Most of us have opened our email and found a message that says something like:

“Your account will be closed immediately.”
“You won a prize.”
“Your package could not be delivered.”
“Invoice attached.”
“Your computer has a virus.”

And, of course, my personal favorite:

“Dear Beneficiary, I have selected you for $12.8 million.”

Sure you have, Prince Whoever. I’ll get right on that after I finish unloading the dishwasher.

That is where the Spam or Junk Email folder comes in. Its job is not to stop every bad email from existing. It is to get suspicious, scammy, annoying, or unwanted messages out of your main inbox so you are less likely to click on them by mistake.

In Gmail, the folder is usually called Spam. In Outlook, it is usually called Junk Email. The names are different, but the idea is the same: this is the holding pen for messages your email provider thinks may be junk, scams, phishing attempts, malware tricks, or unwanted bulk mail.

And here’s the first important lesson:

You cannot completely stop junk email from being sent to you.

You can reduce it. You can train your email program. You can block senders. You can unsubscribe from legitimate newsletters. You can keep your address off shady websites. But once your email address is out in the wild, some junk mail will probably always be out there scratching at the door like a raccoon with a coupon.

The goal is to make sure most of it goes where it belongs: out of sight, away from your important messages, and into Spam or Junk.

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Part 1: Spam, Junk, Phishing, Promotions — What’s the Difference?

People often use spam and junk to mean the same thing. Most of the time, that’s fine.

But there are a few categories worth understanding.

Spam or junk email usually means unwanted email. It may be advertising, scams, fake offers, suspicious links, adult content, fake invoices, or messages from senders you do not know.

Phishing is more dangerous. A phishing email is trying to trick you into giving away something valuable, such as your password, banking information, credit card number, Social Security number, or two-factor authentication code. Gmail and Outlook both have tools for reporting phishing, not just ordinary spam. Gmail’s phishing report option is under the More menu in an open message, and Outlook.com lets users report a selected message as phishing from the Report menu.

Promotional email is not automatically junk. It may be from a store, restaurant, bank, school, church, news site, doctor’s office, or company you actually signed up with. You may not want to read it right now, but that does not mean it is a scam.

Newsletters are similar. If you signed up for a newsletter from a real organization, it is usually better to unsubscribe than to mark it as spam. We’ll get into why that matters later.

Transactional email is important email from a business or institution: receipts, password resets, appointment reminders, bank alerts, two-factor login codes, shipping notices, insurance messages, and school notifications. These are exactly the kinds of messages you do not want disappearing into a junk folder.

So the basic idea is:

Spam/Junk: unwanted or suspicious.
Phishing: trying to steal from you.
Promotions: probably advertising, but not necessarily bad.
Other/Focused/Updates: lower-priority sorting, not the same as junk.
Transactional: important business or account messages.

Your email program is trying to sort all of this for you. It does a pretty good job most of the time, but it is not perfect.

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Part 2: A Little History — Why Spam Filters Had to Exist

Email was not originally built for a world full of scammers, fake invoices, botnets, and “click here to confirm your account” traps. In the early days, email was mostly used by researchers, universities, government agencies, and technology people who often knew who they were talking to.

Then people realized email was cheap, fast, and could reach a lot of people at once.

One of the most famous early examples of commercial email spam happened in 1978, when a Digital Equipment Corporation marketer sent an unsolicited promotional message over ARPANET, an early network that helped lead to the modern internet. Reports vary on the exact number of recipients, but the message is widely remembered as an early commercial spam incident.

As email grew in the 1990s and 2000s, spam exploded. Early spam filters were often simple. They looked for suspicious words, phrases, or senders. If an email shouted about money, medicine, prizes, or other classic spam subjects, the filter might flag it.

Then spammers got sneakier.

They misspelled words on purpose. They used images instead of text. They hid text. They changed sending addresses. They sent email from hacked computers. They made messages look like they came from banks, delivery companies, government agencies, or friends.

Spam filtering turned into an arms race.

Modern filters now look at many signals, not just one word in a subject line. They may consider the sender’s reputation, whether the message passes authentication checks, whether lots of users have marked similar messages as spam, whether links look suspicious, whether attachments are risky, and whether the message resembles known scams. Google’s sender guidelines, for example, talk about spam rates, user reports, domain reputation, IP reputation, authentication, and sending only to people who want the messages.

That means your email filter is less like a single guard at the door and more like a whole neighborhood watch with binoculars, a clipboard, and a suspicious attitude toward attachments named Invoice_Final_Final_REALLY_FINAL.zip.

