How to Block Emails | McAfee Blog

With regular marketing emails from brands, businesses, and subscription services, our email accounts are more cluttered than ever. The number of daily emails exchanged globally reached an estimated 319 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the chances that these emails were spam or junk are quite high. In fact, 45% of all email traffic came from spam emails as of December 2021.  

With emails often being the preferred mode of communication for official purposes, it’s important to observe good digital hygiene with your inbox. While a cluttered inbox can be overwhelming, it can also double as a cybersecurity threat. Junk emails that contain malware or act as phishing tools are notorious for wreaking havoc in IT systems or aiding identity theft. 

Are you tired of opening your inbox to a barrage of unwanted emails? Read this article to learn how to block or eliminate spam emails. 

Why do you get unwanted and spam emails?

We know you didn’t sign up to be spammed by unwanted emails. So why is your inbox overflowing with spam messages? It could be one of many reasons, including:  

• You’ve subscribed to a brand/company’s newsletter by mistake  
• Your email is accessible/visible on a public site or forum  
• A company that was privy to your details faced a data breach  
• You’ve opened malicious emails in the past  

Companies also often share information that you’ve entered during registration with other businesses. Applications for loyalty cards and discount coupons at checkout are also sources of customer information for companies. Although companies are mandated to ask permission before sharing your personal information with affiliates, users often ignore the fine print. So, how do you block these unwanted emails? 

How to block emails

Fortunately, most email services let you block this contact or other specific email addresses by following a few simple steps. Usually, just notifying your email service that a certain sender is spamming you does the job. The process varies according to the email provider used. Read on to find out how to keep your inbox clean. 

How to block emails in Gmail

Gmail users can block spam mail using the Gmail app or web app. Follow the steps below to block emails while using the web app: 

Open a message from the sender you wish to block. If you don’t have a recent email from them, search their address or name in the search box at the top of the page.  

1. Click the “More” button (three vertical dots) in the top-right corner.  
2. Tap Block Sender in the drop-down menu.  

Doing this will cause all future emails from this sender to enter your spam folder. If you block someone you didn’t intend to, follow the same procedure to unblock and start receiving mail from their address.  

How to block emails in Outlook

Follow these steps to block an address using the Outlook (the new Hotmail) web app: 

1. In your inbox, open an email from the sender you wish to block.  
2. Find and click the “Junk” button from the top bar menu. 
3. You have three options in the drop-down menu: Flag the message as junk, mark it as phishing, or block the sender.  

By marking the email as junk, Outlook filters and sends all further emails from the sender to your spam folder. 

How to block emails in Yahoo Mail

Like all other service providers, the process of blocking a sender from your Yahoo mail account is quite straightforward. Use your web app and follow these steps to get rid of junk mail from your inbox:  

1. In your Yahoo Mail inbox, open any email from the sender you wish to block.  
2. In the center, right-click the menu button (symbolized by the three vertical dots).  
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Block senders.”  
4. After this, a check-box menu lets you block all future mail and delete all existing emails from the sender.  

Alternatively, you can also block a sender from the Settings menu.  

1. In the web app, click “Settings” in the top-right corner. Click “More settings” once the window opens.  
2. Choose “Security and privacy” from the navigation panel. 
3. Click “Blocked addresses” and select “Add.” 
4. Add the address you wish to block and click “Save.” 

You can unblock any address by navigating to “Blocked addresses” using the same steps and unblock any ID. 

How to block emails in AOL Mail

To proactively block senders from your AOL Mail inbox, follow the steps below using your web browser: 

1. In your AOL Mail inbox, select any email from a specific sender you wish to block.  
2. Select “Spam” from the options menu in the center of the page.  

Following these simple steps marks all future emails from the chosen sender as spam and sends them to the spam folder. 

How to block emails on iPhone (iOS Mail app)

The Apple iOS email app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac only recently allowed unsubscribing from mailing lists. It still doesn’t let you block senders. Follow the steps detailed below to filter and unsubscribe from senders: 

1. Open the Mail mobile app.  
2. Tap on any email from the sender you wish to unsubscribe.  
3. Click the blue link on top, which lets you unsubscribe. 

Flag any email as spam by forwarding the email to spam@icloud.com. 

Can emails have dangerous security threats?

Widely used and accepted email services are a frequent target of cyberattacks. Attackers can use email to gain control or access your personal information and resources. 

Securing email systems is crucial since your email might contain a lot of sensitive information, including financial documents, legal information, important personal documents, or even trade secrets.  

Common virus, scam, and security threats in emails

As an email sender and receiver, you should be aware of the most common ways the service is used to infect a computer.  

• Malware emails with download links. An email from a seemingly normal address can land you in trouble if it contains a download link to malware or malicious software. Clicking on the download can compromise the safety of your system. 
• Credential theft. Emails can be used for credential theft via phishing emails. As a victim, you can be lured into filling out forms that require you to enter your credentials.  

A general rule of thumb is to verify and review download links, forms, and email addresses of the sender before clicking on them, as they can pose significant threats to your cybersecurity. If you receive an email from someone you trust but it contains a link that you find suspicious, multiple websites can analyze URLs and files for malware. 

Stay protected from dangerous email threats with McAfee

Keeping an email system safe involves securing the servers of the client and the user. As an informal email system user, it can be hard to mitigate and manage risks posed by malicious emails on your own.  

Fortunately, you can utilize McAfee+and Identity Theft Protection. McAfee ensures complete cyber protection with advanced monitoring, customized tips according to your usage, and data clean-ups. With multiple subscription plans at your disposal, you can protect yourself and your family from all kinds of cyberthreats.