SimpleVerifier Team · Reviewed
What should I do with risky emails in a verified list?
Do not treat risky as valid and do not delete it blindly. Risky means the domain accepts mail but the mailbox could not be confirmed. Put risky addresses in a separate segment, send a test batch of 100 to 300, and mail more only if the bounce rate stays within your limit.
Why an address comes back risky
It is a reason, not a verdict. The common causes are below, and the result's reason text says which one applies.
- Catch-all domain: the server accepts every address, so a mailbox cannot be confirmed.
- Yahoo and AOL (and ISPs hosted by Yahoo): they accepted every made-up address in our tests, so a check cannot confirm a mailbox.
- Microsoft consumer domains and iCloud: SimpleVerifier does not probe them, so they return risky.
- The server refused or did not answer our check.
The test-batch method
With 100 sends and no bounces you can be about 95% confident the true bounce rate is under 3% (the rule of three); with 300 sends and no bounces, under 1%. Prioritise risky addresses that came from a trustworthy source.
Related questions
- Does SimpleVerifier ever mark an unconfirmed address as valid?
- No. Anything the mailbox check could not confirm is returned as risky, never valid.
Sources
Figures marked as ours come from SimpleVerifier’s own dated tests on made-up addresses, published with their data on the research page. No customer data is used, and we publish no accuracy percentage because we have no independent measurement to back one.
Do it now
Test it on a real address first
Type any address. It gets the same check the paid plans run: syntax, the domain’s mail servers and, where the provider allows it, a live mailbox check. Nothing is sent to the address.
Five checks a minute, no account needed. Nothing is sent to the address — we ask its mail server whether the mailbox exists, then disconnect.
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