My account has been suspended – what do I do?
You were notified that your account has been suspended. This can happen for a number of reasons, including exceeding our Complaint and/or Hard Bounce thresholds, uploading a list with spam traps, and sending an email that resulted in blacklisting. A mistake was made and you're here as a result.
Step one: Don’t panic
There's no need to panic; there's a very good reason why this account was suspended and why you're here. The good news is we will work with you to resolve the issue and hopefully restore this account.
Reason for the account suspension
Accounts can be suspended for many reasons, including exceeding complaint thresholds or hard bounce thresholds, uploading lists with spam traps, or sending an email campaign that results in complaints in blacklistings, or other activities. Ultimately, accounts are suspended in order to protect the reputation of our network and the delivery for everyone.
The next step
We need to see what is wrong. Together, we will investigate what caused this problem and do what we can to prevent it from happening again. The account may be suspended or terminated if the problem is not resolved. The following definitions help clarify how we monitor these activities:
- Complaints
The complaint is created when someone hits the ‘Spam' or ‘Junk' button after receiving this email. Complaints are sent to us via the FBLs we have set up with each ISP. As a result, the recipient has the status 'spam' in the contact list and is added (automatically) to the Suppression list for that account (automatically). If you consistently generates a complaint rate higher than 0.25%, this indicates people are not happy with receiving these emails and/or there is a problem with the way the email list(s) is populated.
- Hard Bounces
When you send an email to a non-existent address, you receive a hard bounce. If you send more of these with each campaign you send, your hard bounce rate will increase. If you consistently generates a hard bounce rate greater than 5%, this can indicate a serious problem with how you are populating your list(s).
- Spam traps
A "trap" is a random list of addresses placed all over the internet to catch marketers who are not following proper list building practices, harvesting emails, buying lists from a third party, or are not adequately maintaining your lists (whether they realize it or not). Spam trap addresses are kept secret to protect their identity and are not released to anyone because making them public would render them useless. If you is consistently uploading known spam traps, this is a sign that there is a serious problem with how you are populating your list(s).
We’re here to help
Fortunately, we're dedicated to finding a solution for you. First, we will need to understand how you are populating the list(s) and review the opt-in data you have provided. Our Anti-Spam Policy specifies that you must prove opt-in for every contact on your list(s). Opt-in data varies but should include: Date/Time/IP stamp when the recipient opted-in. Date/time records of purchases or other business transactions are also valid.
Please read the following example
Name: John Smith
Email: [email protected]
Address: 301 Front Street West
City: Toronto
Prov/State: Ontario
Country: Canada
Postal: M5V 2T6
Day Phone: 555-555-5555
Evening Phone: 555-555-5555
Site: http://www.mydummyaccount.com
OrderDateTime: 2021-04-21 21:16:58.090 EST
IP: 67.123.234.123
Host: mx3.mydummyaccount.com
The data shown here is an example of what should be recorded for each recipient on this list. Although you don't need to have everything listed here, the more opt-in evidence the better. If anyone complains in the future, you will be clear and not subject to a lawsuit under the anti-spam law.
The last checkup
After your opt-in data has been confirmed, we will also need you to answer the following questions so we can determine the source of the issue and ensure your problem is completely resolved.
- When was the last time this list was used?
- How clear is the sign-up process?
- Are these people expecting to receive these emails?
- What is the URL used to sign-up?
- How have you been handling bounces/unsubscribes/complaints ?
- Did the recipient sign-up at the same domain as the one used to send this email?
- Does your client have a direct relationship with every recipient on this list?
- Please inform us of the method(s) of opt-in being used:
For a definition of these different types of opt-in click here
Wrap up
Once you have completed the audit, the next step is to reply to the email sent by our Abuse team who will review the information provided and contact you with the necessary steps moving forward.