Spam trap

A spam trap is an email address used to catch senders with poor list hygiene.

If your outbound hits spam traps, it is a strong negative signal.

How teams hit spam traps

• Buying low-quality lists
• Sending to old data (data decay)
• Skipping verification
• Re-sending to bounced addresses

How to reduce spam trap risk

• Verify lists before sending
• Maintain global suppression lists
• Refresh data regularly
• Avoid scraping and blasting at high volume

Related terms

• Email verification
• Data decay
• Bounce rate
• Domain reputation