Microsoft Outlook has been Microsoft’s in-house information manager program since 1997, doubling as an email service for most casual users. As such, Outlook has amassed quite the track record over its 26 years of service. As with all things, it hasn’t been just all roses for Outlook, with a recent spam incident besmirching its relatively well-received name. If you’ve experienced a chaotic Outlook inbox this Monday (February 20, 2023), then you’re not alone.

The Spam We Don’t Want

Just this Monday, Microsoft Outlook users have been complaining online about an apparent junk filter issue, reporting that they were supposedly overwhelmed by spam that usually gets redirected.

Twitter user @dbsams posted an example of what appeared to be his inbox, which was chock full of patently obvious junk. And it’s not just your run-up-the-mill junk mail, we’re talking email addresses composed of random numbers, fake security messages, and plain-as-day phishing attempts.

It’s unclear what caused the issue or when it might be resolved. Mashable has reached out to Microsoft for clarification and further details, but they didn’t immediately hear back. Could Microsoft not know exactly what caused the issue either? Either way, Mashable said that they’ll be among the first to cover any new reports/announcements.

The Verge’s Tom Warren noted that his Outlook inbox had 20 spam messages and that they kept breaking through the rest of the morning. If you head on over to Twitter, you can see that Warren isn’t the only one facing the issue. Granted, 20 spam messages is far from the worse anyone can experience, but it also exemplifies just how bothersome these unsolicited messages can be, especially the ones with far more pervasive objectives.

Other notable names include Huawei UK PR Officer Balraj Singh, Windows Central Editor Zac Bowden, and Marathon Athlete Phil. To cap it off, British Author and Historian Hallie Rubenhold wrote:

“I’m being bombarded. Someone, please make it stop!”

The Wrap

Keeping the inbox clean and spam-free is crucial for a lot of folks, and who can blame them – a lot of spam is highly invasive, annoying, and can include harmful attachments that might damage your devices. Hopefully, we all get more information about what caused the issue and, more importantly, that it has been resolved. Unless you have a kidney issue or are on a low-sodium diet, you’d normally love Spam, but, as most of us have come to be aware, canned Spam is very much different from online spam.

Sources

http://bit.ly/41jcnuQ