Author: Senders Committee

The Messaging Malware Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG) has released new guidance regarding spam traps. The document, found here (https://www.m3aawg.org/sites/default/files/help_i_hit_a_spam_trap.pdf), is targeted at helping email service providers (ESPs) identify when they have hit a trap and how to remediate the issue with their customers.

Spam traps are email addresses designed to collect, record and monitor spam and other unsolicited or abusive email and are found across all kinds of networks. Spam trap operators  use data captured to analyze IP addresses and evaluate domain name reputation. They also evaluate email content. Identifying senders who hit these traps can help ESPs find and investigate customers with poor sending practices.

This new best practices document defines common spam traps and offers ESPs tips on determining when they’ve encountered them and what to do next. Remediation techniques when traps are triggered, including customer notification, auditing address acquisition procedures and improving mailing list maintenance, are offered. 

M3AAWG also offers detailed advice on minimizing future spam trap incidents, including address collection practices, validating address collection and dealing with imported lists.

This helpful document can be found at https://www.m3aawg.org/sites/default/files/help_i_hit_a_spam_trap.pdf. Other resources are noted including sender best practices and more at https://www.m3aawg.org/published-documents.