Spam Trap Hit Rate

Definition

Spam traps are email addresses that have never been used to sign up for legitimate services. They are planted by ISPs and blocklist operators to catch senders who acquire email addresses through scraping, purchased lists, or poor list hygiene practices.

Types of Spam Traps

• Pristine traps: Addresses that were never valid — hitting these means you bought or scraped lists
• Recycled traps: Formerly valid addresses that were abandoned and repurposed — hitting these means you never cleaned inactive subscribers
• Typo traps: Addresses with common misspellings meant to catch scrapers

Why It Matters

Hitting even one spam trap can significantly damage your sender reputation. A spam trap hit rate above zero should trigger an immediate list audit. Most ISPs consider any spam trap hit as evidence of poor acquisition practices.