Why are my emails being rejected by bb.go.th and marked as spam?

Summary

Emails being rejected by bb.go.th and marked as spam can be attributed to multiple factors. These include content triggering spam filters, poor sender reputation (influenced by blacklisting, complaints, bounces, and sending behavior), authentication issues (SPF, DKIM, DMARC failures), technical problems like rendering issues, and internal blocklists or filtering rules implemented by bb.go.th. The Fortinet email security gateway, used by the recipient, can reject emails with URLs listed as malicious. Proper IP warming for new IPs is critical, as is compliance with general email security standards and specific requirements of recipient systems like Exchange Online Protection. The rejection message often indicates content issues, as indicated by the Fortinet response code.

Key findings

  • Content Triggers: Spam filters analyze email content; trigger words, excessive capitalization, and poor HTML can cause rejections.
  • Sender Reputation: Low sender reputation, influenced by spam complaints, bounces, and blacklisting, increases the likelihood of emails being marked as spam.
  • Authentication Failures: Failing SPF, DKIM, or DMARC checks can cause emails to be rejected by the receiving server.
  • Fortinet Filtering: The Fortinet email security gateway might be blocking emails due to malicious URLs or other content-based triggers.
  • Internal Blocklists: bb.go.th may have internal blocklists or filtering rules causing rejections, independent of public RBLs.
  • Technical Issues: Poor rendering across email clients can increase spam scores.
  • IP Warming: Failing to properly warm up a new IP address can lead to spam flagging.
  • SMTP Error 554: Indicates policy rejection or content filtering issue on the recipients mail server.

Key considerations

  • Review Content: Examine email content for spam triggers and ensure proper formatting.
  • Monitor Reputation: Check sender reputation and monitor blacklists.
  • Authentication Setup: Verify and configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly clean the email list to remove invalid or inactive addresses.
  • Contact Recipient: Contact the IT department at bb.go.th to inquire about their filtering policies.
  • Test Rendering: Test email rendering across various email clients.
  • Dedicated IP: Consider using a dedicated IP address.
  • Feedback Loops: Implement feedback loops to monitor complaints.
  • URL checks: Check the URLs are not listed as malicious.
  • IP Warming: Warm up the sending IP address before sending large volumes of email.

What email marketers say
11Marketer opinions

Emails being rejected by bb.go.th and marked as spam can stem from a variety of factors relating to content, sender reputation, authentication, and technical configurations. The specific reasons can range from the message's content triggering spam filters, to a low sender reputation (IP or domain), failing SPF/DKIM/DMARC checks, being listed on a Real-time Blackhole List (RBL), or even how the email renders across different clients. Additionally, the issue might originate from internal blocklists or filtering rules at the recipient's (bb.go.th) end.

Key opinions

  • Content Matters: Spam filters analyze email content. Trigger words, excessive capitalization, and poor HTML formatting can cause rejections.
  • Sender Reputation: Low sender reputation, influenced by spam complaints, bounces, and blacklisting, can lead to emails being marked as spam.
  • Authentication: Failing SPF, DKIM, or DMARC checks can cause emails to be rejected by the receiving server.
  • Technical Issues: Problems such as poorly rendered emails across different clients can increase spam scores.
  • Internal Blocking: The recipient domain (bb.go.th) may have internal blocklists or filtering rules that are causing the rejections.
  • Fortinet Gateway: The rejection may be from a Fortinet email security gateway and the URLS in the email could be listed as malicious

Key considerations

  • Content Review: Examine email content for spam triggers and ensure proper formatting.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Check sender reputation using available tools and monitor blacklists.
  • Authentication Setup: Verify and configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for the sending domain.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly clean the email list to remove invalid or inactive addresses.
  • IP Warming: Gradually increase sending volume when using a new IP address.
  • Rendering Tests: Test email rendering across different email clients to prevent display issues.
  • Contact Recipient: Contact the recipient's IT department (bb.go.th) to inquire about internal filtering rules.
  • Dedicated IP: Consider using a dedicated IP address to gain more control over sender reputation.
  • Feedback Loops: Implement feedback loops to monitor user complaints and address issues proactively.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that the response code suggests it is from a Fortinet email security gateway and suggests checking if the URLs in the message are listed as malicious on Fortiguard.

June 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailToolTester shares that being listed on a Real-time Blackhole List (RBL) can lead to email rejections. Suggests checking common RBLs to see if your sending IP is listed.

December 2023 - EmailToolTester
Marketer view

Email marketer from Gmass mentions that failing to properly warm up a new IP address can make emails get flagged as spam. A gradual increase in volume is recommended.