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Part 3: How Spam and Junk Filters Work Today

Your email provider uses several layers to decide where a message should go.

The first layer is reputation. Has this sender behaved well in the past? Do people open their messages? Do people report them as spam? Has the sender’s domain or IP address been associated with scams or bulk junk mail? Spamhaus, for example, maintains blocklists of IP addresses associated with spam, malicious content, hijacked IP space, and other abusive behavior.

The second layer is authentication. Email has systems called SPF, DKIM, and DMARC that help prove a message really came from the domain it claims to come from. These do not make email perfect, but they help prevent scammers from pretending to send email from a domain they do not control. Cloudflare describes SPF, DKIM, and DMARC as email authentication methods that work together to help stop unauthorized senders from sending email on behalf of someone else’s domain.

The third layer is content. The filter looks at the message itself. Does it contain suspicious links? Is it pressuring you to act immediately? Does it mention payment problems, prizes, account closures, or password resets in a strange way? Does it include an attachment that looks dangerous?

The fourth layer is user behavior. If thousands of people mark a message as spam, that tells the email provider something. Gmail specifically warns senders not to email people who did not sign up, because recipients may mark those messages as spam and future messages may be treated as spam. Gmail also says frequent spam reports can lower a sender’s domain reputation over time.

The fifth layer is your own choices. When you mark something as spam, mark something as not spam, block a sender, add a sender to contacts, unsubscribe, or create a rule, you are giving your mailbox instructions.

This is why two people can receive the same newsletter and have it land in different places. One person opens it every week. Another deletes it without reading. Another marks it as junk. The filter learns from all of that.

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Part 4: How to Find Your Spam or Junk Folder

This is where a lot of people get into trouble. They say, “I never got that email,” when the email was actually sitting in Spam or Junk wearing a little fake mustache.

You should check your Spam or Junk folder any time you are missing something important, especially if you are waiting for:

A password reset
A verification code
A doctor’s office message
A bank alert
A school message
A tax document
A receipt
A shipping update
A job application reply
An email from a new contact

Also, do not wait forever. Gmail says messages in Trash or Spam are permanently deleted after 30 days or when you manually empty those folders. Outlook says junk email is retained for 30 days before it is automatically deleted and is not recoverable.

Gmail on a computer

1. Go to Gmail in your web browser.
2. Look at the left side menu.
3. If you do not see Spam, click More.
4. Click Spam.
5. Look for the missing message.
6. If the message is legitimate, open it.
7. Click Report not spam or Not spam.

You can also use the Gmail search box. Try searching for the sender’s name, the subject, or a keyword. Gmail’s own missing-message guidance recommends searching across Gmail and checking Spam and Trash when an email seems missing.

Gmail on Android

1. Open the Gmail app.
2. Tap the three-line menu in the upper-left corner.
3. Scroll down.
4. Tap Spam.
5. Open the message.
6. Tap the three dots.
7. Tap Report not spam if the email is legitimate.

Google’s Gmail help for Android says to open the Gmail app, tap Menu, go to Spam, and use Report not spam to remove a message that was incorrectly marked as spam.

Gmail on iPhone or iPad

1. Open the Gmail app.
2. Tap the three-line menu in the upper-left corner.
3. Tap Spam.
4. Open the email, or touch and hold it.
5. Tap the three dots.
6. Choose Report not spam.

Google’s Gmail help for iPhone and iPad gives the same basic route: open Gmail, tap Menu, go to Spam, and use Report not spam for legitimate messages.

Outlook.com or Outlook on the web

1. Go to Outlook in your web browser.
2. Look at the left side folder list.
3. Click Junk Email.
4. Look for the missing message.
5. Select the message.
6. Choose Report or Not junk, depending on what your version shows.

Microsoft says that if mail goes to the Outlook.com Junk folder by mistake, you can mark it as Not junk or add the sender to your Safe Senders list.

Outlook mobile app on iPhone or Android

1. Open the Outlook app.
2. Tap your account icon or menu button.
3. Open the folder list.
4. Tap Junk or Junk Email.
5. Open the message.
6. Tap the three dots.
7. Choose Move to Inbox, Not Junk, or another similar option if the message is legitimate.

Microsoft says that in Outlook for iOS or Android, if a missing message is in Junk Email, select it and use the More options menu to move it to the inbox.

The exact wording may vary a little depending on whether you are using Outlook.com, new Outlook for Windows, classic Outlook, Outlook for Mac, Outlook for iPhone, or Outlook for Android. Technology companies do love moving the furniture around while we’re at the grocery store.

