Re: does it do anygood to bounce?
Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 4:20 am
Usually no. This is because spammers forge (spoof) someone else's email address, or an invalid email address into their spam messages so the bounce either goes back to some innocent person or it gets dumped into a bit bucket somewhere, or the bounce gets bounced back to you again. That bouncing back and forth can also get the attention of your ISP - and not in a good way because you just end up creating even more unwanted emails hogging up the bandwidth. In extreme cases, the ISP may terminate your service.
The only time a bounce really works is if you know for certain the email address is valid and belongs to the sender. For example, if your ex-wife is hounding you, you may want to bounce her address.
Blacklists also work - if you are certain the email address is valid. But another problem with blacklists, even if you know the address is valid, is spammers typically change email addresses frequently - every couple days or even several times a day. So you end up with a huge blacklist that really does you no good.
Frankly, I never use blacklists for that reason and rarely bounce an email. It just does not do any good to stop future spam messages. If there is a pattern to spam messages, it is typically more efficient to just create a filter.
The only time a bounce really works is if you know for certain the email address is valid and belongs to the sender. For example, if your ex-wife is hounding you, you may want to bounce her address.
Blacklists also work - if you are certain the email address is valid. But another problem with blacklists, even if you know the address is valid, is spammers typically change email addresses frequently - every couple days or even several times a day. So you end up with a huge blacklist that really does you no good.
Frankly, I never use blacklists for that reason and rarely bounce an email. It just does not do any good to stop future spam messages. If there is a pattern to spam messages, it is typically more efficient to just create a filter.