How to Report a Gmail Account for Spam, Phishing, or Malware

If you need to report a Gmail account for spam, abuse, or fraud, you can do so using Google's Gmail abuse form. For immediate action against these phishing or harmful accounts, you can easily mark an email as spam and block the email address on your desktop computer or mobile device. This will redirect all future emails from the sender to the Spam folder, and blocked parties will not be notified. In this guide, we’ll show you how to report and block an abusive or spam Gmail account using your Windows, Mac, iPhone, or Android device.

How to Report a Gmail Account

Report an email as spam by check-marking the little box to the far left and selecting the “Report spam” button.
Fill out a Gmail abuse form in a web browser. Enter your contact info, the headers, subject, and body of the email, and send the report.
Block a sender by opening an email from them. Click the three dots icon, then click "Block [sender]".

Section 1 of 7:

Reporting a Gmail Account as Spam

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Open Gmail and select an email from the sender you want to report. In your Gmail account, find the email you’re reporting and click on the little box on the far left. Instead of opening the email, you’ll see a check mark appear in the box; a new set of options will also appear at the top of the email list.
- If you just want to unsubscribe from a certain sender’s emails, open the message and then select Unsubscribe (which will be written in blue letters next to the sender’s address).
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Click the “Report Spam” symbol at the top of the email list. The Report Spam button will appear after you check an email; it looks like a stop sign with an exclamation point inside, and when you hover over it with a mouse, it’ll say “Report Spam.” Click that button to report the spam email, and it’ll be moved to the Spam folder!
- Mobile App: If you’re using the Gmail app, the process is slightly different. Open the email you want to report and tap the ••• icon in the top-right corner. Then, tap Report spam from the drop-down menu.
- When you mark an email as spam, Google will automatically get a copy along with any attachments—so they can review both the message and sender.

Section 2 of 7:

Reporting an Account with the Gmail Abuse Form

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Navigate to the Gmail abuse form in a web browser. You can use Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, or another browser to fill out this form.
- If you received a Spam or harmful email, you can report it to Google. Always be cautious when receiving emails from senders who are not in your contact list.
This is how Google will contact you concerning your report.
This will be the email address of the person involved in the suspicious or abusive incident.
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Enter the header of the email in the third field. An email header is a snippet of code used to authenticate an email message.
- To find the full email header, click the three dots icon above the email body. Click Show original in the drop-down menu. A new window will open with all the email details.^{[1]
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- Click Copy to clipboard, then paste it into the correct field in the Gmail abuse form.
This is the single line of text you see when you receive an email.
Copy and paste the entire body of the email into the provided field.
If you have other concerns or information to share, you can do so in this field. If you do not, you can leave it empty.
If the message appeared to be someone impersonating Google or a Google employee, click Yes. If the message was unrelated to Google, click No.
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Click Submit. This is the red button at the very bottom of the form.
- Your report will be sent to Google.
- If you need more support, you can contact Gmail.

Section 3 of 7:

Reporting an Email as Phishing

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Be sure to sign into your Gmail account if you haven’t already! Once that’s done, click on the phishing email to open it.
You’ll find it in the top-right corner of the email, next to the Reply button. When you click the icon, a drop-down menu will open.
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Click the “Report phishing” option. Scan the drop-down menu for the Report phishing option and select it to send the report to Google; once sent, they can review the message and its contents.
- Mobile App: If you’re using the Gmail app, you can report phishing (or spam) the same way; the only difference is the ⋮ button, which will look like ••• instead.
- If you mark an email as phishing by mistake, you can repeat this process, open the same drop-down menu, and select Report not phishing.

Section 4 of 7:

Deleting Spam Emails

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When you access your Gmail account, the Spam folder is accessible from the list of folders and filters on the left side of the screen. Look for More and click on it to expand the list of options; then, you should see the Spam folder below.
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Select “Delete all spam messages now.” You’ll see this option in blue lettering at the top of the list of spam emails. Once you select “Delete all spam messages now,” every message will be permanently deleted.
- You can also select a specific spam email by clicking on the small box to the far left of the message, then clicking the Delete forever option that appears.
- If you need to remove an email from the Spam folder, check the box next to that email and then select the Not spam option.
  - Once you remove an email from Spam, other emails from that sender won’t go to Spam, either.

