How do I troubleshoot Gmail phishing email warnings?
Summary
What email marketers say7Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Snov.io shares that it's important to check and monitor your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools. Also test your email content with various spam checkers to see what words or phrases could be triggering the filters.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that you need to ensure you have proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) setup. Review your content to ensure it doesn't contain phishing like characteristics (urgent language, misspellings, etc.) and that you have a good sender reputation.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow explains that to prevent emails from being marked as phishing, ensure your domain has proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records configured. These help verify that your emails are legitimate and reduce the chances of being flagged as spam or phishing.
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that to avoid phishing filters, you need to authenticate your emails, avoid suspicious content, and maintain a good sender reputation. Use a dedicated IP address to isolate your reputation from other senders.
Email marketer from DigitalGrog responds with several checks to perform: 1. Make sure all your emails have proper DKIM, DMARC and SPF settings enabled. 2. Check that you're sending emails using an IP address that is registered to your domain. 3. Use a service like Mail-tester to find any glaring issues with your configuration.
Email marketer from EmailOctopus shares that if your emails are being marked as phishing, check your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools. Review your email content and subject lines for any potentially suspicious keywords or phrases that may trigger spam filters.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that an email being flagged as phishing could be due to new Gmail policies requiring stricter authentication. S/he suggests implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to verify your domain and ensure your emails are properly authenticated.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that one reason for Gmail flagging emails as phishing is DMARC failures, especially when the domain is actively being targeted for abuse. If your legitimate emails are failing DMARC, they may appear similar to phishing attempts, triggering the warning.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that the warning is from a content detector looking at phrasing, structure, link variables and landing pages. It's not an authentication issue.
Expert from Spam Resource details that for DMARC to work correctly, SPF needs to be aligned and set up properly. This means that the domain used in the 'MAIL FROM' or 'Return-Path' address must match the domain in the 'From:' header. Without this alignment, DMARC will fail, increasing the risk of being flagged as spam or phishing.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that to troubleshoot why Gmail thinks you are sending phishing email, you need to examine the specific details of your email content and links.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Gmail Help reinforces using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, along with a consistent sending IP address. Ensure that any links you include in emails lead to a safe and trustworthy destination to avoid being flagged as phishing.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools Help details specific requirements for senders sending more than 5,000 messages a day. It details how DMARC needs to be set up for authentication.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help advises authenticating your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Ensure sending servers have valid forward and reverse DNS records (PTR records). Keep spam rates reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.10% and avoid sudden spikes. Format messages according to the Internet Message Format standard (RFC 5322).
Related resources0Resources
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