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Part 5: How to Teach Your Email Program What You Want

Your spam filter learns from what you do. That does not mean it will obey perfectly, but your actions matter.

When something is truly spam

If the message is clearly unwanted, suspicious, or scammy, mark it as spam or junk.

In Gmail, open the message and choose Report spam. On Android and iPhone/iPad, Gmail’s instructions say to open the message, tap More, and choose Report spam.

In Outlook mobile, Microsoft says to open the message, tap the three dots, choose Report Junk, and then pick Junk, Phishing, or Block Sender.

Use phishing instead of ordinary junk when the email is pretending to be a bank, store, delivery company, government agency, tech company, or someone you know in order to steal information.

When something is not spam

If an important message lands in Spam or Junk, do not just read it and leave it there. Move it out or mark it as Not spam or Not junk.

In Gmail, reporting a valid message as not spam helps keep future messages from that sender out of Spam. Google also says adding the sender to Google Contacts can help prevent valid emails from going to Spam.

In Outlook, Microsoft recommends marking mistaken junk as Not junk or adding the sender to Safe Senders.

Add important senders to contacts or safe senders

For important senders, add them to your contacts or safe sender list.

Good candidates include:

Your bank
Your doctor’s office
Your pharmacy
Your insurance company
Your child’s school
Your employer
Your church or club
Your tax preparer
Your utility company
Your local newspaper subscription
Your password manager
Your email recovery address

In Outlook on the web or Outlook.com, Microsoft says you can go to Settings → Mail → Junk email, then add addresses under Safe senders and domains.

Use unsubscribe for legitimate email you signed up for

This is important.

If you signed up for emails from a real company, school, nonprofit, store, bank, doctor’s office, church, or local organization, do not automatically smash the spam button just because you are tired of seeing the messages.

Use unsubscribe instead.

Gmail lets you unsubscribe from many messages right next to the sender’s name on a computer, and Gmail also has a Manage subscriptions area on mobile. Outlook.com also has subscription management and an Unsubscribe option for many newsletters or promotions.

Why does this matter?

Because when people mark legitimate emails as spam, it can hurt the sender’s reputation. Gmail tells senders that if messages from their domain are frequently reported as spam, future messages are more likely to be marked as spam and user spam reports can lower domain reputation over time.

That may not matter if it is a sketchy “miracle cure” email. Mark away.

But if it is your bank, your school district, your doctor’s office, or a local business you actually deal with, marking their email as spam can help train systems to treat their future email as suspicious. That could mean real alerts, appointment reminders, or account notices are more likely to land in junk.

So here is the rule:

Scam or stranger? Mark as spam.
Legitimate sender you signed up for? Unsubscribe.
Important sender mistakenly in junk? Mark not junk and add to contacts or safe senders.

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Part 6: Promotions, Other, Focused — The “Not Junk, But Not Urgent” Middle Zone

Email companies eventually realized there is a big middle category.

Not every message is important.

Not every message is garbage.

Some email is just… there.

A coupon from a store you actually shop at is not necessarily junk. A delivery update is not personal, but it might matter. A social media notification is not dangerous, but you probably do not need to leap across the room to read it. A bank newsletter may not be urgent, but the bank itself is still a sender you may need to hear from.

That is why Gmail and Outlook created sorting systems that are not exactly spam filters.

Gmail categories

Gmail can separate messages into categories such as Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. Google describes Primary as email from people you know and messages that do not appear in other tabs, Social as messages from social networks and media-sharing sites, Promotions as deals and offers, Updates as confirmations and reminders, and Forums as messages from groups and mailing lists.

If you use Gmail’s Default inbox, your messages may be automatically sorted into tabs like Primary, Social, Promotions, and Updates. Google says you can move messages among categories if you want.

That means a message in Promotions is not necessarily junk. It may be exactly where Gmail thinks it belongs: not dangerous, but not personal.

Outlook Focused and Other

Outlook has a feature called Focused Inbox. Microsoft says Focused Inbox separates your inbox into two tabs: Focused for messages considered most important and Other for the rest, where they remain accessible but out of the way.

This is not the same as Junk Email.

Focused means Outlook thinks you probably care about it more.
Other means Outlook thinks it is less urgent.
Junk Email means Outlook thinks it may be unwanted or suspicious.

In Outlook mobile, Microsoft says you can move messages between Focused and Other, and choose whether to always move future messages from that sender.

This is the email equivalent of having three piles on the kitchen counter:

Bills and family stuff: deal with soon.
Coupons and newsletters: maybe later.
Mystery envelope full of glitter and threats: absolutely not.

