Description
Having legitimate emails go to the Junk folder can be just as frustrating as receiving spam in your Inbox. Spam filtering is an important tool that helps protect Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) staff against malicious emails, but no spam filter is perfect. Legitimate emails can end up in Junk for several reasons, including:
- Unknown senders
- Potentially unsafe attachments
- Specific wording commonly associated with phishing emails, such as "permanently deleted" or "take action now"
The spam filter moves suspected junk messages into the Junk folder for review. CCE staff can use the techniques described in this article to help train Microsoft Outlook on which senders and messages should or should not be trusted.
Procedure
Marking Email as Not Junk / Adding to Safe Senders List
If a legitimate email is being sent to your Junk folder by mistake, follow the steps below to mark it as Not Junk or add the sender to your Safe Senders list.
- Open your Junk Email folder.
- Right-click the message that is not junk.
- Select Junk to open more options.
- Select Not Junk. A pop-up message will confirm the message will be moved back to your Inbox.
- If you want to save the sender as a trusted sender, check the checkbox in the pop-up.
- Click OK.
Note: The opposite is also true. If junk email is found in your Inbox, right-click the message and select Block Sender.
The example below shows Verizon messages going to Junk because the word "Deactivate" is commonly used in phishing scams.
Viewing Safe and Blocked Senders
To view and update your safe and blocked senders, follow the steps below.
- In your Junk Email folder, right-click any message.
- Select Junk to open more options.
- Select Junk E-mail Options.
- Use the tabs in the dialog box to view and update your safe and blocked senders.
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