Outlook junk filter not working: What we know about the spam issue.

You're not alone in your inbox woes.
By Tim Marcin  on 
outlook logo on screen
Not a great...outlook for people using the Microsoft email service. Credit: Thomas Trutschel / Photothek via Getty Images

If you're inbox is a mess this Monday, you're not alone. Microsoft Outlook users have been complaining online about an apparent issue with their junk filter, meaning they've been flooded with spam that usually gets redirected.

Twitter user @bdsams posted what appeared to be his inbox, for instance, and it was chock full of patently obvious junk. We're talking email addresses composed of random numbers, fake security messages, and obvious phishing attempts.

It's unclear what is causing the issue or when it might be resolved. Mashable has reached out to Microsoft for clarification and further details, but did not immediately hear back. We will update the story with comments from the company or when necessary.

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Tom Warren of The Verge noted that his Outlook inbox had 20 spam messages in it this morning and that they kept breaking through the rest of the morning. Go on Twitter and you can see that Warren is far from alone in that issue

Wrote British author and historian Hallie Rubenhold on Twitter, "I'm being bombarded. Someone, please make it stop!"

Keeping a tidy inbox can be crucial for folks, especially when it comes to their working life. Hopefully, there will soon further details and some kind of fix for the apparent issue.

Topics Microsoft

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Tim Marcin

Tim Marcin is a culture reporter at Mashable, where he writes about food, fitness, weird stuff on the internet, and, well, just about anything else. You can find him posting endlessly about Buffalo wings on Twitter at @timmarcin.


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