Gmail spam instant messages problem

November 2, 2019 2:35 PM

I'm getting spam pop up messages on my gmail account trying to lure me into clicking on a porn site. How do I block these?
posted by partner to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Is this for Hangouts? There are instructions for blocking or ignoring users here.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 2:38 PM on November 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Note that the OP said "instant messages" in the title but not the description. I think this is some sort of chat feature that is the source of the spam, not email, as JK hints.
posted by intermod at 9:30 AM on November 3, 2019

If it's popups, perhaps you've been infected with some sort of malware?
posted by sarcasticah at 9:41 AM on November 3, 2019

Response by poster: Right @intermod—these are instant messages.
posted by partner at 1:23 PM on November 3, 2019

Gmail uses Hangouts for instant messages (as far as I know it doesn't use anything else). If you can't find out how to block the spammer from Gmail, you should be able to go directly to hangouts.google.com, sign in to your account, and follow the instructions I linked to above.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 7:06 PM on November 3, 2019 [1 favorite]