Intro:
When internal emails from trusted coworkers suddenly stop showing up in your focused inbox or fail to trigger your Outlook rules, it’s easy to miss critical messages. In my case, one sender was previously blocked due to a spoofing incident, and although removed from the block list, her messages were still bypassing my folder rules—buried in the inbox. Message Trace confirmed the emails were delivered, but not filtered correctly. Here’s how I resolved the issue using PowerShell.
🔍 Problem Recap:
Despite the sender being trusted and allowed, her emails:
- Skipped my Outlook inbox rules
- Did not show up in Focused Inbox or designated folders
- Were confirmed delivered via Message Trace
- Were previously on the Blocked Sender List, but later removed
The Exchange Admin Center (EAC) didn’t offer the flexibility I needed to create an accurate spam bypass rule. So I switched to PowerShell.
🛠️ Solution: Create a Transport Rule via PowerShell
Instead of struggling with the limited dropdowns in the modern Exchange portal, I used the New-TransportRule cmdlet to create a spam filter bypass rule in just a few lines.
Here’s how:
Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName [email protected]
New-TransportRule -Name "Bypass Spam Filtering from Trusted Senders" `
-From '[email protected]','[email protected]' `
-SetSCL -1
What it does:
- Matches emails from the listed senders
- Sets SCL (Spam Confidence Level) to -1, meaning “do not treat as spam”
- Ensures messages bypass all anti-spam filters and go straight to your inbox
⚡ Why Use PowerShell?
The new Exchange Admin Center UI (EAC) lacks direct options to set SCL or bypass spam filtering with precision. PowerShell:
- Provides full control
- Is faster and more reliable
- Allows batch configuration
- Gives access to legacy controls like
-SetSCL
🔐 Notes:
- Email addresses in the example are redacted for privacy
- Make sure you have the Exchange Online PowerShell v3 module installed
- You can verify the rule with:
Get-TransportRule "Bypass Spam Filtering from Trusted Senders" | Format-List Name, From, SetSCL
Conclusion:
PowerShell remains the most powerful tool in any IT administrator’s arsenal—especially when the GUI can’t keep up. If you ever run into stubborn mail delivery or spam issues, consider creating targeted transport rules using PowerShell. It’s fast, clean, and gets the job done without frustration.
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