May 2022 - Gmass
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot explains that using a dedicated IP address, rather than a shared IP, gives you more control over your sending reputation, which can improve deliverability.

January 2025 - HubSpot
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus shares that emails that do not render correctly across different email clients can be seen as suspicious and can increase spam scores.

June 2024 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from SenderVerify shares that a high complaint rate (users marking emails as spam) can negatively impact sender reputation. Suggests implementing feedback loops to monitor and address complaints.

August 2022 - SenderVerify
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that spam filters often flag emails based on content. Using spam trigger words, excessive capitalization, or poorly formatted HTML can lead to rejections.

October 2024 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that the response indicates the rejection was about the message contents, not the IP address. They then ask for further detail about which stage this is occuring.

April 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit shares that the domain bb.go.th may have strict filtering policies, and a low sender reputation (IP or domain) can lead to rejections. Suggests checking sender reputation tools.

February 2023 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackOverflow mentions that failing SPF, DKIM, or DMARC checks can cause emails to be rejected. Suggests ensuring these authentication methods are correctly configured for the sending domain.

February 2022 - StackOverflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that sending to invalid or inactive email addresses (resulting in bounces) can damage sender reputation. Recommends regular list cleaning.

July 2021 - Email Marketing Forum

What the experts say
3Expert opinions

Emails being rejected by bb.go.th and marked as spam could be due to issues related to sender reputation or internal blocklists at the recipient's end. A poor sender reputation, influenced by past spam activity, can trigger filtering. Alternatively, bb.go.th might have internal filtering rules blocking the emails, independent of public blocklists.

Key opinions

  • Internal Blocklists: bb.go.th might be using internal blocklists or filtering rules that are causing the rejections, independent of public RBLs.
  • Sender Reputation: A poor sender reputation (IP or domain) due to past spam activity can lead to emails being blocked.

Key considerations

  • Check Reputation: Monitor your sender reputation and check if your IP or domain is on any blacklists.
  • Contact Recipient: Contact the IT department at bb.go.th to inquire about their internal filtering policies and potential reasons for the blocking.
  • Proactive Monitoring: Regularly monitor your sending practices and engage in proactive monitoring to improve sender reputation
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise (Laura Atkins) explains that rejections from specific domains like bb.go.th could be due to internal blocklists or filtering rules at the recipient's organization. It's not always a public RBL causing the issue. Suggests direct communication with the recipient's IT department to resolve the problem.

October 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that the email might be blocked due to an internal block, not necessarily a publicly accessible blocklist.

November 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource (John Levine) explains that many systems use reputation to filter spam. If your sending IP or domain has a poor reputation (due to past spam activity), your emails are more likely to be blocked or marked as spam. He has mentioned the importance of maintaining a good sending reputation and monitoring blacklists.

November 2022 - Spam Resource

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Emails rejected by bb.go.th and marked as spam can be due to various factors identified by email service and security documentation. These factors include malicious URLs flagged by FortiGuard, policy or content filtering issues indicated by 554 SMTP errors, low sender reputation (especially with Gmail), and Exchange Online Protection's filtering based on IP/domain reputation, content, and user complaints.

Key findings

  • Malicious URLs: FortiGuard email security gateway can reject emails with URLs listed as malicious.
  • SMTP Errors: 554 SMTP error codes often indicate policy rejections or content filtering issues on the recipient's server.
  • Sender Reputation (Gmail): Low sender reputation with Gmail can cause deliverability issues and rejections by other domains.
  • Exchange Online Protection (EOP): EOP filters emails based on IP/domain reputation, content, and user complaints.

Key considerations

  • Check URLs: Verify that URLs in emails are not flagged as malicious by services like FortiGuard.
  • Content and Policy: Review email content to ensure it complies with recipient server policies and avoid triggering spam filters.
  • Sender Reputation: Improve and monitor sender reputation, especially when sending to Gmail users.
  • EOP Compliance: Ensure emails comply with EOP's filtering criteria related to reputation, content, and user complaints.
Technical article

Documentation from Fortinet explains that emails can be rejected by their FortiGuard email security gateway if the URLs in the message are listed as malicious, leading to a spam classification.

July 2022 - Fortinet
Technical article

Documentation from RFC Editor explains that 5xx SMTP error codes indicate a permanent failure. Specifically, 554 errors often relate to policy rejections or content filtering issues on the recipient's server.

August 2023 - RFC Editor
Technical article

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that a low sender reputation, especially when sending to Gmail users, can cause filtering issues and potential rejections by other domains as well.

November 2022 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains that Exchange Online Protection (EOP) uses various filtering techniques, including IP reputation, domain reputation, content filtering, and user complaints, to identify and block spam.

June 2021 - Microsoft