Spamcop frustration

[Spamcop_nightmare]

Spamcop has suddenly started causing error messages from many email recipients. It is a nightmare. How on earth do I get them to stop blocking things - it is causing me no end of problems and the FAQ is simply not comprehensible and they do not provide any contact information to get in touch with them. My outgoing mail server belongs to a very very large UK ISP. The email addresses are approximately 10 years old and are used for personal and business email so changing them is not an option.

How do I get in touch with Spamcop to rectify this.

Thanks

[agsteele]

Spamcop has suddenly started causing error messages from many email recipients. It is a nightmare. How on earth do I get them to stop blocking things - it is causing me no end of problems and the FAQ is simply not comprehensible and they do not provide any contact information to get in touch with them. My outgoing mail server belongs to a very very large UK ISP. The email addresses are approximately 10 years old and are used for personal and business email so changing them is not an option.

This sounds to me as if you are sending Email from your ISP account and these are being blocked by the receiving Email service which is attributing the reason to the SpamCop blocklist.

If that is correct then you don't have a SpamCop Email account and quite likely an admin will move this question to a more appropriate forum.

In the meantime you will only get more specific advice if you can provide the IP address of your outgoing mail server.

In general this kind of issue is caused when a mail server gets used by spammers to distribute junk Email. As soon as the spam stops flowing the listing will get removed and the receiving mail services will start accepting ll Email from the mail server.

It is also possible that your computer has become infected with a trojan and is, itself, distributing spam without your knowledge.

Again, knowing the IP address that is referred to in the error messages you are receiving will give an opportunity to advise.

Please noote that these forums are mostly frequented by users of the SC service rather than SC staff. You will need to contact the SC Admins directly for official support.

Andrew

[SpamCopAdmin]

You can write to me:

service[at]spamcop.net

Please send me a complete copy of the rejection notice you get when you try to send email. I need to know the IP address of the server that handles your outgoing email.

- Don D'Minion - SpamCop Admin -

- service[at]admin.spamcop.net -

.

[turetzsr]

<snip>

and the FAQ is simply not comprehensible

...If you have specific suggestions of FAQ items that would benefit from rewording, please reply to this post with a list (not necessarily a complete list ). If the FAQ's URL begins with "http://www.spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/," then it can only be changed by SpamCop employees and that tends to happen slowly, so suggesting changes to those pages is less likely to be actioned; FAQs whose URLs begin with "http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/" are more likely to be able to be modified because there are non-SpamCop employee members of this Forum who are able to change them.

and they do not provide any contact information to get in touch with them.

<snip>

• Navigate to the "SpamCop FAQ" list (there is a link so labeled near the top left of nearly every SpamCop Forum page).
  
• Click the link labeled "How can I contact a SpamCop representative?."
  
• Fill in the form text field near the end of the page and click the button labeled "Reason for contact."
  

<snip>

If that is correct then you don't have a SpamCop Email account and quite likely an admin will move this question to a more appropriate forum.

<snip>

...Done, with this post.

[kmolloy]

In general, if you find that an IP belonging to your webhost or ISP is listed, the correct course of action is to contact your ISP. IPs are listed because they send spam, and we can't make the spam stop; only your ISP can do this. We likely won't be able to help you.

[Spamcop_nightmare]

This is unhelpful. My ISP is BT, one of the largest. Spamcop labels their servers as a source of spam whilst agreeing that my emails, which are for business purposes, are not spam and refuses or is unable to "whitelist" them. The consequence is that Spamcop knowingly causes legitimate traffic to be blocked. Even if the server problem is sorted out (beyond my control) it takes 24 hours before messages are allowed through again.

The bottom line is that Spamcop does not work as it cannot differentiate between spam and legitimate traffic, surely that is essential. spam is a real problem but this is a crude solution.

Further, getting in touch with Spamcop is a virtual impossibility as no contact details are provided although I do acknowledge prompt PM achieved through this BB.

[turetzsr]

This is unhelpful. My ISP is BT, one of the largest.

