Overview

A spike in spam can clutter inboxes, waste employee time, and increase the chance of someone clicking a malicious message.

Symptoms

• Users report inconsistent or failed access to the affected service, device, or application.
• Normal business or home workflows are interrupted, delayed, or no longer reliable.
• The issue may be isolated to one user or may affect multiple systems depending on the root cause.

Cause

Weak filtering policies, exposed addresses, compromised websites, or poor domain reputation can increase spam volume.

Resolution

Review filtering rules, block repeat senders, adjust anti-spam policy settings, and confirm whether spam affects all users or only a subset of mailboxes.

1. Confirm the exact symptoms and identify who or what is affected.
2. Check for recent changes such as updates, password changes, hardware swaps, DNS changes, or policy adjustments.
3. Test the most likely root cause first and document all findings clearly.
4. Apply the corrective action in the least disruptive way possible and verify the issue is fully resolved.
5. Record the final outcome, any user communication, and any recommended follow-up work.

Prevention

Implement layered filtering, protect exposed addresses, and review mailbox security settings regularly.

When to Contact Support

If the issue continues after standard troubleshooting, affects multiple users, involves data loss risk, or raises security concerns, it should be escalated to a qualified technician promptly.