How can phishing impact your marketing emails?

Phishing is now one of the main factors that negatively impact email deliverability. Even if you have no malicious intent, certain marketing practices can be interpreted as phishing by spam filters and email providers.

As a result, your campaigns may be blocked, sent to spam, or even cause lasting damage to your sender reputation.

This page will help you understand:

• Why phishing affects your marketing emails
• Which practices are risky
• How to avoid being flagged as phishing

I. Why does phishing impact deliverability?

Email providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) use advanced systems to detect fraudulent emails.

These systems primarily analyze:

• The content of the message
• The included links
• The sender name
• User behavior (clicks, reports)

When an email looks like phishing, even without malicious intent:

• It can be blocked before delivery
• It can be marked as spam
• It can generate user complaints
• Your sender reputation will be damaged

A poor reputation impacts all your future campaigns, not just a single one.

II. Marketing practices often flagged as phishing

1. Ambiguous or misleading sender names

An unclear or misleading sender name is a major red flag for spam filters.

Risky examples:

• "Customer Service" (without mentioning the brand)
• "Urgent Support"
• "Administration"
• "Account Security"

When a user cannot immediately and clearly identify the sender of an email, it creates suspicion. Generic or ambiguous names (e.g., "Support," "Customer Service," "Notification") are frequently used in phishing attempts to quickly deceive the recipient without revealing a specific identity. Consequently, this lack of transparency is perceived as a risky signal by both the user, who may ignore or report the email, and by spam filters, which associate this type of practice with fraudulent behavior.

Best practice: Always use an identifiable name

Example: Brand name + clear context

2. Clickbait email subject lines

Overly aggressive or deceptive subject lines are heavily monitored.

Risky examples:

• "URGENT: Your account will be suspended"
• "Last chance!!!"
• "You've won a gift"
• "Immediate action required"

Certain overly aggressive or misleading phrasing (false urgency, exaggerated promises, alarmist tones) directly mimics the tactics used in phishing attempts. Even without malicious intent, these can be perceived as suspicious by recipients and spam filters.

Users are more likely to report the email as spam, which leads to a drop in your trust score and, ultimately, a degradation in deliverability. To avoid this, it's essential to adopt transparent communication that accurately reflects the email's true content and avoids creating artificial urgency.

Best practice:

• Remain transparent and honest
• Avoid false urgency

3. Rotating links or dynamic redirects

A rotating link is a link that doesn't always lead to the same destination: the URL can change depending on the user, the time of the click, or certain parameters (geolocation, tracking, etc.). While often used in dynamic redirection systems, this mechanism is also associated with phishing practices, where the real destination is deliberately hidden or variable. Spam filters may consider these links suspicious because they lack transparency and consistency, which increases the risk of the email being blocked or marked as spam.

Why is this risky?

Filters analyze links before delivery:

• If the URL changes or redirects unpredictably → raises suspicion
• If multiple destinations are detected → typical phishing behavior

Problematic examples:

• Links that change with every click
• Multiple redirects (excessive tracking)
• Excessively masked or shortened URLs

Impact:

• Immediate blocking of the email
• Quarantined messages
• Loss of domain trust

Best practices include:

• Use stable and consistent URLs
• Limit redirects
• Display recognizable domains

4. Inconsistencies between content and destination

A mismatch between the promise made in the email (subject line, text, or button) and the actual content displayed after clicking is a particularly critical red flag. When a user expects a specific action (e.g., viewing an invoice, accessing an account) but lands on a different page, it immediately breaks their trust. This type of inconsistency is typical of phishing techniques, where the goal is to deceive the user about the real destination. Consequently, spam filters closely monitor this behavior, which can lead to spam reports, a loss of credibility, and degraded deliverability.

Example:

• Button text: "View your invoice"
• Destination: a promotional or unrelated page

This type of inconsistency mirrors the patterns used in phishing, where the user is tricked into clicking an element that does not reflect the actual destination. This practice quickly triggers distrust: users are more likely to report the email as spam, which sends negative signals to email providers. At the same time, spam filters analyze this discrepancy as suspicious behavior, which can lead to heightened scrutiny, damage to your sender reputation, and in the most critical cases, the risk of being blacklisted.

5. Lack of clear identity

A marketing email must inspire trust immediately.

Negative signals to avoid:

• No logo or branding
• No physical address
• No legal notice
• Unknown domain

Furthermore, phishing emails are often anonymous or hard to identify.

Therefore, it is essential to avoid these negative signals by ensuring clear and complete identification in your emails (logo, branding, legal notices, recognized domain) so they aren't mistaken for phishing messages, which are typically anonymous or difficult to trace.

