What Are Catch-All Domains?
Catch-all domains are email domains that always return a "Valid" response from the SMTP service, whether the address is valid or invalid.
There are three primary behaviors of catch-all domains.
- Emailing a nonexistent email address funnels your message into a catch-all inbox (this does not hurt your email reputation)
- Emailing a nonexistent email address results in a bounce and states the user doesn't exist (this hurts your email reputation)
- The catch-all address is valid, and your email is delivered
How does ZeroBounce handle catch‑all emails if I use Verify+?
When Verify+ is enabled, ZeroBounce automatically runs Catch‑all Email Validation on catch‑all results that haven't previously been processed by Verify+. This additional step (shown in your results as Phase 2: Catch-all Email Validation) may reclassify part of those addresses as Valid or Invalid; the remainder will stay Catch‑all. Processing can take up to 48 hours.
→ See: Email List Validation › Verify+ for details.
Do I need to re‑upload my list or run a separate job?
No. If Verify+ is enabled, Catch-all Email Validationⓘ starts automatically after Phase 1 is complete. You'll see progress and final results in the same list‑results view, and your downloads will reflect the latest classifications once Phase 2 completes.
Why do businesses use catch-all domains and addresses?
Some companies set up catch-all email addresses to "catch all" incoming emails sent to invalid addresses.
For example, if you were to email “misspelledname@domain.com”, the mail administrator would forward your message to the catch-all address. By doing this, they can review all mail sent to their email server to ensure that they don't miss important mail.
Some mail server operators also do this because they believe it will prevent individuals from harvesting real email addresses from their SMTP server.
Why are catch-all domains problematic?
The first issue with catch-all domains is that they always return a "valid" result. This means there is no way to verify whether the address is valid or invalid. Emailing a catch-all address means you risk bouncing the email.
Second, catch-all domains often receive high volumes of spam. Because mail services cannot tell if the address is quality, spam operators will send emails to them regardless.
Keeping catch-all domains on your email list risks increasing your bounce rate or reaching an inactive inbox. Repeated bounces and lower engagement will hurt your email deliverability.
How does the ZeroBounce email verifier deal with catch-all domains?
ZeroBounce identifies all email address types, including catch-all domains, with 99.6% accuracy.
Because validating catch-all domains is impossible, ZeroBounce identifies and labels these domains accordingly. From there, it's up to you to decide if you want to risk emailing these domains. While some may result in a bounce, others may be valid and allow you to connect with legitimate prospects.
If you decide to email your catch-all domains, it's recommended to segment them into a separate mailing list. Doing this lets you separate your valid, clean emails and avoid negative impacts on your marketing campaigns.
If emailing your catch-all domains results in a bounce or zero engagement, delete them from your lists.
Check out the complete guide to catch-all email domains ->
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How Do You Detect Abuse Emails?
You can detect abuse emails thanks to several different knowledge-gathering methods: email feedback loops, individual opt-in links found in people's emails, and reporting from reputable companies in the email sector.
ZeroBounce uses each of these methods and has curated critical relationships, all of which aid in reliably detecting abuse emails.
But first, let's explain abuse emails.
What are abuse emails?
Abuse emails are email address owners frequently clicking the "Report Spam" link in their email options. Any time you receive an email, you can report it to your email service provider (ESP) as spam.
While this is a worthwhile and necessary feature, it's meant for actual spam emails. Spam emails are messages from unknown sources, are delivered at a high frequency, or contain malicious content meant to scam readers out of money or sensitive data.
The problem occurs when an email address owner reports legitimate emails as spam. If subscribers no longer wish to receive your content, they should click the unsubscribe link. These "abuse emails", however, will report spam instead.
What is a feedback loop?
An email feedback loop is a service in which your ESP notifies you of received spam reports. Whenever you send out your email marketing campaigns, the ESP reports your spam complaints as well, which addresses issued the complaints.
ZeroBounce uses feedback loops like these to gather large volumes of data on which email addresses issue spam complaints. They're classified as abuse emails if they're keen to submit a report rather than unsubscribe.
Should I send messages to abuse email addresses?
Adding abuse emails to your mailing list is a difficult decision and should be managed on a case-by-case basis.
When using ZeroBounce email verification, the verifier can only inform you whether an address is an abuse email. No one can predict the future and determine if the address owner will report your emails as spam.
