How to Filter Automatically Forwarded Emails in Exchange Online
Question details
Users need to filter and manage automatically forwarded emails that bypass quarantine in Exchange Online.
- Product
- Exchange Online
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Investigating the transport and filtering order of emails when automatic forwarding is enabled.
- Observed behavior
- Automatic forwarding occurs before some messages are properly quarantined by Exchange Online Protection (EOP).
Ensure you have Global Administrator privileges in your Microsoft 365 admin center, as standard users cannot access advanced message traces or open service requests for tenant-level transport issues.
Open a Service Request in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center
This issue requires backend investigation by Microsoft technical support, as advanced message-trace and transport details are needed to properly identify the filtering order.
Because automatic forwarding in Exchange Online may trigger before messages are evaluated and quarantined by Exchange Online Protection (EOP), standard tenant configurations might not resolve the issue locally. Microsoft Support needs to review the specific transport rules, forwarding behavior, and filtering order affecting your organization's tenant.
Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using an account with Global Administrator privileges.
Click on 'Help & support' in the bottom right corner of the admin portal, or select 'Support' followed by 'New service request' from the left navigation menu.
Provide detailed information about the automatically forwarded emails bypassing EOP quarantine and explicitly request a thorough message-trace and transport rule investigation.
If your Microsoft 365 subscription was purchased through a third-party reseller, you must contact the reseller directly for technical support assistance and escalation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do automatically forwarded emails bypass Exchange Online Protection (EOP)?
In certain Exchange Online configurations, automatic forwarding rules are processed at the transport layer before EOP has the opportunity to fully evaluate and quarantine the message. This requires Microsoft Support to investigate the exact filtering order.
Can standard users perform a message trace in Exchange Online?
No. Advanced message traces and transport rule investigations require Microsoft 365 Global Administrator or Exchange Administrator privileges. Standard users must contact their IT administrators to perform these actions.
How can administrators disable external automatic forwarding?
Global administrators can restrict or completely block automatic external forwarding globally or for specific users by configuring Outbound Spam Filter policies in the Microsoft 365 Defender portal.
