Spam Trap

A spam trap is an email address used to identify and catch spammers. It appears as a legitimate email, but any message sent to it is considered unsolicited and can result in penalties or blacklisting for the sender.

A spam trap is a tool used by email service providers and anti-spam organizations to identify and catch spammers. It is essentially an email address that is not actively used by a person but is strategically placed in various locations on the internet to attract and collect unsolicited or spam emails.

There are two main types of spam traps: pristine and recycled. Pristine spam traps are email addresses that have never been used by a real person and are created solely for the purpose of attracting spam. These addresses are typically hidden on websites, forums, or other online platforms that spammers are likely to scrape for email addresses.

Recycled spam traps, on the other hand, are email addresses that were once actively used by individuals but have been abandoned or deactivated. These addresses are then repurposed as spam traps to catch senders who continue to send emails to inactive or outdated addresses.

When a spam trap receives an email, it indicates that the sender is likely engaging in spamming practices or has obtained email addresses through illegitimate means. Email service providers and anti-spam organizations use this information to identify and block spammers, improving the overall deliverability of legitimate emails.

It is important for legitimate email marketers to avoid spam traps as sending emails to these addresses can have serious consequences. Being flagged as a spammer can result in being blacklisted by email service providers, which can severely impact the sender’s ability to reach their intended audience.