Message blocked because it contains content identified as spam

Question

Message blocked because it contains content identified as spam

Neil Wilson 0

Lately every time I try forward a scam email to 'phishing report ([Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]@phishing.gov.uk)' to report it, the message gets blocked by [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]@outlook.com, MY QUESTION IS: IF I CANNOT SEND IT, WHY AM I RECEIVING IT. It seems that Microsoft is working with the scammers.

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3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

@Neil Wilson

Microsoft allows delivery to me, to be scammed, but I cannot forward it to the authorities for them to take action.

This is a common problem, not just with the Microsoft mail filters. There are two suggested workarounds:

1 -- Take a screen shot of the email. Most government agencies can work from that.

2 -- Right-Click on the message in your message list and choose Download -> Download as EML
Preferred because it retains all the details from the original

User's image

Compose a new message to phishing.gov.uk, give it the same Subject as the original and attach or paste in the screen shot, or attach the EML file.

Answer 2

Hi @Neil Wilson,

I understand your concern. To better understand why the message is being blocked when you try to forward it, could you review the non-delivery report (NDR) or postmaster message that you receive?

Please scroll down in the message and look for a section called "Diagnostic information for administrators" (or a similarly named section). This usually contains the specific reason why the message could not be delivered. Could you share the exact error code and message from that section?

There can be several reasons why an email is undeliverable. Examples include an incorrect recipient address, an outdated Auto-Complete entry, attachment restrictions, or server-side filtering policies.

In the meantime, you may wish to verify the recipient address and try sending again:

Create a new message.
In the To field, remove the existing recipient address.
Clear any Auto-Complete suggestion for the recipient:
- Start typing the address until it appears in the suggestion list.
- Highlight the suggestion and select Delete.
Manually type the full recipient email address again, ensuring it is spelled correctly.
Send the message.

You can also refer to Microsoft's guidance on interpreting Outlook.com postmaster and failed delivery notifications:

Failed delivery messages from the postmaster at outlook.com, microsoft.com, or service.microsoft.com

Once you provide the diagnostic information from the NDR, I can take a closer look at the specific reason the message is being blocked.

Additionally, if your goal is to report phishing messages, Outlook includes a built-in phishing reporting option that sends the message to Microsoft for analysis. You may find this easier than forwarding the email manually. Please refer to the following article for step-by-step instructions:

Phishing and suspicious behavior in Outlook - Microsoft Support

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Community members and moderators do not have access to Microsoft mail systems or customer accounts, so we rely on the information contained in the delivery failure report to help identify the cause.

Thank you again for your time and understanding. I really appreciate your patience, and I’m here to help. Looking forward to your response.

Neil Wilson 0 Reputation points

2026-09-25T10:19:43.2266667+00:00

Hi, as stated in the title - 'Message blocked because it contains content identified as spam' it's annoying Microsoft allows delivery to me, to be scammed, but I cannot forward it to the authorities for them to take action. No doubt if I use the outlook reporting that will be in the US, I want to inform the UK authorities.
Heimerdinger 630 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-27T07:26:59.51+00:00

Hi @Neil Wilson,

Thank you for the update.

Just to confirm, have you tried the steps I provided earlier to create a new message, remove any cached recipient entry, manually retype the UK reporting address, and then send the message again?

Based on the error message alone, it is difficult to determine where the rejection is occurring. The fact that the message is being blocked does not mean Microsoft is blocking it. In some cases, the filtering or security policies on the recipient's side may reject messages that contain content identified as spam or phishing.

Could you please try the steps above and let me know whether the message is still blocked afterward?

As this is a user-to-user forum, I do not have access to Microsoft's mail filtering systems or the UK authority's mail system, but the outcome of those tests may help narrow down where the message is being rejected.

Thank you again for your time and understanding. I look forward to your update.

Answer 3

Use Outlook’s built-in phishing reporting instead of forwarding the scam message.

In Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 Outlook:

Select the suspicious message.
Choose Report > Report phishing from the ribbon.
This reports the message, removes it from the Inbox, and helps improve filtering.

If using an email client other than Outlook, send the phishing message as an attachment in a new email to ******@office365.microsoft.com. Do not forward it normally, because the original message headers are needed for analysis.

For why a message can be received but a forwarded copy is blocked: Microsoft’s anti-spam system can block messages based on the content and characteristics of the message being sent. The anti-spam guidance states that legitimate email can also be flagged because of filtering verdicts, policy overrides, or authentication-related issues, and message trace can be used to investigate what happened to a message.

If this is a Microsoft 365 business mailbox, an admin can investigate in:

Exchange admin center > Mail flow > Message trace to see which rule or policy flagged the message.
Review anti-spam policies, mail flow rules, and blocked senders settings.
Submit the message to Microsoft for analysis.