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Reporting a phishing email takes about 60 seconds and helps protect everyone else who's about to get the same scam.
This guide walks through reporting phishing in Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, and Apple Mail — on desktop, web, and mobile.
191K+ — Phishing complaints filed in 2025 (FBI IC3, 2025)
60s — All it takes to report and shut a scam down
1 click — Average time between report and improved filters
Reporting a phishing email means flagging it inside your email app so the provider (Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple) knows it's a scam. That one report helps update spam filters, block the sender, and keep the same email out of other people's inboxes.
Before you report anything, it helps to know what you're actually looking at. Most people have never had someone break down a phishing email for them. So here's one:
From: Bank of America <alerts@secure-bankofamerica-update.com>
Subject: Urgent: Verify Your Account Information
Dear Customer, We detected unusual activity on your account. To prevent your access from being restricted within 24 hours, please verify your information now.
VERIFY NOW
Red flags: Fake sender domain; Generic "Dear Customer"; Panic-bait subject line
See the sender address? Not bankofamerica.com. The greeting says "Dear Customer" because the scammer doesn't know your name. And that subject line? Pure panic bait.
This email didn't land in just one inbox, it went to thousands. Reporting it is what shuts it down for everyone else.
These steps work whether you're doing this yourself or walking a parent through it on a Sunday phone call. Each email app handles reports a little differently, find the one you or your family uses below.
Outlook has a built-in report button. The annoying part? It lives in a slightly different spot depending on whether you're on desktop, web, or your phone.
Desktop: Open the email. Click Report in the top toolbar, then select Report Phishing. Can't see it? Click the three dots at the far right of the toolbar.
Web: Open the email, click Report above the reading pane, then Report Phishing.
Mobile app: Open the email, tap the three dots, select Report Phishing. You may need to scroll down to see it.
Gmail makes this stupidly easy - two clicks and you're done.
Computer: Open the email. Click the three vertical dots next to the Reply arrow (top-right), then Report phishing and confirm.
Gmail app: Open the email, tap the three dots in the top-right, then Report phishing. No option? Tap Report spam instead.
Why it matters: Google uses these reports to improve filters for everyone on Gmail. You're not just cleaning your inbox — you're helping millions of others.
Yahoo is a little messier than the others — but the options still work.
Computer: Select the email, click Spam in the toolbar. For something more specific, click More → Report Phishing, or forward to abuse-mail@yahoo.com.
Mobile app: Open the email, tap the three dots, then Mark as spam. The mobile app doesn't always show a phishing-specific option.
If Yahoo warns you: When you see Yahoo's own pop-up warning above a suspicious email, hit Report right there. That's Yahoo's detection working for you.
Apple Mail is the odd one out, there's no one-click 'Report Phishing' button, but there are still clear steps.
Mac: Select the email, click Message → Move to Junk. Then forward as attachment (Message → Forward As Attachment) to reportphishing@apple.com.
iPhone / iPad: Swipe left on the message, tap More → Move to Junk. Forward to reportphishing@apple.com for Apple's security team.
If it impersonates Apple: Fake App Store receipts, iCloud alerts, or Apple ID warnings? Forwarding to reportphishing@apple.com matters even more.
Reporting inside your email app is step one. These organizations use phishing reports to track campaigns, build cases, and actually shut scammers down.
Anti-Phishing Working Group Tracks phishing campaigns globally and shares intel with law enforcement. Forward the email as-is. (reportphishing@apwg.org)
Federal Trade Commission Every report feeds a database that federal and state investigators use to go after scammers. (ReportFraud.ftc.gov)
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center File here if money or personal information was lost. The FBI used IC3 reports to recover hundreds of millions in stolen funds last year. (ic3.gov)
Phishing by text message Phone carriers use these reports to block scam numbers across their networks. (Forward to 7726 (SPAM))
Impersonated brands If the email pretended to be a specific company, forward it to their abuse address. Apple: reportphishing@apple.com. (stop-spoofing@amazon.com · spoof@paypal.com)
Your own email provider Use the Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo or Apple Mail steps above. These reports tighten the spam filters protecting your entire household. (Built-in Report button)
Your dad didn't click. But the scammer who sent that email is still out there, and that same message is sitting in thousands of other inboxes right now. Send your parents this guide. Sixty seconds is all it takes.