Are spam-trap results eligible for refund?

Spam-trap results are emphatically not eligible for refund on Valid Email Checker. The opposite is true: detecting a spam trap is arguably the highest-value verdict VEC can return, and the credit is well-spent every time the engine flags one. A spam trap in a sending list is the kind of small problem that quietly destroys deliverability — flagging it before you hit send is exactly why you ran the verification.

What a spam trap is and why detection matters

A spam trap is an email address operated by an inbox provider, blocklist (Spamhaus, SORBS, Spamcop), or anti-abuse service for the express purpose of catching senders with bad list hygiene. Pristine traps were never real addresses; recycled traps used to belong to real users but were repurposed years after going dormant. Hitting a trap signals that your acquisition channel scraped or bought addresses, and the consequences range from a deliverability ding to a full block by major mailbox providers. See what is a spam trap for the long version.

Why the detection costs a credit

Spam trap detection on Valid Email Checker uses a combination of curated trap lists, behavioural signals from our verification network, and provider-side checks. Each lookup runs the same SMTP probes and reputation calls as any other verification, plus the additional trap-list matching. The credit covers all of that infrastructure, and the verdict you get back is worth far more than the fraction-of-a-cent the credit cost.

The economics from your side

• One credit spent on a verification that flags a spam trap = one address removed from your send.
• That single removal could be the difference between a clean campaign and a Spamhaus listing.
• A Spamhaus listing typically takes weeks to clear and costs orders of magnitude more in lost revenue than the credit you spent finding the trap.

When spam-trap-related refunds might apply

Only in the same narrow service-failure category that applies to other verdicts: if the detector clearly misfires on an address you can demonstrate is not a trap (e.g. the address belongs to your own internal team or a known customer). File that through the refund inquiry form with evidence. Outside of detector errors, the verdict and the credit stand.