Email, Using the Report Spam Outlook Add-in

What does the Report Spam add-in do?

Click on the add-in to report a message as suspicious or to allow or block senders. If you report a message as suspicious, the entire the email message—complete with the original email headers—is submitted for analysis. Technology Services uses the information to improve detection of malicious messages and to appropriately respond to those already delivered.

Is it available on my email?

The Report Spam Outlook add-in is automatically available through the Office365 platform for most versions of Outlook. This includes desktop, web, and mobile Outlook clients. It is available on all the following platforms:

• Desktop: Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, Outlook for Office 365
• Mobile: Outlook for iOS, Outlook for Android
• Office365 Web: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari

Where is it located?

In desktop versions of Outlook, the add-in will typically appear on the right-hand side of the Home tab of the Ribbon toolbar. On the mobile or web clients as well as some of the "new" Desktop versions, the add-in appears under either the ‘More Actions’ ellipsis button or the 'Apps' button after selecting an email message. See the screenshots below for some examples.

How do you report a suspicious email?

Messages that contain spam, phishing attempts, impersonations, or malware can be reported using the Report Spam add-in.  

1. Click on the message so it is highlighted.
2. Click on the ‘Report Spam’ button in your Outlook client. See the above "Where is it located? section for assistance in finding this button.
   
3. The Report Spam add-in will now ask you to confirm that you would like to report this suspicious message. Click the “Report Spam” button at the bottom of the prompt to report the message.
   
4. Finally, you will receive a notification message confirming that the report has been made. Click  Click the “Close” button at the bottom of the prompt and the message will automatically be moved to your Junk folder.
   

How do you Allow or Block a Sender?

The add-in can also be used to easily add an email sender to your Proofpoint safe or block list right in your email client instead of having to use the spam digest web page. For more information, please see the KB articles on managing safe and block lists.

1. Click on the message so it is highlighted.
2. Click on the ‘Security Actions’ button. See the above "Where is it located? section for assistance in finding this button.
   
3. Choose ‘Allow Sender’ option to add a sender to your Proofpoint Safe list or the ‘Block Sender’ option to add a sender to your Proofpoint Block list.
4. Once you make your selection, the add-in will now ask you to confirm the action. Click the “Allow” or “Block” button at the bottom to complete the action.

Additional Information

For questions about this add-on, please reach out to security (go.uillinois.edu/contactsecurity).

If you already interacted with the email, please take these steps to help secure your account:

• If you have typed in your username and password to a phishing site, reset your password using the NetID manager (go.uillinois.edu/password).
• If you have opened a suspicious attachment, report the action to your campus' security team (go.uillinois.edu/contactsecurity) and follow their instructions.
• If you did nothing other than open the email or reply to it, then there is no direct threat, and you should simply ignore future messages from the attackers.

FAQ

Can browser plugins affect the Report Spam add-in for the web version of Outlook?

Browser plugins such as ad-blockers can sometimes block communications with specific domains.  This could impact domains that are needed for the Report Spam add-in to work properly.  If you utilize browser plugins that block traffic you may need to configure them to allow communication with proofpoint.com domains.

Can I recall or undo a report if the message is later discovered legitimate?

There is no method to cancel a report via the Report Spam add-in. As long as the message was not deemed malicious, the message can be retrieved from your Junk folder and no further action is needed.

What types of messages should I report with the Report Spam add-in?

Reporting messages that you feel are malicious or fraudulent will help alert the cybersecurity team to email threats that may need corrective actions.  While reporting messages that are generic spam or bulk mail messages is also acceptable, you may instead consider adding these senders to your block list if the message is undesired but unlikely to be malicious. When in doubt, please report the message.