Report spam emails and find out where they really came from
Paste a spam email below. We find where it came from and tell the company responsible. Your name and email address stay private.
How to report a spam email in 3 steps
1. Copy the original email
We show you exactly where to click in Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other email services.
2. We trace where it came from
Spammers fake their name. We read the part of the email headers your own email company wrote to find the server or account that most likely sent it.
3. You approve the report
You see every word first. Nothing is sent to the company's abuse team until you say so.
How to find out who sent a spam email
The name and address in the From line of a spam email are easy to fake. Every email also carries a hidden record, called its email headers, listing the servers it passed through. Spammers can add false lines to that record, but they cannot change the part your own email company wrote.
Spamtrace starts from that trusted part and works back to the server that really handed over the message. It finds that server's IP address, then checks the official internet registries to see which company runs the network and how to reach its abuse team.
It also tells you when an email looks like a newsletter you may have signed up for, so that honest senders are not accused by mistake. Read how Spamtrace works.
Why report spam with Spamtrace
- Your privacy comes first. Your name and email address are removed from every report.
- Plain answers. We explain what we found in everyday words.
- Innocent websites are protected. Ordinary sites linked in a newsletter are not selected for reporting.
- You can follow up. See who received your report and any answer they sent.
Questions about reporting spam
How do I report a spam email?
Copy the original text of the email, paste it into Spamtrace, and check the results. We find the company responsible for the network that sent it. You read the report and approve it, and we send it to that company's abuse team.
Can I find out who really sent a spam email?
You can usually find the network that sent it. The name in the From line is easy to fake, so Spamtrace reads the email headers instead, starting from the record your own email company wrote. That shows the real internet address (IP address) of the sending server and who runs it. It may not show the name of the person behind the spam.
Should I unsubscribe, block, or report spam?
If you signed up for the email and no longer want it, unsubscribe. If you never asked for it, do not click anything inside it. Blocking only stops it reaching you. Reporting tells the company that can shut the sender down.
Will the spammer see my name or email address?
We remove your name and email address from every report, including where they are hidden in code. A spammer can sometimes hide a unique code that we cannot recognize, so please read the preview before you approve a report.
Which email services does Spamtrace work with?
Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook, Microsoft 365, Yahoo, AOL, iCloud, Proton Mail, Zoho, GMX, Web.de, and Fastmail are recognized automatically. If you use your own mail server, you can add it to your account.
How much does it cost to report spam?
You can see where an email came from before you pay. Sending a report uses 1 credit. Credit packs start at $5 for 150 reports, with no subscription, and credits never expire.
How soon should I report a spam email?
Within 2 days of receiving it. Companies keep their records for a short time, so most abuse teams cannot act on older spam. You can still trace older email, and we save it for statistics.
Answers to common spam questions
Got a spam email today?
It takes about a minute. The sooner you report it, the more an abuse team can do.
Report a spam email