A spam trap is an email address used by mailbox providers and blocklist operators to identify senders with poor list-collection and hygiene practices.
In depth
There are two main types. Pristine traps are addresses that never opted in to anything — hitting one means you acquired addresses without consent. Recycled traps are formerly real addresses that were abandoned and later reactivated as traps — hitting one means your list is stale. Because traps never engage, they are invisible in your metrics until the damage to reputation shows up. Permission-based collection and regular removal of long-inactive subscribers are the defences.
Example
A five-year-old purchased list often contains recycled traps; a single mailing to it can trigger a blocklisting that lands all your mail in spam.
Related terms
See our full email marketing glossary or the complete email marketing guide.