Forum
BT Email bounce-back
Good morning,
I'm really after some advice more than a desperate issue. We have a customer using the Members App and Mailgun to send emails for the system, like password reset emails and 100% of the emails bounce when sent to btinternet.com addresses. I'm following all SPF, domain guidance from Mailgun and I've used the stock emails that come with the members area (I've also tried a variant that I've tried to tweak to get it through) and I can't seem to change the result.
I've also contacted the BT postmaster for advice but not expecting a response. Basically I'm a bit lost - has anyone else come up against this before? It only affects BT accounts, all other mail servers are receiving the emails fine...
A redacted server response is below:
{
"severity": "permanent",
"tags": [],
"storage": {
"url": "https://sw.api.mailgun.net/v3/domains/mg.pendonmuseum.com/messages/eyJwIjpmYWxzZSwiayI6IjA3ZDYyODI2LWFmZWItNDkxMC04ZGMyLTM4YzgwMmU5ZDQzYyIsInMiOiIyY2RlMTJlMzgzIiwiYyI6InRhbmtiIn0=",
"key": "eyJwIjpmYWxzZSwiayI6IjA3ZDYyODI2LWFmZWItNDkxMC04ZGMyLTM4YzgwMmU5ZDQzYyIsInMiOiIyY2RlMTJlMzgzIiwiYyI6InRhbmtiIn0="
},
"delivery-status": {
"mx-host": "mx.bt.lon5.cpcloud.co.uk",
"attempt-no": 1,
"description": "",
"session-seconds": 1.3475418090820312,
"code": 554,
"message": "Message rejected on 2018/11/29 16:42:42 GMT, policy (3.2.1.1) – Your message looks like SPAM or has been reported as SPAM please read www.bt.com/bulksender"
},
"recipient-domain": "btinternet.com",
"id": "Nht92zyMQ--Yt1OtUPArig",
"campaigns": [],
"reason": "generic",
"user-variables": {},
"flags": {
"is-routed": false,
"is-authenticated": true,
"is-system-test": false,
"is-test-mode": false
},
"log-level": "error",
"timestamp": 1543509762.789237,
"envelope": {
"transport": "smtp",
"sender": "noreply@mg.pendonmuseum.com",
"sending-ip": "209.61.151.224",
"targets": "@btinternet.com"
},
"message": {
"headers": {
"to": "@btinternet.com",
"message-id": "6182b9c3bdb3f0a82f8cc82db91a3adf@pendonmuseum.com",
"from": "Pendon Museum <noreply@mg.pendonmuseum.com>",
"subject": "Your Friends Place password has been reset"
},
"attachments": [],
"size": 3778
},
"recipient": "@btinternet.com",
"event": "failed"
}
Mailgun have also been at a loss as to what to try next.
Thanks in advance, Lea.
Almost all email sending problems can be eliminated by following some basic set-up steps which unfortunately some commercial email service providers overlook. If you're unsure how to check these guidelines, speak to the support team that run your email service.
Use a consistent and meaningful 'From' header address
Make sure the domain you send from has a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record for the IP address you'll be sending from. An SPF record allows domain owners to publish a list of IP addresses that are authorised to send email on their behalf. The aim is to reduce the amount of spam by making it harder for malicious senders to disguise their identity
Make sure the IP address you send from is a static IP and not a dynamically assigned IP address
Have separate IPs and streams depending on your email content type. Shared email services can have multiple domains using one IP to send email. If the same IPs are sending unsolicited commercial email along with your valid email, this can affect your reputation
Make sure there is a correct PTR (reverse DNS entry) for your IP address. Reverse DNS is a method of resolving an IP address into a domain name, just as the domain name system (DNS) resolves domain names into associated IP addresses. If a spammer uses an invalid IP address that doesn't match the domain name, a reverse DNS look up program will try to match this to an IP address. If no valid name is found to match the IP address, the server blocks that message
Sign all your email using DKIM. This protects recipients against spoofing and phishing. If you don't have a DKIM entry in your DNS or don't sign your email with DKIM we're more likely to consider it spam
Check your email service has a good reputation
Check your email sending service hasn't been blacklisted
Don't send all your emails at once: split your mailing activity throughout the day
Along with this advice, we also recommend:
Keeping your email platform updated with the latest security patches Filtering user-generated content before sending it as this prevents spammers from using your resources Not allowing your servers to act as "open proxies" or "open relays". Spammers may attempt to send their own mail from your systems Making sure your SMTP servers identify the originating IP addresses of the email and indicate this in the email headers; this can help you diagnose spam problems