hotmail report_spam anti-spam blocking spamcop reports

[warewolf]

Since I turned on CC'ing replies (human and automatic) to spamcop reports, I noticed that Hotmail's report_spam address is now behind some kind of anti-spam filter, and is rejecting spam reports. I've kicked emails to Hotmail's abuse address, but report_spam still bounces. Is anyone else getting this?

This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.

Delivery to the following recipients failed.

	   HOTML.FREE.WW.00.EN.MSF.SEA.AU.T01.ABU.00.EM[at]css.one.microsoft.com

Reporting-MTA: dns;BAY0-XMR-011.phx.gbl
Received-From-MTA: dns;BAY0-XMR-011.phx.gbl
Arrival-Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 05:33:46 -0700

Final-Recipient: rfc822;HOTML.FREE.WW.00.EN.MSF.SEA.AU.T01.ABU.00.EM[at]css.one.microsoft.com
Action: failed
Status: 5.7.1
Diagnostic-Code: smtp;550 5.7.1 <Your e-mail was rejected by an anti-spam content filter on gateway (205.248.106.30). Reasons for rejection may be: obscene language, graphics, or spam-like characteristics. Removing these may let the e-mail through the filter.>


Subject:[SpamCop (http://xuweb.spaces.live.com/) id:25x87]Dear Friend
From:"Richard Harman" <25x87[at]reports.spamcop.net>
Date:Sat, 20 Oct 2007 04:17:08 -0700
To: report_spam[at]hotmail.com

[ SpamCop V640 ]
This message is brief for your comfort.  Please use links below for details.
.... snip ....

[Wazoo]

Since I turned on CC'ing replies (human and automatic) to spamcop reports, I noticed that Hotmail's report_spam address is now behind some kind of anti-spam filter, and is rejecting spam reports. I've kicked emails to Hotmail's abuse address, but report_spam still bounces. Is anyone else getting this?

Yes, everyone else see's it. Even folks that don't use the SpamCop.net tool-set complain about this.

This 'new' Topic will be merged into an exising Topic/Discussion on the same subject matter.

[DavidT]

Hotmail has recently increased their anti-spam efforts, in many cases blocking legitimate messages. I run some "mailman" lists for a school, and because there's about 10 Hotmail addresses on one of the lists, Hotmail bounced them all back with "reason: 552 Too many recipients" errors. Others have shown up here (take a look in the Lounge) complaining that Hotmail is not allowing stuff through, so I'd suggest that people *not* rely on Hotmail for any important email functions.

DT

[Wazoo]

Spent some time going through the bit of lunacy at the "MSN Live HorMail / MSN Postmaster" pages. IF half that stuff actually worked as advertised .....

Anyway, note some 'details' in the FAQ entry at http://postmaster.msn.com/FAQ.aspx .... you say you are CC:'ing you submittals. The FAQ in question states;

Q. I am receiving junk e-mail from what appears to be Windows Live Hotmail e-mail addresses. Should I report this?

A. Yes. Spammers frequently imitate, or “spoof,” Hotmail addresses to make it look like the e-mail originated from legitimate Windows Live Hotmail users

To report these kinds of e-mails, send the e-mail message as an attachment with the full message header to report_spam[at]hotmail.com. We’ll determine if the message originated from our service and take appropriate measures.

Again, just quoting their material .... the complaints aboput this address rejecting spam submittals are legion, but ...????

Now this data gets changed a bit in the same FAQ in the entry;

Q. How do I report abuse (threatening or harassing e-mail) from Windows Live Hotmail users?

A. Use the steps detailed in the previous FAQ to determine if the message was spoofed. If the message wasn’t spoofed, forward a complete copy of the abusive message (including the full message header) to abuse[at]hotmail.com.

If you've been around at all, you would already know the issues with this address ...... this would be the same bunch of idiots that responded to my complaints about a webTV feed being used to spam the SpamCop.net newsgroups by killing my main HotMail account (created within weeks after HotMail appeared, years before Microsoft bought them out) because I was "spamming" .....

[warewolf]

I think I got off on the wrong foot with you wazoo, and maybe I wasn't clear enough on my original post.

The CC'ing I was refering to was the option in the members-reporting preferences of spamcop; where I can select to have spamcop forward back to me any replies that it recieves from ISPs it sends reports to. I turned it on because I was actually afraid of something exactly like this occuring. More to the point, the address the spamcop reporting engine sent mail to was the correct one -- not abuse[at], but report_spam[at]. So this bugs me that hotmail is quite likely /dev/null'ing all spam reports sent to them. I'd catch hell if I did the same thing for a published support address like that at my job where I deal with a lot of phishing-scheme emails.

I send all the spam that doesn't get flagged by spamcop's dns blacklist and a bunch more of blacklists that my own personal antispam setup DOES flag to spamcop in an effort to get the spam to stop. I know it's futile, but I'm putting an effort into it by paying a centralized source to battle against it.

[Wazoo]

I think I got off on the wrong foot with you wazoo, and maybe I wasn't clear enough on my original post.

The CC'ing I was refering to was the option in the members-reporting preferences of spamcop; where I can select to have spamcop forward back to me any replies that it recieves from ISPs it sends reports to.

A CC: is a "sending" option. Receiving replies to a report is not a CC: action.

[warewolf]

A CC: is a "sending" option. Receiving replies to a report is not a CC: action.

Thanks for the "help". Ta.

[turetzsr]

I think I got off on the wrong foot with you wazoo

<snip>

...Not that I can see. Wazoo's pique seems directed entirely at HotMail.