III. Direct consequences for your campaigns

If your emails are flagged as phishing, the impacts can be swift and lasting. Your messages run the risk of failing to reach their recipients properly, being perceived as unreliable, and experiencing a significant drop in overall performance, thereby compromising the effectiveness of your campaigns.

1. Short-term: Immediate disruption of your campaigns

When your emails are perceived as phishing, they may automatically be routed to the spam folder. This causes an immediate drop in open rates, as your recipients won't see your messages in their main inbox. In some cases, email providers may temporarily block your emails, completely preventing their delivery.

2. Medium and long-term: Degradation of your sender reputation

Repeated spam reports and the suspicious behavior of your emails affect your domain reputation. A degraded reputation reduces the perceived reliability of all your future sends, leading to an overall decrease in deliverability and making it increasingly difficult to reach the inbox, even for completely legitimate emails.

3. Extreme case: Severe sanctions

In the most critical situations, email providers can blacklist your domain or IP address, or even suspend your sender account. This practically halts all email communication, rendering your campaigns ineffective and potentially requiring lengthy processes to restore your reputation and sending capabilities.

It is important to note that we have an internal anti-spam filter. As such, we reserve the right to block the sending of any email that may be identified as phishing or exhibits similar characteristics.

This measure aims to protect your recipients, your sender reputation, and the overall quality of email delivery.

IV. Best practices to avoid risk

Security and trust are essential elements for any email campaign. To reduce the risks of phishing, blocks, or loss of credibility, it's important to follow certain key best practices.

1. Complete transparency

Transparency is the first step in building trust with your recipients.

• Clear sender name: Use an easily identifiable name so your recipients immediately know who is sending the email.
• Honest subject line: The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the email, without exaggerations or misleading promises.
• Consistent content: Ensure that the text, images, and links align with the message promised in the subject line.

2. Technical consistency

Technical consistency enhances security and reduces the risk of your emails being flagged as spam.

• Aligned domains: The sender address and included links should belong to the same domain or official subdomains.
• Clean and secure URLs (HTTPS): Favor direct, secure links to protect your users and your reputation.

3. Keep links simple

Simple and clear links improve the user experience and minimize phishing risks.

• Avoid complex redirects: Limit the number of redirects so you don't lose the recipient's trust.
• Limit aggressive trackers: Use tracking tools reasonably to avoid appearing intrusive.

4. Strong branding

A strong visual identity reassures recipients and reinforces your credibility.

• Visible logo: Place your logo in an identifiable spot so the email is immediately recognized.
• Clear identity: Maintain a style and tone consistent with your brand.
• Professional signature: Include your contact information so recipients can easily identify you.

5. Reliable user experience

The post-click experience is just as important as the email content.

• Kept promises: Ensure the link leads exactly to the information or offer announced.
• Logical navigation: Simplify the user journey to make it intuitive and seamless.
• No post-click surprises: Avoid intrusive pop-ups or unexpected pages that could confuse the recipient.

V. Good vs. bad examples

To better understand the importance of best practices, it's helpful to compare concrete examples of poorly designed and well-designed emails.

1. Bad email

A poorly structured or misleading email can quickly be detected as phishing, harm your reputation, and reduce deliverability.

• Unclear sender: "Customer Support" – the recipient doesn't know exactly who is sending the email.
• Alarming or vague subject line: "URGENT: Action required" – breeds distrust and can be perceived as deceptive.
• Shady link: A shortened URL with a redirect – increases the risk of being flagged as dangerous.
• Inconsistent landing page: The linked page has no relevance to the email's subject line.

Result: The email is detected as phishing and runs the risk of being blocked or reported.

2. Good email

A well-designed email meets recipient expectations and builds trust.

• Clear and identifiable sender: "Brand Name – Customer Service" – the recipient immediately knows who is sending the email.
• Precise and honest subject line: "Your March invoice is available" – the subject accurately reflects the content.
• Safe and transparent link: A clear official domain, without suspicious redirects.
• Consistent landing page: The page corresponds exactly to the promise made in the email.

Result: The email inspires trust, improves deliverability, and reduces the risk of being reported as spam or phishing.

Even without fraudulent intent, certain marketing practices can resemble phishing and endanger your campaigns.

The key to success: trust, transparency, and consistency.

By adopting clear practices that respect your recipients, you will:

• Boost your deliverability – your emails land where they belong.
• Strengthen your sender reputation – your recipients recognize you and trust you.
• Improve your marketing performance – higher open rates, clicks, and conversions.

A reliable email is a high-performing email. Security and transparency aren't restrictions, but genuine drivers of success.