# Forwarding Email Addresses The [Email Scraper](/aphrowuu-aco-docs/features/email-scraper.md) reads order emails from one or more inboxes you connect. If your retailer accounts (Walmart, Target, Pokemon Center, etc.) send emails to **multiple** inboxes — an old Gmail, a personal Outlook, an iCloud account, a Hotmail from 2008 — you have two options: 1. Connect every inbox to the scraper individually. 2. **Forward all of them into one Gmail account** and connect just that one. Option 2 is what most people end up doing, and it's what this guide walks you through. Forwarding everything into a single Gmail also unlocks **Gmail OAuth + realtime sync** for every retailer email, no matter where it was originally sent — orders show up in your dashboard within seconds of arriving in any of your inboxes. {% hint style="info" %} **Pick the destination Gmail first.** Either create a fresh Gmail account dedicated to this (recommended — clean inbox, easy to manage), or use an existing one that you don't mind being noisy. Connect that destination Gmail to the scraper via [IMAP Profiles](/aphrowuu-aco-docs/features/profiles.md#imap-profiles-tab) using **Google OAuth**, then come back to set up forwarding from your other inboxes. {% endhint %} *** ## Two ways to forward For each source inbox you have a choice: * **Forward everything** — every incoming email gets forwarded. Simplest to set up, but your destination Gmail will get *all* your mail (newsletters, personal stuff, the lot). * **Forward only retailer emails** — uses rules / filters to forward just messages from the retailers the scraper supports. More setup up front, but your destination Gmail stays clean and on-topic. We recommend **forward only retailer emails** if you actually use the source inbox for non-reseller stuff. If the source inbox is a dead account that exists only to receive retailer mail, forward-everything is fine. The retailer senders to filter on (use these for "from" rules): ``` walmart.com oe.target.com pokemoncenter.com em.riotgames.com samsclub.com supreme.com ``` Add any others your scraper supports — check the Email Scraper page's store dropdown for the full list. *** ## Outlook (Outlook.com / Hotmail / Live) This covers personal Microsoft accounts: `@outlook.com`, `@hotmail.com`, `@live.com`. If you're on a **work or school Microsoft 365** account, see the gotcha at the bottom of this section. ### Forward everything 1. Sign in at [outlook.com](https://outlook.com). 2. Click the **Settings** gear in the top-right. 3. Go to **Mail → Forwarding**. 4. Tick **Enable forwarding**. 5. Type your destination Gmail address. 6. Tick **Keep a copy of forwarded messages** (recommended — safer if a forward ever fails). 7. Click **Save**. That's it. Outlook does **not** send a verification email to your Gmail — it trusts the address you typed, so double-check spelling. ### Forward only retailer emails (rules) 1. Settings → **Mail → Rules → Add new rule**. 2. **Name** the rule (e.g. "Forward retailer mail"). 3. **Add a condition** → *From address includes* → enter a retailer sender (e.g. `walmart.com`). Click the + to add more — you can stack multiple senders into one rule. 4. **Add an action** → **Forward to** → enter your destination Gmail. 5. Click **Save**. ### Gotchas * **2FA is required.** If two-step verification isn't already on for your Microsoft account, Outlook will prompt you to turn it on before forwarding can be enabled. * **Microsoft 365 work/school accounts (anything not `@outlook.com`/`@hotmail.com`/`@live.com`)** typically have **external forwarding blocked by default** at the tenant level. The forwarding toggle still appears, but mail silently won't deliver to Gmail. You'll need your IT admin to allow external forwarding for your account in their anti-spam policy. * **"Forward" sets the From address to *****you*****.** Forwarded messages show in Gmail as "from: retailer\@... via outlook.com". The scraper handles this fine, but be aware that replying to a forwarded message replies to *you*, not the retailer. Sources: [Microsoft — Turn on or off automatic forwarding](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-on-or-off-automatic-forwarding-in-outlook-com-6246987c-6c8f-4144-b255-14fc07007dad), [Microsoft — Use rules to forward](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/use-rules-to-automatically-forward-messages-45aa9664-4911-4f96-9663-ece42816d746). *** ## Gmail (old Gmail → main Gmail) Gmail is the strictest of the three — the destination has to **confirm** it's willing to receive forwarded mail. You only do this confirmation step once per destination. ### Step 1: Verify the destination Gmail (do this once) 1. In your **source** Gmail (the one you want to forward *from*), click the **Settings** gear → **See all settings**. 2. Open the **Forwarding and POP/IMAP** tab. 3. Click **Add a forwarding address** and enter your destination Gmail. 4. Gmail sends a **verification link** to the destination address. 5. Open the destination inbox in another tab. Find the email from Gmail Forwarding and click the link inside it (or copy the confirmation code back to the source account's settings page). 6. Refresh the source account's **Forwarding and POP/IMAP** tab — the destination is now verified. ### Step 2a: Forward everything 1. Still in the source Gmail's **Forwarding and POP/IMAP** tab. 2. Select **Forward a copy of incoming mail to** and pick your verified destination from the dropdown. 3. Decide what happens to the source copy. We recommend **keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox** — costs you nothing and gives you a fallback if forwarding ever breaks. 4. Click **Save Changes** at the bottom. ### Step 2b: Forward only retailer emails (filters — better) Filters give you per-sender control. The destination still has to be verified once (Step 1 above). Then: 1. In the search bar at the top of the source Gmail, click the **sliders icon** (Show search options). 