What causes Cloudmark trap hits and how can they be resolved?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit suggests regularly cleaning email lists, implementing a double opt-in process to confirm subscriptions, and monitoring bounce rates and feedback loops to identify and remove problematic addresses.
Email marketer from Web Hosting Talk advises if you are on a Cloudmark Blocklist to determine the cause, check the sending practices, then contact Cloudmark to request removal by filling out their removal request form.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that Cloudmark trap hits are triggered when emails are sent to addresses that were created solely to identify spammers. Resolving these issues involves cleaning your email list and implementing opt-in methods to ensure recipients have genuinely subscribed.
Email marketer from GlockApps shares advice on what to do if you hit a spam trap. You need to immediately stop sending emails, identify the source of the spam trap hit, and remove the spam trap from your email list.
Marketer from Email Geeks offers to examine the details of the Cloudmark issue to help.
Email marketer from Litmus shares advice on avoiding spam traps by using confirmed opt-in, segmenting your audience, and regularly cleaning your email list and removing unengaged recipients.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce shares that spam traps can be hit due to old email lists, purchased lists, lack of opt-in, or incorrect email validation. Solutions include using double opt-in, cleaning email lists regularly, and validating email addresses.
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that to avoid spam traps, it's essential to obtain clear consent from subscribers, use double opt-in, regularly clean your email list to remove inactive subscribers, and avoid purchasing email lists.
Email marketer from Postmark advises on how to avoid spam traps. Only send emails to people who specifically requested it, send emails regularly to keep your subscribers engaged and clean the addresses that aren't to keep your list fresh.
Email marketer from Sender explains to avoid spam traps make sure you use double opt-in or confirmed opt-in, only send newsletters to subscribers who expect it, and remove unengaged subscribers regularly.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares the need to look at recent influx of new contacts opting in to check for webform spam submissions which can increase complaints and or trap hits.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that recycled spam traps are real email addresses that were once valid but have been abandoned and repurposed as traps. Sending to them indicates that the email sender is not practising correct list hygeine.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that if there were no changes to acquisition process, then it's unlikely to be the reason for so many spamtraps appearing on the list overnight and to wait to see if more information is revealed about changes.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that the solution to trap hits involves examining the acquisition process to identify how addresses from non-consenting individuals are being collected.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains to determine the source of spam trap hits, start with IP address reports and analyze the signup process, engagement, and list management to identify any issues contributing to trap hits.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from DigitalOcean explains to prevent emails going to spam, avoid spam trigger words, ensure your domain has valid SPF and DKIM records, maintain a clean IP address, and provide an easy unsubscribe option.
Documentation from RFC Editor defines dead email addresses as those which are permanently unable to receive emails due to being syntactically invalid, nonexistent, or administratively prohibited.
Documentation from Proofpoint (Cloudmark) explains that trap addresses are used to identify senders who are not following best practices for email list management. These traps don't subscribe but are published in a way that they can be harvested by spammers. Sending to them indicates poor list hygiene.
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that hitting spam traps indicates a sender is not practicing proper list hygiene, potentially acquiring addresses through scraping or purchasing lists. Resolving it means cleaning the list and ensuring legitimate opt-in procedures.
Documentation from Microsoft Learn explains that honeypots are email addresses used to identify and block spammers by being placed where only automated address harvesting bots can find them.