless test message.
- For workplace mail, give the administrator the sender, recipient, approximate time with time zone, subject and any message identifier available. Use their approved channel.
A successful new delivery is useful evidence for that test. Monitor a few representative messages before declaring a recurring problem resolved. Administrators can investigate classification and routing with the Exchange spam-filtering guide.
Review a proposed allow rule carefully. A broad rule that bypasses filtering for an entire domain may admit unrelated malicious mail. Correct the smallest identifiable cause and keep a record of the change.
Worked example: two unwanted messages need different responses
Evaluate additional filtering with a small test
Before connecting a third-party tool, read its requested mailbox permissions, data retention and account-disconnection instructions. Identify what it adds beyond the provider: for example, a review queue that suits your workflow or organization-wide administration. Check how it reports false positives and how you regain ordinary mail flow after removing it.
Use a small, harmless set of known legitimate messages to test delivery and recovery. Record provider, client, rule changes and results. Avoid testing by opening live malware or phishing attachments. Revisit filters when you change providers, add an alias, start a new automated mailing service or repeatedly miss expected messages.
Continue exploring
- Exchange Spam Filtering: Trace Messages and Fix False Positives
- Internet Security Software: Build a Practical Protection Plan
- Recall Email: Undo Send, Outlook Recall, and What to Do Next
- All software guides and earlier coverage
Guide and linked documentation reviewed September 7, 2026. For product-specific procedures, verify the deployed version, permissions and organization settings.