Verizon Online said today it will help its customers identify spam and phishing attempts by offering a free service that identifies e-mail from valid commercial and nonprofit volume senders.

The CertifiedEmail service, which will be available later this summer, is based on an agreement between Verizon and Goodmail Systems. Verizon broadband email users will see a blue envelope icon that will appear on incoming emails from known commercial and non-profit companies, once the service in launched.

Phishing, or sending emails that appear to be from legitimate sources in order to obtain private information that can be used for fraudulent purposes, is a growing problem for email users, and spam continues to be an annoying issue.

“CertifiedEmail is part of an extensive suite of services that Verizon uses to help protect its customers from spam and other e-mail abuse," said Peter Castleton, director of Verizon consumer broadband services, in a prepared statement. “The problem of phishing and fraud erodes trust in e-mail. A certification service, such as CertifiedEmail, enables us to help restore that trust and makes it easier for consumers to identify legitimate e-mail messages. Goodmail has established itself as a leading delivery service provider for trusted-class e-mail. An incoming e-mail with a blue-ribbon envelope icon tells the customer that the sender has been accredited and that the message is from a trustworthy source.”