Can I filter out spam based on it containing Chinese characters?

Question

I regularly get spam email that has tons of what I assume are Chinese characters in it. Is there a way to setup Outlook to redirect any mail with these types of characters into my spam folder?

Answer 1

In Outlook (2003, 2007, 2010) you can block mails with "unfamiliar characters", based on their Encodings.

• Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail Filter Open the "Junk E-mail Filter Lists" section, International List, Blocked Encodings List
• Outlook 2007 Junk E-mail Filter - Block messages in unfamiliar alphabets
• Outlook 2010 Junk E-mail Filter - Block messages in unfamiliar alphabets

From the Outlook 2007 Junk E-Mail Filter section ...

Block messages in unfamiliar alphabets

You can block all e-mail addresses in language encodings (also known as character sets, or alphabets) that you specify. Today, most junk e-mail is sent in the US-ASCII encoding. The remainder is sent in various other international encodings. The Blocked Encodings List lets you filter out unwanted e-mail that is displayed in languages that you don't understand.

1. On the Tools menu, click Options to open the Options dialog box.

2. On the Preferences tab, under E-mail, click Junk E-mail to open the Junk E-mail Options dialog box.

3. Click the International tab, and then click Blocked Encodings List.

4. In the list, click the language encoding that you want to block, or click Select All.

5. Click OK twice.