Manage Spam Email

Recognize Spam

• Spam is junk or unsolicited commercial email (UCE) that is bulk-emailed to people who have not requested it.
• Spam lists are often created by stealing Internet mailing lists, or by searching the Web for addresses, or searching for Directories containing email addresses. The more Internet activity you participate in, the more likely you'll end up in a spam list.
• Spammers forge almost all of the information in an email (address, IP, etc.).  This makes it difficult to identify where the spam originates.

Review Messages and Spam Folder 

• Unsubscribe if possible. Email lists and Google groups that you may subscribe to will usually have an Unsubscribe link at the bottom. You may receive approved University correspondence, which you can not unsubscribe from.
• Identify email incorrectly flagged as Spam.

• Search Gmail for messages marked as Spam.
• Forward the email to [email protected] with the message that it was incorrectly flagged as Spam.

Messages in your Spam folder are automatically deleted after 30 days.

Report Spam

Your reports of spam help educate the spam filters to be even more accurate. Be aware that reporting spam is an iterative, ongoing effort that might not appear to have immediate effect.

• From an @umn.edu address: to University Information Security at [email protected]: Forward the original text of the email. Include the full email headers.
• Impersonates a University (UMN) unit or person or targets UMN login information: to [email protected].
• Received in Gmail to Google: Click the Report spam button in Gmail (at the top of the email, click on the ! icon). This action helps to educate Google's spam filters. 
• Originates from outside the University:  to the Federal Trade Commission or to the spammer's Internet Service Provider (ISP).