Section 5 of 7:

Blocking Senders on Desktop

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Open Gmail and click an email from the sender you’re blocking. If you aren't already logged in, enter your information and click Sign in to do so now, or you can create a Gmail account. Then, find an email from the sender and click on it to open it up; if you deleted it or sent it to Spam, check your Trash or Spam folder.^{[2]
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- This method is all about blocking emails sent by Spam or abusive accounts. You can also keep your Google account safe by changing your password regularly.
You can find this at the top-right corner, above the email body. A drop-down menu will open.
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Click Block. This will be followed by the sender's name or email address.^{[3]
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- A pop-up window will open, asking you to verify your choice.
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Click Block to confirm. The sender will be blocked. Future messages from the sender will be sent directly to the Spam folder.
- If you need to unblock a sender, return to an email from the sender. Click the three dots icon, then click Unblock. Click Unblock again to confirm.

Section 6 of 7:

Blocking Senders on Mobile

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Open the Gmail app and tap on an email from the sender. If you aren't already logged in, tap Sign in to do so now. Then, find an email from the sender you’re blocking and tap on it to open it. If you deleted it or sent it to Spam, check your Trash or Spam folder.^{[4]
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- Gmail is available for iOS in the App Store and for Android in the Google Play Store.
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Tap ⋮ in the top-right corner. This will be above the email body, to the right of the sender's name.
- On iOS, the icon looks like •••.
- A pop-up menu will open.
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Tap Block. This will be followed by the sender's name or email address.
- The sender will be blocked. Future messages from the sender will be sent directly to the Spam folder.
- If you need to unblock a sender, return to an email from the sender. Tap the three dots icon, then tap Unblock.

Section 7 of 7:

How to Avoid Phishing Emails

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Check senders’ email addresses to ensure they’re official. For instance, official emails from Google will always come from email addresses that end in "@google.com", not from email addresses that end in "@gmail.com". Always make sure the sender’s email address is correct, and look for even the smallest misspellings to indicate a scammer.
- Also, keep an eye out for blatant typos in the message itself, as well as suspicious links in the email body.
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Be wary of messages that sound oddly urgent or enticing. Scammers often try to take advantage of people by making it sound like they have to act fast or by making an offer sound too good to be true. They also make messages seem like they’re coming from a friend or someone you know. If there’s any doubt, reach out to your friend or family member directly (with the contact information you typically use).^{[5]
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- Scammers also pose as authority figures, including banks, law enforcement, and tax collectors.
- If you’re worried about a message that appears to come from an authority figure, contact them directly to verify (not by replying to the email).
If someone tries to ask for your information via email (or text or phone call), do not respond. This includes any usernames, passwords, government identification numbers, and bank account or credit card numbers. Even if a website just asks for your contact information, don’t give it out unless you know that site is reputable.^{[6]
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Never enter your password after clicking a link in a message. If you click a link in a message and are redirected to a page asking you to enter your Google or Gmail password, or another password, ignore this and leave the page. Instead, go directly to the website you’re trying to use.^{[7]
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- As long as you’re signed into Gmail, an email from Google won’t ask you to re-enter your password.

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How can I determine who created a Gmail account using my name?

R2_d2000

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It is unlikely you will be able to determine the individual who created the account. Your best course of action is to report the unauthorized account directly to Google.

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We received a hateful email from a Gmail account. How can we report them?

R2_d2000

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Fill out the report form to let Google know. You should also block the account so that they cannot send you anymore hateful emails.

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My Gmail was hacked, the password changed, the recovery email changed and no phone number. It has all personal information in it as well as work information. How can I get it back?

R2_d2000

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In the email that you were sent notifying of the recovery email being changed, there should be a link that you can click or directions that you can follow to say that you did not make the change. Carefully read the email to see if you can follow the link or if there are any instructions for what to do if you did not make the change.

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