Fake email checker: find made-up addresses in a list
A fake email checker flags addresses that look invented. Paste your list and it marks keyboard runs (asdf@, qwerty@), placeholders (test@, noemail@), reserved domains like example.com, repeated characters and random-looking strings. It reads only the text of each address, so an ordinary-looking fake still passes until a mailbox check.
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
How do I find fake email addresses in a list?
- Paste addresses one per line, or upload a CSV; the email column is found automatically and your other columns are kept.
- Press Find fake emails.
- Read the flagged rows. Looks fake means a placeholder or keyboard pattern; Suspicious means the text looks random and deserves a second look.
- Download the no-red-flags file, or the flagged rows to review.
- Addresses with no red flags still need a mailbox check. Sign in with Google to check the rest of the list with the free email checks.
How can you tell if an email address is fake?
Look at the name before the @ and the domain. Fake sign-ups tend to use keyboard runs (asdfgh@, qwerty123@), placeholders (test@, none@, noemail@), a single repeated character, or a domain nobody can receive mail on. Domains such as example.com, example.org and anything ending in .test or .invalid are reserved for documentation and testing in RFC 2606 and RFC 6761, so a real person never has a mailbox there.
A second group is random strings, like xkqjzhtrwv@ or a long mix of digits and letters. Those are marked Suspicious, not Fake, because some real people use handles that look like that.
Is an address that passes this check a real email?
No. A careful fake, such as mike.jones84@gmail.com, looks like any real address, and so does a real address that someone has since closed. This checker only reads text. Whether a mailbox exists is a question for the mail server, which a mailbox check asks without sending anything.
Use this page first because it is instant and runs on a list of any size in your browser. Then verify what is left. To see addresses at throwaway services, use the disposable email checker; for typo domains such as gmial.com, use the typo fixer.
How do I stop fake emails at signup?
Check the address when it is typed: reject syntax errors, offer a did-you-mean prompt for typo domains, block disposable domains and verify the mailbox before you send the welcome message. Our guides on stopping fake signups and blocking disposable emails at signup cover each step.
Hidden honeypot fields catch bots that fill every box (honeypot fields), and a confirmation email proves the person can read the inbox.
What does each check catch?
| Check | Catches | Needs a mail server? |
|---|---|---|
| This fake email checker | Keyboard runs, placeholders, reserved domains, random strings | No |
| Disposable check | Addresses at throwaway inbox services | No |
| Domain MX check | Domains that can't receive mail | No (DNS only) |
| Mailbox check | Addresses at a real domain that don't exist | Yes |
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- SaaS teams
- Find trial signups filled with placeholders before they skew activation numbers or trigger onboarding emails that go nowhere.
- Marketers
- Strip contest and download-form junk like
asdf@gmail.combefore the list is imported into an email platform. - Ecommerce
- Spot invented customer emails on orders and accounts before sending receipts and abandoned-cart mail.
- Sales ops
- Clean a form-fill export before it reaches the CRM and sales sequences.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- It reads the text of each address only. A convincing fake passes.
- Suspicious rows are a guess; real people sometimes use random-looking handles.
- It does not know which domains are disposable. Use the disposable checker for that.
- No red flags is never the same as valid; it just means nothing looked wrong.
Common questions
- How do I check if an email address is fake?
- Look for placeholders, keyboard runs and reserved domains in the text, then run a mailbox check, which asks the mail server whether the address exists. This page does the first part for a whole list at once.
- Can a fake email checker tell me an address exists?
- No. It flags addresses that look invented from their characters. Only a mailbox check, run against the receiving mail server, can say whether a mailbox exists.
- What does the fake email checker flag?
- Keyboard runs such as asdf and qwerty, placeholder names like test and noemail, reserved domains such as example.com, repeated characters, one-character names and random-looking strings.
- Is test@test.com a real email address?
- It is shaped like one, but it is a placeholder. Treat it as fake and don't send to it.
- Is my list uploaded anywhere?
- No. The check runs in your browser with JavaScript and nothing you paste is sent to us.
Sources
A tidy list can still be full of dead addresses.
Extracting, deduplicating and syntax checks all work on the text of an address. None of them can tell whether the mailbox exists. Only the server that hosts it can answer that, through an SMTP check, and that is what the paid product does.
- Upload the cleaned file as it is: CSVs up to 100,000 rows
- A real SMTP mailbox check on every row, with catch-all detection
- Small list? Starter at $9/mo covers 2,500 emails a month, cancel anytime
One plan, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.