Ultimately, it's a decision that's reliant on the knowledge of your subscribers and customers. If you have reason to believe that the contact is genuinely interested in your products or services, then you can attempt to email them. You may segment abuse emails from your standard campaigns if you're trying to message several potentially problematic recipients.
However, if you bought an email list, it's recommended to avoid them. It's more likely that the list has been resold multiple times, and the owner is likely ready to report abuse due to a previous influx of spam.
Learn more with our abuse email guide
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How Do I Contact ZeroBounce?
You can contact ZeroBounce via email, phone, or live chat.
US/EU: support@zerobounce.net
IN: support@zerobounce.in
Phone
US: 1-888-500-9521
UK: +44-330-808-4814
IN: 1-877-924-6342
Live Chat
Accessible by visiting any page on the ZeroBounce website by clicking the "Chat" button in the bottom-right corner.
Products & Sales is available from 5 AM - 7 PM Eastern Standard Time. For Help and support, you can connect with a ZeroBounce team member 24/7, 365 days a year.
Social Media
How can I contact my ZeroBounce sales rep or account manager?
The best way to contact your sales rep or account manager is by emailing them directly with the email they provided. If, for some reason, you don't have their business email address, please reach out to support@zerobounce.net. One of our team members can answer your questions or redirect you to the appropriate contact if necessary.
Who should I contact about problems with my service?
You can contact ZeroBounce regarding questions about your service using phone, email, or live chat. The live chat service is recommended for the quickest response, as a representative will always be available 24/7.
Our support team email experts can assist with any issues regarding any aspect of the ZeroBounce service. They'll also be able to provide you with resources or documentation regarding your concern.
What are the hours of ZeroBounce support?
ZeroBounce support is available 24/7, 365 days a year. You can access the live chat by visiting any page on the ZeroBounce website and clicking the "Chat" button in the bottom-right corner. You will be connected to a team member within seconds.
Is ZeroBounce support available during holidays?
Yes. The ZeroBounce live chat is available 365 days a year, including all holidays recognized globally.
What ticketing system does ZeroBounce use?
ZeroBounce uses Zendesk as its support ticketing system and is instrumental in helping the team keep track of all customer communications.
Can I contact ZeroBounce on social media?
You can find us on social media via our profiles below:
Be aware that our response time is limited to standard business hours EST. If you need immediate support, have a specific question about your account, or need help troubleshooting, it's recommended to contact ZeroBounce directly via live chat or email.
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Do My Email Validation Credits Expire?
Your email validationⓘ credits never expire. Any time you purchase credits for your account, they're yours to keep forever. This rule also applies to the 100 email validationⓘ credits you receive monthly.
Do my email validationⓘ credits expire if I cancel my subscription?
No. Email validation credits never expire, whether you make a one-time purchase or accrue credits from a monthly subscription. Once the email verification credits are added to your account, they're yours forever. You can use them freely or save them for a later date.
Are there any restrictions on credits purchased through promotions?
Email verification credits purchased with ongoing promotions or promo codes never expire. They're treated the same as any other ZeroBounce purchase, which means your credits are yours to use whenever you wish.
Changes to your account will never affect your existing credit balance. This rule makes ZeroBounce promotions an excellent time to add new credits to your account for future email list cleaning.
Do my queries expire?
Email Finder queries, available through email deliverability toolkit subscriptions, will expire if unused. Your queries do not roll over month-to-month.
If you frequently have unused queries at the end of the month, consider one of our various pricing plans that better suit your needs. You can also customize your own deliverability toolkit to obtain the number of email validation credits and email finder queries you require. Because there's no contract, you can update your subscription plan anytime.
Can I use email validation credits for other services?
Credits are usable on email validationⓘ, Email Scoringⓘ, and Email Finderⓘ.
Email validationⓘ and email scoringⓘ require one credit per result per service. For example, if you validate an email and score it, you must use two credits total.
You can also use credits for Email Finderⓘ at the cost of 20 credits per valid result. If the result is a spam trap, suppression result, or catch-all domain, it will cost one credit. No credits are consumed for unknown results.
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How Does ZeroBounce Differ from Other Email Verification Services?
