![Diane Poremsky [Outlook MVP]](http://www.outlook-tips.net/images/2014/MVP_BlueOnly.png)
We see a lot of questions that go something like this:
I would like to not only block particular emails but also send them back to the sender so they know they've been rejected. Is that possible. Right now I can only send them to the Junk email folder. Thanks.
Yes, you could do this (using an autoreply rule), but why? If the message is from a spammer with a legitimate address, all you are doing is letting them know your address is valid. If the address is fake, you create more needless traffic and the only result will be the need to delete the NDR you'll get back.
There are a very few circumstances when it makes some sense to reply to unwanted email – but you should do it just once and type a short note asking the sender to stop sending you messages.
They include:
- If the address belongs to someone you know but don't want to be in contact with, reply to the sender and ask them to stop sending you email. Or just delete the message and forgot about it. This method works best with former coworkers, family members, etc., that you no longer want to receive email from.
- If it’s from a company and you can't get unsubscribed from their mailing list, reply and ask to be removed then set up a rule to delete the messages and forget about it.
When the sender is a spammer, just delete the message and go on. If you send an autoreply one of two things will happen: you'll get an NDR back or you'll confirm you address is valid and end up with a lot more spam. Since most spammers use fake from addresses, you don't have to worry too much about confirming your address. It is also mostly useless to add spammers to your blocked senders list as their addresses keep changing.
Bottom line: delete the unwanted messages using the junk mail filter and/or using a rule and forget about it.
Published January 15, 2011. Last reviewed on May 5, 2017.
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36 Comments on "Return an email to the sender"
Why? What does that matter?
The question is "How does one do it?". Having to explaining that there are perfectly valid circumstances one might want to generate bounce messages to specific senders or domains should not be a requirement to getting the information.
What if your bank asked you why you needed your balance, or told you "just accept that you have enough money and move on unless we tell you otherwise"?
There are, in fact, legitimate reasons one might want bounce messages to happen. They shouldn't have to be explained to get the answer here.
You need to use an auto reply rule to bounce them back - but really, you aren't actually bouncing it back, you are just replying with an auto response. Some mail servers do support the ability to reject messages and notify the sender - that is where all bounces should be handled, not from the client.
WOW, so then the answer is NO, you haven't caught up with other email tech from the early 2000's yet.
If you can BOUNCE an email back to a spammer, they will see it as an invalid address and eventually remove you from their list because they don't want those useless replies EITHER.
Believe me when I say that I KNOW this works (just trust me).
But I like your "it's your problem to delete it or move it, not Microsoft's" attitude.
Great way to deflect and not claim responsibility for a product.
Most spammers use an invalid reply address - they don't give a damn about the bounce because they'll never see it. Legit Bulk mailers will have unsub links.
The only time it works is when the mailbox on the server does the bouncing - this will cause it to bounce seconds (or split seconds) after arrival, not minutes, hours or days if outlook returns it.
I think there is clear distinction between sending an email to someone and not getting a response, to getting an 'unknown address' 404 style response. The former tells a spammer that they have correctly identified a valid email address, the latter would indicate that their address is wrong and would therefore be more likely to remove it from their database. I would love that feature.
The only problem is timing - if the message isn't refused when delivery is attempted (or they also request a delivery receipt, which most servers honor), they'll know the NDR is fake and the address is valid.
You know what Diane! You should really get off this thread, you clearly don't know what you are talking about.....
Just because you disagree doesn't mean I'm don't know what I'm talking about. I can't stop you from doing it, I'm just telling you why its not a good idea. Email is NOT like postal mail where you can write 'Return to Sender' on the envelope and the post office processes it - when you send a response, it's YOU who are processing it.