---
title: "What is Spam trap?"
url: "https://lookvalid.com/glossary/spam-trap.md"
canonical_url: "https://lookvalid.com/glossary/spam-trap"
last_updated: "2026-10-19"
type: "conceptual"
summary: "A spam trap is an email address that exists to catch senders with poor list practices; real people never subscribe to it."
related: ["https://lookvalid.com/glossary/hard-bounce.md", "https://lookvalid.com/glossary/disposable-email.md", "https://lookvalid.com/glossary/role-account.md"]
---

# What is Spam trap?

A spam trap is an email address that exists to catch senders with poor list practices; real people never subscribe to it.

Some are created fresh and published where only scrapers will find them. Others are old, abandoned addresses that a mailbox provider has reactivated. Either kind shows that a sender collected addresses carelessly or never cleaned the list.

Hitting traps can put a sending domain on blocklists. The defence is to collect addresses only from people who asked to hear from you and to remove the ones that never engage or bounce.

## Related

- [What is Hard bounce?](https://lookvalid.com/glossary/hard-bounce.md)
- [What is Disposable email?](https://lookvalid.com/glossary/disposable-email.md)
- [What is Role account?](https://lookvalid.com/glossary/role-account.md)