|
Tips for Senders for Getting Mail Successfully Delivered
Like other providers of Internet mail, AT&T uses a variety of methods for protecting our customers from messages that are unwanted or fraudulent. Inevitably, legitimate messages are sometimes misidentified as spam or phishing-related. This happens when legitimate messages are composed and sent using methods commonly identified with spammers and phishers.
The following recommendations can help ensure that your messages reach AT&T customers.
To avoid getting your message sidelined as spam:
- Comply with the guidelines in the federal CAN-SPAM legislation. Most importantly, make sure that all legitimate requests for removal from your mailing lists are honored. The easiest way to get your message identified as spam is to send it to people who don't want it or to addresses that are defunct.
For more information about CAN-SPAM legislation, see http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm.
To avoid having your messages blocked before reaching mail servers:
- Use a reputable mailing service. There are at least two known risks to using small or questionable services. First, they may mix legitimate mail with spam from their other customers. If the proportion of spam to good mail from a particular sender is high (which you will have no control over), *all* messages from that sender's address may get blocked including yours. Second, small marketing companies and mailing services are often run from home offices. If they send mail directly to the Internet from their home computers, they will look like one of the “zombie” machines that are responsible for so much of the spam and phishing on the Internet. All major mail services, including AT&T, regularly block mail from these sources.
To avoid Antiphishing warnings:
- In HTML messages, make sure all the links are transparent. Discrepancies between the apparent URL and the “real” URL of the destination site will trigger antiphishing warnings. If you want to send someone to www.vendorsite.com/yourbusinessname/0000.html, then use that URL in the code. Don't use HTML code to make it look like the destination is a part of your domain.
- Use a real subdomain if possible: http://customers.businessname.com. Avoid using URLs that resemble subdomains but aren't: http://www.businessnamecustomers.com.
- Avoid using IP addresses: http://0.0.0.0. Better to use a real domain name.
For further information on this topic, see “How Not to Look Like a Phish” at http://www.truste.org/about/phish.php