...The fact that BT is a large ISP does not mean that it's okay for them to send lots of spam (it takes lots of spam for a machine that sends out lots of e-mail to get listed by SpamCop -- details described at the SpamCop Forum entry labeled "What is on the list?") from one of their machines.

Spamcop labels their servers as a source of spam whilst agreeing that my emails, which are for business purposes, are not spam

...Not quite. SpamCop reports that a BT server is sending spam, based on SpamCop user reports and "spam trap" hits -- it says nothing whatsoever about your e-mails.

and refuses or is unable to "whitelist" them.

...SpamCop doesn't block e-mails (except selected e-mails directed to SpamCop e-mail subscribers, and then only to those subscribers), so it can't whitelist -- only an e-mail recipient (if allowed by the recipient's provider) can whitelist.

The consequence is that Spamcop knowingly causes legitimate traffic to be blocked.<snip>

...It is beyond SpamCop's control that e-mail providers use the SpamCop blacklist to block e-mail. SpamCop itself recommends against this.

<snip>

The bottom line is that Spamcop does not work as it cannot differentiate between spam and legitimate traffic, surely that is essential.

<snip>

...Well, no, that is not essential, at least it is not essential for SpamCop to do that. SpamCop lists individual servers (more precisely, IP addresses) that have been reported to have sent a lot of spam relative to their total e-mail output. It is up to providers using the SpamCop blacklist to decide what, if anything, to do with e-mail sent from those IP addresses. But "my server, my rules" prevails -- if admins of an ISP don't want to accept e-mail from any IP address that starts with "12," for example, that is their right.

...Further, getting in touch with Spamcop is a virtual impossibility as no contact details are provided although I do acknowledge prompt PM achieved through this BB.

...And you also received replies and an offer from SpamCop staff here. And a means to contact them outside this Forum (my earlier post here).

...The bottom line appears to be that you are not getting the service for which you are paying your provider, BT. Given the fact that your e-mails are being blocked as a result of their inability to keep their IP addresses off the SpamCop blacklist, it seems to me that you have a good argument for their giving you an IP address that is better controlled in terms of sending spam. If they are not willing to help you then I would think you'd want to consider other options. Another consideration is that blacklists are not the only reason your e-mail might not make it to your recipients -- e-mail is not a guaranteed delivery mechanism, so it is not wise to rely on it alone for communicating with your customers.

[Wazoo]

This is unhelpful.

Depends on the definition of 'helpful'

My ISP is BT, one of the largest. Spamcop labels their servers as a source of spam whilst agreeing that my emails, which are for business purposes, are not spam and refuses or is unable to "whitelist" them.

You've been asked repeatedly for the IP Address involved, yet no answer provided. So for a starting point, take a look at http://www.senderbase.org/senderbase_queri...ecommunications to see the current situation on a few e-mail sources they control, the BLs involved, and a few other ratings. Note that this list shows your description of "their servers" to be wrong. Your e-mail is but a portion of that sent out by other users apparently.

The consequence is that Spamcop knowingly causes legitimate traffic to be blocked.

Although you make noises about looking at a FAQ somewhere, you seem to have ignored the fact that SpamCop does not block any e-mail. Any blocking done is die to the configuration and use of BLs by the receiving ISP/Host, and in the case of the SpamCopDNSBL, the decision factor is based on the IP Address of the (spam spew) sending e-mail server.

Even if the server problem is sorted out (beyond my control) it takes 24 hours before messages are allowed through again.

Correction: it can take up to 24 hours after the spew stops. A bit of a math puzzle, aslo described in the various FAQs, Wiki, etc.

The bottom line is that Spamcop does not work as it cannot differentiate between spam and legitimate traffic, surely that is essential. spam is a real problem but this is a crude solution.

Correct. The SpamCopDNSBL does what it was designed to do, based on the ratio of good to bad/reported e-mail .... not the e-mail irself. And what it does is to generate the BL itself, which is then made available to those that wish to use it as a spam control tool.

Further, getting in touch with Spamcop is a virtual impossibility as no contact details are provided although I do acknowledge prompt PM achieved through this BB.

And again, that data is available .. the original FAQ, the single-page-access version provided here, the Wiki, on and on .... sorry you can't see though your anger.