Forum Discussion
Spammer inserted calendar appointment
If you received an unexpected or spam calendar appointment in Outlook, it could be the result of various factors. It is important to note that receiving such invitations does not necessarily mean your machine has been compromised, as calendar spam can happen to anyone. Here are a few possibilities for how it may have occurred:
- Calendar invitation spam: Spammers can send calendar invitations to email addresses they have obtained, hoping that users will accept or view the invitation. This can happen even if you have not directly clicked on any suspicious links or engaged with spam emails.
- Shared calendar events: If you have shared your calendar with others or accepted calendar sharing invitations, it's possible that someone added the appointment as a prank or without your knowledge. Check your calendar sharing settings and review any shared calendar permissions you may have granted.
- Malicious email attachments: Sometimes, malicious emails can contain calendar attachments that automatically add appointments to your calendar when opened. However, you mentioned that you do not click on unsolicited emails, so this is less likely the cause.
To mitigate the issue and prevent further occurrences, you can take the following steps:
- Delete the appointment: Remove the unwanted appointment from your calendar by right-clicking on it and selecting the delete option.
- Adjust calendar settings: Review your calendar sharing settings and ensure that only trusted individuals or contacts have permission to make changes to your calendar.
- Update your antivirus software: Ensure that your antivirus software is up to date and perform a full system scan to check for any potential malware or viruses on your computer.
- Be cautious with accepting invitations: Avoid accepting or opening calendar invitations from unknown or suspicious sources. Delete any suspicious invitations without responding or clicking on any links within them.
By following these steps, you can address the immediate issue and reduce the likelihood of future calendar spam. Additionally, maintaining good security practices such as keeping your software up to date, being cautious with email attachments, and regularly scanning your system for malware can help enhance your overall online security. The steps were processed using AI.
Hope this will help you.
- TalderonJan 15, 2024Copper Contributor
It would be nice if this solution actually worked.
I have gone into settings and set it so that ALL calendar events are set to:
"Don't show event summaries in email or on my calendar"
However, if someone sends me SPAM with a calendar event, it does not show on my calendar anymore, but I still get spammed with notifications for events.
I have NOTHING on my calendar, so I should not get ANY event notifications, but almost email that is sent to me that is SPAM that is not filtered by the SPAM Filter (which is WAY more than ANY other email account I use, a primary reason outlook.com is no longer my main account), I get notified of a calendar event that is not on my calendar. It appears that there is more work needed in order to get this fixed.
- NikolinoDEJan 16, 2024Gold Contributor
In Outlook, if you are still receiving notifications for calendar events even after adjusting your settings, you may need to check a few additional configurations:
- Notification Settings:
- Open Outlook and go to the "File" tab.
- Click on "Options" and then select "Advanced."
- Scroll down to the "Reminders" section.
- Ensure that the option "Show reminders" is unchecked.
- Clean Up Deleted Items:
- Check if there are any calendar items in your "Deleted Items" folder. Sometimes, even if you delete a calendar event, it may still trigger notifications.
- Go to the "Deleted Items" folder, and permanently delete any calendar-related items.
- Check for Add-ins:
- Add-ins can sometimes interfere with Outlook's behavior. Disable any unnecessary add-ins and see if the issue persists.
- Go to the "File" tab, click on "Options," and then select "Add-ins."
- Manage the COM Add-ins and disable any that are not essential.
- Outlook.com (Online) Settings:
- If your Outlook account is linked to an Outlook.com (online) account, check the settings on the Outlook.com website.
- Log in to your Outlook.com account in a web browser.
- Go to the Calendar section and review your settings, especially those related to notifications.
- Update Outlook:
- Ensure that you are using the latest version of Outlook. Check for any available updates and install them.
If you have followed these steps and all the previous ones and the problem still persists, I'm afraid I can't help because I'm at my wits' end. It could also be a bug or a persistent virus, whatever, you can contact Microsoft Support for further help.
Thank you for your understanding and patience
- Woodbine_momFeb 15, 2024Copper ContributorWhen I right click I am not given the option to delete. The only options I have are to space ot, decline or maybe. And when I hit decline I get a message that says they are u able to decline this event sooo frustrated
- Steven_RichardsonFeb 26, 2024Copper Contributorwhen you do this you miss out on any other invites if they are not in your saved sender list