# Sudden glut of contoso.com emails

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sudden-glut-of-contoso-com-emails/850880>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 2, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sudden-glut-of-contoso-com-emails/850880 "2020-04-02T14:14:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sudden-glut-of-contoso-com-emails/850880/1 "2020-04-02T14:14:49Z")

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I have a hotmail account - the first email I ever had - and it is suddenly getting tons of emails from various senders, ending in [contoso.com](https://www.quora.com/When-did-Microsoft-begin-using-contoso-com-in-their-training-presentations-Why-contoso-com). But they only come to the hotmail account, and it just began maybe a month ago.

Anyone else experiencing this? And do you know if there’s a way to block all of them? I put a block on each one that lands, but since there seem to be an infinite number of them, it’s an ongoing battle. And I do get a few legit emails at that address, using it for things I don’t want falling in my preferred account. It’s not a crisis, just an annoyance.

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**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sudden-glut-of-contoso-com-emails/850880/2 "2020-04-02T16:04:45Z")

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I just Googled [contoso.com](http://contoso.com) and was directed to the Microsoft site. I subsequently learned that Contoso is a [fictional company created by Microsoft](https://www.linkedin.com/company/contoso12345).

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**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sudden-glut-of-contoso-com-emails/850880/3 "2020-04-02T16:10:16Z")

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Yeah, I saw that and linked to info about it in my OP. I also figured out how to block the domain, so with luck, I’ve seen the last of those annoying emails. I don’t need penis enlargement, TYVM! 😛

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**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sudden-glut-of-contoso-com-emails/850880/4 "2020-04-02T16:10:40Z")

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Whenever I need a dummy enterprise for a presentation, I always use Miss Darlene’s School for Insane Girls.