How to Block Phishing Sites on Yahoo Mail

Stopping phishing websites requires altering Yahoo! account settings.

Phishing is the practice of sending unsolicited emails that contain advertisements or which ask email account holders for personal information like account numbers. It is a problem because phishing clutters email inboxes, leaving no room for legitimate emails. Phishing also opens email account holders to fraud. Every email provider has basic steps an email account holder may take to prevent phishing sites from sending emails to his account. Yahoo! has three ways people can block these sites.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Filter Method

1. Log in to your Yahoo! Mail account.

2. Choose "Filters" under "More Options."

3. Click "Add New Filter." Name the filter and fill in the information for the phishing site. Select "Spam" from the "Move to Folder" dropdown menu.

4. Click "Save."

Spam Method

1. Log in to your Yahoo! Mail account.

2. Choose "Spam" under "More Options."

3. Make sure the "Control SpamGuard" box is checked under the "SpamGuard" heading. This will put most phishing emails directly into your "Spam" folder.

4. Type in the email address for the phishing website in the "Add a Blocked Address" text box under the "Blocked Email Addresses" heading. Click "Add." You may add up to 500 separate phishing emails.

5. Click "Save."

Sign-In Seal Method

1. Log in to your Yahoo! Mail.

2. Go to protect.login.yahoo.com. Click "Start Now."

3. Select either "Create a Text Seal" or "Upload an Image."

4. Type in the text for your seal or use the "Browse" button to navigate to and select an image file on your computer you want to use for the seal.

5. Click "Preview." Click "Save This Seal."

Tips & Warnings

• Never open a phishing email. This alerts the phishing site that your email address is legitimate and triggers it to send you more spam.

• Yahoo! allows you to report all phishing websites that target you under their "Help" section. See "Resources" for a link to the phishing report form.

References

• Yahoo!: Sign-In Seal
• Yahoo!: Security Center
• Yahoo!: Using Filters to Sort Incoming Email

Resources

• Yahoo!: Yahoo! Security Phishing Report Form