Have you ever had someone report that they tried to send you an email but you never received it because the email “bounced back”? Emails can be returned for many different reasons, but the question we get most often relates to Spam defense blocking “blacklisted” servers.
What does “blacklisted server” mean?
An entire email server can be blacklisted if that server has been used by a spammer sending spam. Emails coming to you from a blacklisted server will be red flagged and rejected by your spam defense. The email will not reach your inbox, and the sender will receive a message explaining why the email was returned.
If you get this type of email, read the error message carefully. The problem may not be with your email, the problem may be the email server sending email to you. Example: “550-Blacklisted: Currently Sending Spam”. This message doesn’t mean you were blacklisted, that means the email server relaying the message is currently blacklisted.
What if some emails return, but others do not?
If a spammer hits one of many servers belonging to larger providers (such as Comcast, Roadrunner, Bellsouth, Charter…) the emails from the blacklisted server will be returned, but email routed through the “good” servers belonging to that company will arrive just fine.
As our hosting partner likes to say “…the devil is in the details and reading the message carefully will help you understand the problem and what to do next…”
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