2. In the **From** field, paste a comma-separated list of retailer domains: ``` *@walmart.com, *@oe.target.com, *@pokemoncenter.com, *@em.riotgames.com, *@samsclub.com ``` 3. Click **Create filter**. 4. Tick **Forward it to** and pick your verified destination from the dropdown. 5. Click **Create filter** to save. {% hint style="info" %} **Filters only affect new mail.** Emails that arrived before you created the filter won't be re-forwarded. If you want to backfill, run the same search manually, select the results, and use **Forward as attachment** to send a batch to the destination. {% endhint %} ### Gotchas * **Spam isn't forwarded.** Gmail filters spam *before* forwarding — fine for retailer mail, but worth knowing. * **Source-side label changes don't sync.** If you archive or label a message in the source Gmail, the forwarded copy in the destination is unaffected (it's a separate message). Sources: [Google — Automatically forward Gmail messages](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10957?hl=en), [Google — Verify forwarding addresses](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/9414102?hl=en). *** ## iCloud ### Forward everything 1. Go to [icloud.com/mail](https://www.icloud.com/mail) and sign in. 2. Click the **Settings** gear at the top of the **Mailboxes** sidebar. 3. Click **Settings** (older UI: **Preferences**). 4. Open the **Mail Forwarding** section in the sidebar. 5. Tick **Forward my email to**. 6. Type your destination Gmail address. 7. *Skip* "Delete messages after forwarding" — keeping copies in iCloud is the safer default. 8. Click **Done**. iCloud does **not** send a verification email — Apple trusts the address you typed, so double-check spelling. ### Forward only retailer emails (Rules) iCloud calls these **Rules**. They live next to Mail Forwarding: 1. icloud.com/mail → **Settings** gear → **Settings** → **Rules** in the sidebar. 2. Click **Add a Rule**. 3. **If a message** → *is from* → enter a retailer sender (e.g. `help@walmart.com`). 4. **Then** → **Forward to** → enter your destination Gmail. 5. *(Optional)* Add a second action: **and Mark as Read** so the source copy doesn't clutter your iCloud unread count. 6. Click **Done**. 7. Repeat for each retailer — iCloud Rules accept **one "from" pattern per rule**, so you'll end up with one rule per retailer domain. ### Gotchas * **Hide My Email aliases can't be used as a Rule's "from".** If a retailer sends to a Hide My Email alias, that alias *already* forwards to your primary iCloud inbox. Build the Rule on the primary inbox, not on the alias. * **Plus-addressing works.** `yourname+walmart@icloud.com` is delivered to your inbox and can be used as a Rule trigger — useful if you sign up to retailers using tagged addresses. * **Use icloud.com Rules, not Mail.app Rules.** Rules created on icloud.com run server-side and fire 24/7. Rules created in the macOS Mail app run *client-side* and only fire when your Mac is awake. Always set up forwarding rules on icloud.com. Source: [Apple — Automatically forward email in Mail on iCloud.com](https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/automatically-forward-email-mm6b1a3960/icloud). *** ## After setup: tune the destination Gmail Once forwarding is on, do a couple of housekeeping steps in the destination Gmail so retailer mail lands cleanly: ### Whitelist retailer senders so spam never eats them Gmail still runs forwarded mail through its spam filter. A borderline retailer email can occasionally land in Spam where the scraper won't see it. Add a Gmail filter on the destination: 1. Settings gear → **See all settings** → **Filters and Blocked Addresses**. 2. **Create a new filter**. 3. **From**: paste your retailer domain list (same as the Gmail filter list above). 4. **Create filter** → tick **Never send it to Spam** → **Create filter**. Done — retailer mail now bypasses the spam folder permanently. ### Optional: label forwarded mail by source If you forward from three different inboxes and want to know at a glance which one a message came through, create one filter per source: * `Deliver-To: your-old-gmail@gmail.com` → **Apply label** "via Old Gmail" * For Outlook/iCloud forwards, filter on the `Received-SPF` or `Authentication-Results` headers — easier is to filter on the email body for the forwarded-from address. This is purely cosmetic — the scraper doesn't care. *** ## Quick reference | Source | Destination needs to confirm? | Filter/rule support? | Hidden gotcha | | --------------- | ----------------------------- | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Outlook.com** | No | Yes (Rules) | M365 work accounts often block external forwarding by default | | **Old Gmail** | **Yes — verification link** | Yes (Filters, recommended) | Spam is filtered before forwarding | | **iCloud** | No | Yes (Rules — one sender per rule) | Use icloud.com, not Mail.app, so rules fire server-side | *** ## Tips * **Test before you trust it.** After enabling forwarding, send yourself a test email from another address to the source inbox. Make sure it arrives in the destination Gmail within a minute. Then check the scraper's **Pull History** — newly-forwarded mail should pull successfully. * **Keep a copy at the source.** Every provider supports this option. It's a small storage cost in exchange for a safety net if forwarding ever silently breaks. * **Turn on 2FA on every source account.** Auto-forwarding is the first thing an attacker sets up after compromising an inbox — and it's a stealthy way to siphon order data. 2FA isn't optional once forwarding is on. * **Re-check forwarding after security events.** If a provider sends you a "we detected unusual activity" email, log in and confirm forwarding is still on with the right destination. Some providers auto-disable forwarding on suspicious sign-ins. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://aphrowuu-aco.gitbook.io/aphrowuu-aco-docs/features/email-forwarding.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.