I have been the owner of a website and email newsletter for over five years.in those five years I have always maintained email best practices to avoid spam complaints and other problems. Unsubscribes are processed promptly, we use only double opt-in verification, we never purchase lists, we comply with all laws, and so on.
Now and then one of my IP addresses from my mail server mistakenly lands on a spam blacklist. They are always removed with either one email or one phone call, because every instance has been a mistake.
So, imagine my surprise when my IP address appeared on the SORBS email spam blacklist. I attempted to contact them to investigate. They could not produce either the email or the email headers that supposedly landed me on the list. Their only explanation is that I sent an email to a "spam trap" address, which is impossible since I use double opt-in verification and never purchase or import lists.
But what was most outrageous is that instead of answering any of my questions, all they did was tell me that if I pay fifty dollars ($50) they would remove me from the blacklist! (Although no guarantees that I wouldn't keep re-appearing and continue to have to pay $50 each time.)
This is extortion and racketeering. This is a phony spam blacklist that has no credibility or accuracy because the owners appear to find ezine list owners, manually and arbitrarily add their IP addresses, then try to collect the $50 for "removal." All mail system administrators and ISPs should *not* use this blacklist, because it is not legitimate and is just a scam.
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