Computing & Information Services

How to report spam and phishing scams

As spammers and scammers continue to use new techniques to circumvent spam filters, it's a constant battle to catch and filter these messages accordingly.  If you receive spam or a phishing attempt not caught by our filters (or receive legitimate email incorrectly marked as spam), please follow the directions below on how to report it. The messages you report will be used to help train our filters and make them more effective.  For detailed instructions on reporting spam and phishing scams, please select your email client:

Thunderbird:

  1. In Thunderbird, click on the message you want to report
  2. From the Message menu, select Forward As and then select Attachment
  3. To report a spam message NOT marked as spam, send the email to report-spam@reed.edu. To report a legitimate message incorrectly marked as spam, send the email to report-ham@reed.edu. To report a phishing attempt, send the email to report-phish@reed.edu.

Apple Mail:

  1. In Apple Mail, click on the spam message you want to report
  2. From the File menu, select Save As
  3. In the Format: drop-down box, select Raw Message Source and save the file to your desktop
  4. Compose a new message and attach the file you just saved to the desktop
  5. To report a spam message NOT marked as spam, send the email to report-spam@reed.edu. To report a legitimate message incorrectly marked as spam, send the email to report-ham@reed.edu. To report a phishing attempt, send the email to report-phish@reed.edu.

Webmail: 

Reporting spam

  1. In Webmail, click on the spam message you want to report.
  2. Click the "Report as Spam" link that appears at the top or bottom of the message.
  3. Click OK to confirm reporting the message as spam.
  4. A confirmation message will appear stating the email has been reported, and that the email has been moved to the Trash.

Reporting legitimate email marked as spam

  1. In Webmail, click on the legitimate message in your spam folder.
  2. Click the "Report as Not Spam" link that appears at the top or bottom of the message.
  3. Click OK to confirm reporting the message as not spam.
  4. A confirmation message will appear stating the email has been reported.

Reporting a phishing email

  1. In Webmail, click on the phish message you want to report.
  2. Click on the Save As link (just above the message window) and save the file to your desktop.
  3. Compose a new message and attach the file you just saved to the desktop.
  4. Send the email to report-phish@reed.edu.