ZeroBounce differs from other email verification services in the following ways:
- 99.6% accuracy guaranteed
- Fewer unknown results
- Ability to identify 30+ email address types & statuses
- Ability to identify abuse emails and spam traps
- Enhances contact records with domain, IP, and social data appending
- Identifies email address quality with Activity Data and email scoring
- Provides supplemental email deliverability tools for better inbox placement
- Provides email domain reputation and email security monitoring
Below, you can find a deeper analysis of each advantage of ZeroBounce's email verification service.
ZeroBounce provides 99.6% guaranteed accuracy
ZeroBounce is one of the most accurate, in-depth email verification tools available. It can identify virtually every email type and provide the data you need to make educated decisions regarding each email contact.
Whenever you upload your email list for cleaning, you can expect 99.6% accurate results. If the service fails to deliver on its promise, you're fully entitled to a full refund of your money and credits. ZeroBounce support will also work closely with you to determine what's causing errors when validating your email list.
ZeroBounce provides fewer unknown results than competitors
Many email verification services report high levels of accuracy. However, what's not stated is that those services tend to deliver higher levels of "unknown" results. The email verification tool can technically be called accurate as long as the email verification tool does not inaccurately label an email address.
However, "unknown" results leave you with no more information than you started with. If the email verification service cannot determine certain email address types or struggles to process certain domains, you won't be able to clean your email list accurately.
ZeroBounce identifies 30+ email address types & statuses
- Valid
- Alias addresses
- Alternate email addresses
- Invalid
- Domains not configured to receive mail
- Emails that fail RFC syntax protocols
- Misspelled email domains
- Nonexistent mailboxes
- No DNS entries are present
- Mailbox full
- Unroutable IP addresses
- Catch-all
- Spam trap
- Abuse email
- Do not mail addresses
- Global suppression
- Possible traps
- Role-based emails
- Disposable emails
- Toxic email domains
- Role-based catch-all
- MX record forwarding
- Unknowns caused by
- Antispam systems
- Failed SMTP connections
- Forcible disconnects
- Greylisting
- Unresponsive mail servers
- Temporary mail server errors
- Timeout errors
- Exception occurred
In addition to these results, many will contain a descriptive sub-status. ZeroBounce's detailed email verification results allow you to make the most educated decisions when keeping or deleting email addresses on your list.
Check out our email verification status codes ->
ZeroBounce identifies spam traps and abuse emails
As seen above, ZeroBounce is one of the only email verification services that promises to identify spam traps and abuse email addresses accurately. Most other services don't attempt to identify these or can't do so.
You can enhance contact records with additional data
In addition to detecting the email address type, ZeroBounce can provide supplemental details about the address when available, including:
- Account owner's name
- Domain age
- SMTP provider
- MX record information
- Free email domain detection
All of this data is included for free with your email verification. However, you can also append Activity Data to your email verification results. This report tells you how active each email contact is based on actions taken in the last 30-180 days.
Finally, you can upload your list of clean email contacts for scoring. Email scoring uses artificial intelligence to provide a quality score for each contact on your email list so that you know which contacts are predicted to demonstrate the highest levels of engagement.
You can improve your campaigns with email deliverability tools
Cleaning your email list with email verification is just the first step in email marketing. ZeroBounce provides additional tools like mail server and inbox placement testing to help you maximize your email deliverability.
ZeroBounce provides domain and reputation monitoring
Finally, ZeroBounce provides email domain and reputation monitoring tools, such as blacklist and DMARC monitoring.
Other email verification services only provide the base tool. ZeroBounce provides these additional security tools to protect your email marketing from spammers, spoofers, and other bad actors.
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What Makes ZeroBounce’s Technology Superior?
ZeroBounce's email validationⓘ technology is superior to competitor technology in the following ways:
99.6% accuracy with fewer "unknown" results
ZeroBounce's email validation is 99.6% accurate with a money-back guarantee. More competitors are beginning to list their accuracy as 99.6%, but many still provide a high volume of "unknown" results. As long as they're not mistakenly identifying an email address with an incorrect status, they can technically classify the result as accurate.
However, an "unknown" result is not helpful when cleaning your email list.
ZeroBounce can identify more types of email addresses more accurately, leaving you with fewer unknown results than competitor email validation.
