7 Ways How to Report Outlook (Hotmail) Fraud

The average office worker receives 121 emails per day, and fraud emails account for 45 percent of them. It’s no wonder that people are switching to other methods of communication instead of using email. The situation is even worse for the users of Outlook, one of the world’s first webmail services, because Hotmail’s spam filters leave a lot to be desired in terms of their ability to distinguish legitimate emails from spam.

But just because Hotmail’s (Outlook) spam filter has a few cracks doesn’t mean there aren’t ways how you can patch them. Let’s take a closer look at 7 ways how to report Hotmail fraud to eliminate future scams and make life more difficult for the people behind them.

1. Report Outlook Fraud to Hotmail’s Abuse Team

Microsoft has a direct hotline where you can report Hotmail fraud and any suspicious emails you receive:

1. Open the email in question but don’t click on any links or open any attachments.
2. Forward the email to the following address: [email protected].
   • You can also forward the email to [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].

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It may take Microsoft’s fraud team a couple of days to examine the forwarded email, so be patient and resist any temptation to engage in conversation with the scammers.

2. Mark a Message as a Phishing Scam or Junk

When you receive a spam email message in Hotmail, you can mark it either as junk or as a phishing scam. When you mark a message as junk, any future messages from the same sender will automatically end up in the spam folder. However, if you mark a message as phishing, a warning at the top of the page, but any links in the message can still be opened.

To mark a message as junk:
1. Go to Outlook.com
2. Select the message you want to mark.
3. Select Junk on the command bar.

To mark a message as phishing:
1. Go to Outlook.com
2. Select the message you want to mark.
3. Select Junk on the command bar.
4. Then select Not junk and choose Phishing to mark the message as phishing and report the sender.

You can also manually block any sender you want even if they haven’t sent you an email message before.

1. Go to Outlook.com
2. Select Settings and choose View all Outlook settings.
3. Select Mail and choose Junk email.
4. Enter the email address of the person you want to block in Blocked senders and select Add.
   • If you want to block all email from a domain, enter the domain name in Blocked domains and select Add. Select Save.

3. Report Hotmail Fraud to the FTC

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anti-competitive business practices. One way how the FTC promotes consumer protection is by investigating fraud email messages and going after their senders.

To report Hotmail fraud to the FTC, simply forward the entire spam email to [email protected]. Make sure to state that you’re complaining about being spammed. If you ever unsubscribe from an email list and discover that your request is not honored, you can file a complaint with the FTC on this page. To report regular spam:

1. Go to: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/.
2. Select “Unwanted telemarketing, text, or SPAM” from the menu on the left.
3. Choose “SPAM.”
   
4. Fill in the complaint details.
5. File your complaint.

4. Report Hotmail Fraud to the FBI

The FBI is more interested in fraud emails than you might think, and they want you to report every fraud email you receive to them.

1. Go to: https://www.ic3.gov/complaint .
2. Familiarize yourself with the FBI’s terms and conditions.
3. Click the “I Accept” button to proceed.
   
4. Fill in all the required information.
   
5. Solve the captcha at the bottom of the page.
6. Click “Submit Complaint.”

For less serious Hotmail fraud, you can simply forward the messages to the Federal Trade Commission at [email protected]. Don’t expect the FBI to send you a reply but know that they investigate every complaint they receive.

5. Report Hotmail Fraud to the IRS

IRS scams are one of the most prevalent types of Hotmail fraud. They involve scammers targeting American taxpayers by pretending to be Internal Revenue Service collection officers. Over $30 million has been reported lost IRS scams, according to the IRS, and the problem has even been assigned to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

1. If you receive a suspicious IRS-related email, here’s what you need to do: Don’t reply to it and don’t open any attachments.
2. Forward the email to [email protected].
3. Mark the original email as spam and delete it.

6. Report Hotmail Fraud to UPS

You might be surprised how many scammers are fraudulently claiming to be UPS. You can help UPS fight against criminal activity by reporting Hotmail fraud and all other UPS-related illegal activity to [email protected]. UPS takes email fraud very seriously, and they use sophisticated measures to identify scammers and report them to the authorities.

1. Don’t reply to it and don’t open any attachments.
2. Forward the email to [email protected].
3. Mark the original email as spam and delete it.

7. Report Hotmail Fraud to Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo is an American multinational financial services company and the world’s second-largest bank by market capitalization.
Because of its size, scammers often target Wells Fargo customers with phishing emails and text messages. If you encounter a suspicious email that claims to be from Wells Fargo, this is what you need to do:

1. Don’t reply to it and don’t open any attachments.
2. Forward the suspicious email to [email protected].
3. Wait for an automated response.

How to Protect Yourself from Hotmail Fraud

• Don’t publish your email address online.
• Don’t respond to suspicious emails.
• Report fraud as soon as possible.
• Use an anti-malware software solution with a spam filter.
• Use a different password for each account.
• Keep your web browser and operating system up to date.
• Avoid public Wi-Fi networks.
• Familiarize yourself with common types of email fraud.

Conclusion

Hotmail fraud is a serious problem, but there are many ways how you can fight against it. It takes just a few seconds to report email fraud, so there’s really no reason not to make it harder for scammers and join the fight against online crime.