Home
>
Spam Blocking
>
Your Dolphin E-mail Caught In Spam Tuna Net?

Your Dolphin E-mail Caught In Spam Tuna Net?

Let me ask a couple of questions:

If (potential) customers sends an e-mail to your company, do they want to receive an answer?
If you, in return, e-mail your customer, do you expect that your e-mail is delivered to the customer?

Well, in my case, I answered "YES" on both questions. After all, the customer asks for an answer, so it's normal to expect that when you send an e-mail in return, that the customer receives it.

Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.

It is highly important that you get this point, so let me rephrase that:

If you send an e-mail to a customer that the customer wants and expects, it may be that (s)he never receives it!

I've investigated this issue, and the cause of this is the filtering of e-mail by the ISP of the customer, to prevent unwanted SPAM (unsollicited e-mail) to make its way into their mailbox. But not only genuine SPAM is filtered out. Even e-mail that the customer wants (and often expects) to receive, may be caught up in this filter. It's happening so often, there's even a term for it: "false positives".

Sometimes this stays unnoticed, because the customer doesn't get a mail telling her that it was filtered out. Or you don't get a reply from the ISP/filter that your mail didn't pass.

Your "dolphin" e-mail can essentially be caught in SPAM filter "tuna nets".

This can impact businesses on many levels:

Potential customers do not convert into real customers, because they never "heard from you".
Unhappy customers as they "never get an answer on their support requests".
Unhappy Customers that don't get the info / product they paid for (download instructions for digital products are often delivered by e-mail)

When this happens, the customer usually points the finger to the business...

...YOUR business was not responsive;

...YOUR business didn't resolve the customer's issues;

...YOUR business did not deliver!

But, of course, you are not to blame. You responded! You resolved! you delivered! It's the customer's ISP that didn't deliver. An e-mail your customer wanted, and expected.

Mistakes do happen. But sometimes, ISP's and mail service businesses have no interest in righting what went wrong. And since they are not blamed, they get away with doing nothing. But in the mean time, your and my business is hurt by this.

So, it is time to point customers in the right direction. If more and more customers know where to complain if they do not get the e-mail they wanted, chances are that the ISP and/or mail service are forced into action.

There's a lot an ISP or mail service can do. Customers should have the possibility to "whitelist" you. A "whitelist" is a list of e-mail addresses or domains from which the customer allows mail to continue, even when the filter thinks it's "junk". One option that's not an option is to ask customers to switch off the filter. SPAM is just too big a problem for this.

Another company that have taken the heat for filtered mail is SiteSell. They're blamed for not delivering as promissed, because their e-mail was filtered out. And they hit a wall of unresponsiveness when they tried to right this. Or was it that their requests were filtered out? ;-)

As they understood how this is hurting their business, and many other businesses around the globe, they decided to take action, and point customers in the right direction when wanted e-mail doesn't make it into their mailboxes. So they created the "Deliver my mail!" initiative, which I fully support.

I invite you to join them and me. Read more about "Deliver my Mail!" on: http://deliver-my-mail.sitesell.com/sls.html

Let's take a stand, and educate customers on what to do if they do not receive e-mail they really wanted to get. Let customers demand:

"DELIVER MY MAIL!"

About The Author

Erwin Steneker is a senior support consultant with over 13 years of experience in both sales and IT support. Check out his website at http://deliver-my-mail.sitesell.com/sls.html

no-contract cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Your Dolphin E-mail Caught In Spam Tuna Net?

Spam Blocking