{"id":32998,"date":"2015-07-09T07:34:06","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T07:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.lvh.me\/blog\/2015\/07\/09\/what-are-spamtraps\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T18:50:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T18:50:28","slug":"what-are-spamtraps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/blog\/2015\/07\/09\/what-are-spamtraps\/","title":{"rendered":"What are spamtraps? And how they affect your bulk emails"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Spamtraps, or spam traps<\/strong>, are email addresses created for the specific purpose of catching and fighting unwanted email, or spam.<\/p>\n\n

These email addresses are used by Internet service providers (ISPs), email filtering companies and anti-spam organizations to identify and penalize senders of unwanted email.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

They aren’t used for regular communication, so any email received at these accounts is automatically considered unwanted, or spam<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This is a sign that the sender<\/strong> may be using unethical, illegal or simply bad email practices, such as sending emails to people who haven’t opted in to receive them or collecting email addresses irresponsibly.<\/p>\n\n

Spamtraps never subscribe to receive emails, so if you find yourself sending messages to one, you’re probably breaking the number one rule of email marketing: you must always have permission to email someone.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

There are different types of spamtraps, including pristine spamtraps, recycled spamtraps and typo spamtraps, each designed to catch a different type of spam behavior.<\/p>\n\n

Sending email to a spamtrap can have serious consequences, such as damaging your domain’s reputation and lowering the deliverability of your emails.<\/p>\n\n

Let’s look at these topics in a bit more depth.<\/p>\n\n\n

What are spamtraps?<\/h2>\n\n

Spamtraps are email addresses used as a trap to catch spam.<\/p>\n\n

They are created and maintained by organizations that work to prevent spam, such as Internet service providers (ISPs), email filtering companies and anti-spam organizations.<\/p>\n\n

The main purpose of spamtraps is to identify senders of unwanted email and help keep the email ecosystem clean.<\/p>\n\n

Spamtraps allow organizations to gather information about spammers<\/strong>, including their IP addresses and the tactics they use, and to use this information to block future emails from these senders.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u2192 How do spamtraps work?<\/h3>\n\n

Spamtraps work as a kind of trap for senders of unwanted email.<\/p>\n\n

They are placed where usually only spammers look for email addresses, such as public forums, outdated websites and purchased databases.<\/p>\n\n

Some spamtraps are email accounts that were once valid and active but have been inactive for a long period of time.<\/p>\n\n

Email providers can recycle these inactive accounts and turn them into spamtraps, which is why they’re sometimes called “recycled spamtraps”.<\/p>\n\n

When a spammer sends an email to a spamtrap, the organization that controls the spamtrap receives an alert. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

This gives them an idea of who is sending spam, allowing them to take action against these senders.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u2192 The consequences of sending emails to spamtraps<\/h3>\n\n

If an email sender is identified sending emails to spamtraps, it can have several negative consequences.<\/p>\n\n

For one thing, their IP address or domain may be added to email blacklists<\/strong>, which will result in lower deliverability or even in their emails being blocked completely.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

In addition, ISPs and email services may flag the sender as spam based on their reputation<\/strong>, which means their emails could end up in recipients’ spam folders, even if those recipients have subscribed to the emails.<\/p>\n\n

Finally, sending email to spamtraps can also have legal consequences in some countries, especially if the sender is breaking privacy and spam laws.<\/p>\n\n

That’s why good email list hygiene is essential to avoid sending emails to spamtraps.<\/p>\n\n

\"How<\/figure>\n\n

How do spamtraps work?<\/h2>\n\n

Spamtraps work as bait in the email universe, designed to catch senders of unwanted email.<\/p>\n\n

Once a sender falls into the trap, the spamtrap’s administrators can use the information to take action against the sender.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u2192 Creating a spamtrap<\/h3>\n\n

Spamtraps are created in several ways.<\/p>\n\n

One of the most common is recycling old, outdated email addresses.<\/p>\n\n

When an email account has been inactive for a long time, the email provider can turn it into a spamtrap<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

This outdated email address is ideal for catching senders who don’t keep good hygiene in their email lists.<\/p>\n\n

Another common way to create a spamtrap is simply to create a new email address and publish it in places where email harvesters (bots) can find it<\/strong>, but where a real person is unlikely to find it and use it for legitimate correspondence.<\/p>\n\n

\u2192 A practical example of how a spamtrap is created<\/h3>\n\n

Let’s take the creation of a spamtrap from an outdated email address as an example.<\/p>\n\n

Let’s say Ana<\/strong> had an email address (ana@example.com)<\/strong> that she used for work.<\/p>\n\n

When Ana left her job, she also stopped using that email address.<\/p>\n\n

After a couple of years, Ana’s email provider sees that her old email address has been completely inactive.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

There have been no logins or activity for two years, so the email provider decides to turn the email address into a spamtrap.<\/p>\n\n

Now any email sent to ana@example.com is automatically considered spam<\/strong>, because nobody is supposed to have that email address on a legitimate mailing list.<\/p>\n\n

If a sender emails this address, it’s a sign that they probably obtained it unethically, or that they aren’t maintaining their mailing list responsibly.<\/p>\n\n

As a result, the sender may be penalized accordingly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"Types<\/figure>\n\n

Types of spamtraps<\/h2>\n\n

There are several types of spamtraps used to catch different types of spam behavior.<\/p>\n\n

Below are three of the most common types.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u2192 Pristine spamtraps<\/h3>\n\n

Pristine spamtraps, also known as pure spam traps, are email addresses that are created specifically to be used as spamtraps.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

They are never used to send emails and never subscribe to any email service.<\/p>\n\n

Anti-spam organizations publish these addresses in various places on the web, where address harvesters or “scrapers”<\/strong> find them and add them to their mailing lists.<\/p>\n\n

Since these addresses have never been used for legitimate communication, any email sent to a pristine spamtrap is definitely spam.<\/p>\n\n

\u2192 Recycled spamtraps<\/h3>\n\n

Recycled spamtraps are email addresses that were once valid and used by real people, but have been inactive for a long period of time.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

Email providers monitor these inactive accounts and, after a certain period of inactivity, turn them into spamtraps.<\/p>\n\n

If you’re sending email to a recycled spamtrap, it means you haven’t updated your email list in a long time and you’re sending email to outdated addresses.<\/p>\n\n

\u2192 Typo spamtraps<\/h3>\n\n

Typo spamtraps are email addresses created from common typos in popular email domains.<\/p>\n\n

For example, if the correct email domain is @gmail.com, the spamtrap operator may register the domain @gamil.com<\/strong> and collect any email sent to that domain.<\/p>\n\n

Sending email to a typo spamtrap usually indicates that you’re adding email addresses to your list without obtaining proper consent<\/strong>, since a user is unlikely to give an email address with a typo if they are knowingly subscribing to your list.<\/p>\n\n

\"Why<\/figure>\n\n

Why do I have spamtraps in my database?<\/h2>\n\n

If you come across spamtraps in your database, it may be a sign of several issues with the way you collect and manage email addresses.<\/p>\n\n

\u2192 Possible reasons for having spamtraps<\/h3>\n\n