Recycled Spam Trap
A recycled spam trap is an email address that was once valid but has been abandoned and later repurposed by internet service providers (ISPs) or anti-spam organizations to identify spammers and senders with poor list hygiene.
Description
In the digital marketing industry, a recycled spam trap serves as a tool for ISPs and anti-spam entities to catch senders who are not following best practices for managing their email lists. These email addresses were once active and belonged to real users. Over time, the users abandoned these addresses, and eventually, they were reactivated as spam traps. Marketers who send emails to these addresses are flagged for having outdated or improperly maintained email lists. This can negatively impact their sending reputation and email deliverability. To avoid triggering recycled spam traps, marketers should regularly clean their email lists, remove inactive subscribers, and use double opt-in methods to ensure they are emailing active and engaged users.
Examples
- A company sends a promotional email to an old customer list that includes an email address that was valid five years ago but was abandoned and repurposed as a spam trap. The company's email gets flagged, hurting its sender reputation.
- An online retailer purchases an email list from a third-party vendor. The list contains several recycled spam traps because it includes outdated email addresses. As a result, the retailer's emails are marked as spam, leading to lower deliverability rates.
Additional Information
- Regularly cleaning your email list can help you avoid recycled spam traps and maintain a good sender reputation.
- Using double opt-in methods ensures that you are only adding engaged and active email addresses to your list, reducing the risk of hitting spam traps.