Spam traps: what they are and how to avoid them

Two kinds of traps

Pristine traps are addresses that never opted in to anything, used to catch senders who scrape or buy lists. Recycled traps are once-real addresses that were abandoned and repurposed — catching senders who never clean their lists.

Why they're so damaging

Hitting traps tells mailbox providers and blocklist operators that you're mailing people who never engaged. The result can be an immediate reputation hit or a blocklist entry that filters all your mail.

How to stay clear

• Never buy or scrape lists.
• Verify before every send to drop invalid and risky addresses.
• Remove contacts who haven't engaged in a long time.
• Use double opt-in so only real people get on the list.

Hygiene is the defense

You can't detect traps directly, but consistent list hygiene — verify, prune, re-verify — keeps the odds of hitting one very low.