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Part 7: Why Emails You Send Might End Up in Someone Else’s Junk Folder

Now let’s flip the problem around.

What if you are the person sending email, and people keep saying:

“I didn’t get it.”
“It went to spam.”
“It landed in junk.”

This can happen to regular people, small businesses, churches, nonprofits, clubs, schools, and local organizations.

Here are common reasons.

You sent to too many people at once

If you send one message to a large list of people, especially from a regular personal email account, it may look like bulk mail.

Better option: use a legitimate email newsletter service for large groups, and make sure people actually opted in.

People did not ask for the email

If recipients did not sign up or do not recognize you, they may mark your message as spam. Gmail specifically tells senders not to send messages to people who did not sign up because those recipients may report the messages as spam, and future messages may be marked as spam.

Too many people marked you as spam

This is one reason not to treat the spam button like a general “I’m annoyed” button. Spam reports affect sender reputation. Gmail says frequent spam reports can make future messages from that domain more likely to be marked as spam.

Your email looks scammy by accident

Even legitimate messages can look suspicious if they include:

Too many links
Shortened links
All caps
Lots of exclamation points
Huge images with very little text
Attachments people were not expecting
Odd file types
Pushy language like “ACT NOW”
Money claims
Password or account warnings
A sender name people do not recognize

A message that says “CLICK IMMEDIATELY OR YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE CLOSED!!!” may be real, but it has scam cologne all over it.

Your domain is not set up correctly

This matters more for businesses and organizations using custom email addresses, such as:

name@yourbusiness.com
office@yourchurch.org
support@yoursite.com

Your domain should have proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC settings. These authentication systems help receiving mail servers verify that your message really came from a sender authorized to use that domain.

Google tells senders to set up email authentication and to check domain and IP reputation with Postmaster Tools. Microsoft also announced sender requirements for high-volume Outlook senders that include SPF, DKIM, and DMARC compliance.

For a regular home user, this is usually handled by Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, or your provider.

For a small business, church, school, or nonprofit with a custom domain, this may require help from whoever manages your website, domain name, or email service.

Your account may be compromised

If your email suddenly starts landing in junk, or people say they got strange messages from you, your account may have been hacked or abused.

Do this immediately:

1. Change your email password.
2. Turn on two-factor authentication.
3. Check forwarding settings.
4. Check filters or rules.
5. Check connected apps.
6. Tell close contacts not to click strange links from you.
7. Run a security scan on your device.

This is especially important if sent messages appear that you did not send.

Your IP address or sending service has a bad reputation

Most ordinary people do not control the IP address used to send their email. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, your internet company, or your email host handles that.

But on the larger internet, email systems do track IP and domain reputation. Spamhaus describes itself as an authority on IP and domain reputation, and its blocklists include IP addresses identified as sending spam or hosting malicious content.

That does not mean you personally need to learn internet plumbing. It means if you run a business newsletter or custom domain email, sender reputation matters.

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Final Reader Checklist

Here is the plain-English version.

Check Spam or Junk when:

You are missing a password reset.
You are waiting on a verification code.
You changed banks, doctors, schools, or services.
You signed up for something and never got the confirmation.
Someone says, “I emailed you yesterday.”

Mark as Spam/Junk when:

It is a scam.
It is from a stranger.
It is pretending to be a bank, delivery company, or tech support.
It asks for passwords, card numbers, or codes.
It has suspicious links or attachments.

Do not mark as Spam/Junk when:

You signed up for it.
It is from your bank, school, doctor, utility company, church, club, or local business.
You may want real messages from that sender later.

For those, use unsubscribe or change your communication preferences.

Mark as Not Spam/Not Junk when:

It is a real message.
It came from someone you know.
It came from an institution you trust.
You want future messages from that sender.

Add safe senders or contacts for:

Banks
Doctors
Schools
Employers
Family
Close friends
Utilities
Insurance
Important local organizations

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Closing

The Spam or Junk folder is not perfect, but it is one of the most useful safety tools in your email account.

It cannot stop every scammer from sending you nonsense. It cannot make your email address disappear from every shady list. It cannot stop the internet from being the internet.

But it can shove most of the garbage into a side room where you are less likely to trip over it.

The trick is to check that side room once in a while, rescue the good messages, report the bad ones, unsubscribe from the legitimate ones you no longer want, and never click a suspicious link just because an email sounds urgent.

Scammers love panic. Spam filters love patience. So take a breath, check the folder, and remember: not every email deserves your attention, your money, or your blood pressure.