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A spam trap is an email address used by email providers and anti-spam organizations to identify senders with poor list hygiene practices. These addresses are never used by real people to sign up for emails, so any mail received indicates the sender is using purchased lists, scraping addresses, or not removing inactive subscribers. Hitting spam traps severely damages sender reputation.
Spam traps are designed to catch senders who do not follow email best practices. Hitting even one pristine trap is a serious red flag that can get you blacklisted instantly, as it proves you are using lists obtained through illegitimate means. Recycled traps are somewhat less severe but still indicate poor list maintenance. The consequences include damaged sender reputation, emails routed to spam folders, IP or domain blacklisting, and potential account suspension by your ESP. Recovery from spam trap hits requires identifying and removing the traps plus addressing the underlying list quality issues.
Spam traps come in several types. Pristine spam traps are addresses created solely to catch spammers - they were never valid for real communication and can only be obtained through list purchasing or scraping. Recycled spam traps are old addresses that were once valid but abandoned and later converted into traps - hitting these indicates you are not removing inactive subscribers. Typo traps are addresses at common misspelled domains (like gmial.com) that catch senders not validating input. When you email a spam trap, the trap operator records your sending IP and domain. This data is shared with email providers and blacklist operators, leading to reputation damage, spam folder placement, or outright blocking.
Spam trap operators rarely notify you directly. Signs include: sudden drops in deliverability or inbox placement, appearance on blacklists, warnings from your ESP, or significantly lower open rates to specific domains. Some email verification services can identify known spam traps on your list, though pristine traps are rarely detected.
Since traps look like normal addresses, you cannot identify them directly. Instead: 1) Stop sending to any addresses obtained through purchasing or scraping, 2) Remove all addresses that have not engaged in 12+ months, 3) Run your list through an email verification service to remove invalid addresses, 4) Implement re-confirmation campaigns for old segments before mailing them.
Email verification services can detect some spam traps, particularly recycled traps and typo traps, because these addresses often fail validation checks. However, pristine traps are designed to look like valid addresses and are very difficult to detect. Verification is important but does not replace good list building practices.
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