Ability to identify 30+ email statuses and sub-statuses
ZeroBounce achieves the highest level of accuracy thanks to its ability to identify more than 30 email statuses and sub-statuses. This extensive list includes catch-all, abuse, and spam trap emails, along with countless others.
You can review the complete list of possible email status codes via the documentation.
Ability to identify spam traps and abuse emails
Many email validationⓘ services cannot identify spam traps and abuse emails. Some make the claim that accurately identifying a spam trap is impossible.
ZeroBounce works to curate relationships with crucial information providers in the email sector, which aids in helping us identify more spam trap domains and abuse emails. The company also effectively uses feedback loops (FBLs) to detect abuse emails.
While spam traps and abuse emails will not result in a bounce, they harm your campaign performance and sender reputation.
Military-grade security and extensive privacy compliance
Along with accuracy, security and privacy are priority number one at ZeroBounce. No matter how vast your email list is, ZeroBounce provides sophisticated military-grade protection at every step and never stores or shares your data. Only you can see your email data before, during, and after email validationⓘ.
Some of ZeroBounce's security and privacy highlights include the following:
- ISO 27001 certified
- AICPA SOC 2 certified
- SOC 2 Type 2 certified
- HIPAA compliant
- EU GDPR compliant
- CCPA compliant
- Data Privacy Framework (DPF)
Scoring for catch-all emails
Most email validationⓘ services can identify catch-all emailsⓘ. However, catch-all emailsⓘ are tricky to manage as they can either be valid leads or be a one-way ticket to bounces or spam. It's better than an "unknown" result, but it can still leave you unsure how to proceed.
ZeroBounce offers Email Scoringⓘ technology that can help you better understand your catch-all emailsⓘ. Using artificial intelligence, ZeroBounce grades those catch-all emailsⓘ on a scale of 0-10, with 10 showing the most significant confidence level in contact quality and 0 being unknown.
Anti-greylisting technology
ZeroBounce uses anti-greylisting technology to bypass standard spam filters to provide more accurate email validationⓘ results. Many email validationⓘ services cannot obtain a verification result upon meeting standard greylisting, which temporarily causes an email to bounce after the first sending attempt.
ZeroBounce's anti-greylisting technology circumvents this by automatically reattempting verification without expending additional credits.
60+ integrations available
Finally, ZeroBounce technology is available to integrate with over 60 major SaaS, CRM, sales, and email marketing platforms. These seamless integrations allow you to accurately validate emails without interrupting your standard workflow.
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What Industries or Businesses Benefit Most from ZeroBounce?
Any business or industry that uses mass email communications for marketing or messaging will benefit from ZeroBounce's email validationⓘ. Unlike general consumers who send out relatively few emails, by comparison, most businesses send out tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of emails weekly. For this reason, those businesses and industries must perform their due diligence in ensuring they use the safest and best practices when sending emails to subscribers.
Why do all businesses and industries need email validation?
Businesses need email validationⓘ to protect their sender reputation and distinguish themselves from spammers. Spammers are the only other email sender that regularly emails a massive list simultaneously. They do this to deceive recipients or steal their data using various phishing methods.
To protect recipients from spam content, internet service providers (ISP) issue email domains and IP addresses an email sender scoreⓘ. This numerical grade communicates a company's behavioral habits when sending emails. Companies with low sender scores are deemed untrustworthy, making it more difficult to deliver messages to the inbox.
Email validationⓘ helps boost your sender scoreⓘ by eliminating invalid email addresses from your subscriber database. Any email you send to an invalid email will result in a bounce. The higher your email bounce rateⓘ, the lower your sender scoreⓘ.
Thus, legitimate businesses and industries require email validationⓘ to protect their reputation and deliver emails successfully.
Does B2B or B2C benefit more from ZeroBounce?
B2B and B2C businesses benefit equally from ZeroBounce's email verification. The only difference is that B2C businesses message personal email addresses, while B2B businesses target professional emails. In both cases, the business needs a list of valid emails to avoid a high bounce rate.
B2C will likely have more free email addresses (i.e., Google, Yahoo, etc.). B2B businesses generally have email address lists featuring other company domains (i.e., johnsmith@company.com). In either case, ZeroBounce's email validator can accurately identify the validity of any email address, regardless of the domain type.
Questions About Our Services FAQs
How do you detect abuse emails?
Do my email validation credits expire?
How does ZeroBounce differ from other email verification services?