UCEPROTECTL3 Blacklist: All You Need to Know + How to Remove Yourself

It is confusing and frustrating to find out your domain/IP is getting UCEPROTECTL3 blacklist, especially if you have done nothing wrong. Fortunately, you can take action to remove your IP address from the UCEPROTECTL3 blacklist and regain email deliverability. So, fret not; we've got you covered. In this article, we've discussed why your IP/domain has been blacklisted and its possible solution. 

If you have been sending unsolicited cold emails from an email account with a poor email reputation, you may end up on the UCEPROTECTL3 blacklist. 

What is UCEPROTECTL3 Blacklist? 

A UCEPROTECTL3 Blacklist detects IP addresses from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with a poor email reputation. It also keeps track of subnets. 

Subnet Blacklists are useful in situations where Internet Service Providers (ISPs) accommodate entire companies engaged in sending bulk spam emails (unsolicited emails). The UCEPROTECTL3 Blacklist also has the responsibility of cataloging individual IP addresses associated with multiple domains or email servers. When an organization sends unsolicited bulk emails (UBE), there is a risk that the entire IP range might end up on the blacklist.

UCEPROTECT has three levels of blacklists: 

• UCEPROTECTL1: lists single IP addresses
• UCEPROTECTL2: lists multiple IP addresses
• UCEPROTECTL3: lists entire ranges of IP addresses

The major purpose of the UCEPROTECTL3 Blacklist is to force Internet Service Providers or administrators to educate their users about email abuse & malpractices and take preventative actions to prevent it from happening.

UCEPROTECTL3 works on collected data from various sources, such as spam traps, spam filter detection, user submissions, and honeypots, to maintain a comprehensive IP blocklist. 

How to Know if You are on the UCEPROTECTL3 Blacklist?

Usually, businesses that send unsolicited bulk emails with poor sender reputation may end up on the UCEPROTECTL2/ L3 Blacklist.

You might also get blacklisted if you are using the same Internet Service Provider as an individual/business that sends out unsolicited bulk emails. The easiest method to determine whether you're on a blacklist is to connect an inbox from the relevant domain to MXToolbox and use the MX Lookup feature. It runs your email address through 24 most common IPv4 blacklists to check whether your inbox and connected domains have been listed on any blacklist.

How to Remove Yourself from UCEPROTECTL3 Blacklist? 

There are two ways to remove yourself from the UCEPROTECTL3 blocklist – you can either get automatically removed from the list or pay the organization to get your IP removed. 

If you accidentally get blacklisted on UCEPROTECTL3, and there's no spam report for seven days straight, your IP will automatically get removed from the blacklist without any completion fee. 

However, there's another option to get quickly removed from the list. You can't directly request removal; instead, you can speed up the process of removal by offering monetary 'Donations' to the organization. 

However, Smartlead doesn't advocate for paying blocklist removal fees from any blacklist. And if you submit the removal request without addressing the main issue, your IP may get blacklisted again, extending the listing period in the blacklist. 

According to the UCEPROTECT website, the immediate removal won't be applicable if: 

If you still want to donate to get your IP removed, you will find more information here. 

Reduce the Risk of Getting Blacklisted on the UCEPROTECTL3 

The key is to engage in standard email practices aligning with the internet laws. Make sure you: 

• Verify all the inboxes (sender email addresses) before performing outreach 
• Refrain from sending unnecessary emails 
• Do not use spam-triggering words such as "Additional income," "Earn money," "Bonus," etc., in your email copies. 
• Stop sending bulk emails; send no more than 30-50 emails a day. Smartlead offers unlimited email warmups with auto-rotating email addresses. This feature ensures top-notch email deliverability before you send out cold emails. Also, Smartlead assigns high-deliverability IP servers for each campaign, so you don't need to worry about getting blacklisted. 

4 ‘UCEPROTECT Recommended’ Tips to Stay Off Blacklists 

1. If your system, with technologies or procedures, is capable of being a part of a DDOS against others, you should refrain from using it. Also, encourage your customers not to do it with their servers. Make sure you are not using SAV or Sender verify (AKA, sender callouts) or any other kind of Backscatter.
2. Spammers typically send millions of unnecessary emails. It is a number game for them. Do not fall for it – build your email list from scratch and send only a few hundred to the recipients who might really be interested in your offer. 
3. Block all outgoing connections from client dynamic/homeusers/dialups to destination-port 25 TCP UNIVERSE if that destination is not your mail-relay/smart-hosts and make sure they connect to your SMTP submission or mail relays/smart-hosts instead.
4. Secure your servers while onboarding new customers stop open relays and open proxies at customers with static IP addresses and your dedicated line customers. Remember to secure your servers if you are running a data center so your customers don't get hacked. 

Terms You Should Know

Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE): Unsolicited bulk email is a formal name for spam or junk emails sent to people who have not opted-in to receive emails from that sender. These emails are usually commercial and often called unsolicited commercial emails. 

IP: Internet Protocol or IP is a numerical identification label for devices that use the IP for communication. An IP address serves two primary purposes: location addressing and network interface identification.

Your TOP PRIORITY is to Ensure Your Emails Don't Land in Spam: Send with Smartlead

Although blacklists are alarming, most external blocklists don't have any significant effect on Microsoft or Google inboxes. 

In fact, the only thing that matters is whether your email lands on your recipients' primary inbox or not. So, make sure your DELIVERABILITY IS OPTIMUM. 

Smartlead is dedicated to warming up your inboxes before you launch outreach campaigns. It offers unlimited email warmups, auto-rotating email addresses, and dynamic IP addresses to maintain top-notch email deliverability and sender reputation. 

Smartlead warms up your email account by automatically sending warm up emails to other warm up users from your mailbox. This mimics real-world user behavior, such as sending, opening, saving from spam, and responding to warm up emails. This procedure helps in the development of a positive reputation for your email account, ensuring that your emails are landing in the recipient's inbox rather than the spam folder. To avoid being identified as spam, the warmup emails include a unique identity tag.

Besides email warmups, Smartlead also offers the following features to nail outreach: 

• Unlimited sender accounts
• Master inbox
• A/B testing
• Subsequences
• Auto-rotating email addresses
• Dynamic IP servers
• Whitelabel
• HubSpot integration 
• APIs and webhooks
• Omnichannel outreach 

Final Thoughts

Just like UCEPROTECTL2, UCEPROTECTL3 happens mostly because of your hosting provider. We, however, recommend you check your deliverability score and sender reputation to predict where your emails land. 

Landing in spam folders not only loses your customers and money, but your sender reputation is also negatively impacted. This can directly affect your brand image. 

If you are performing your outreach manually, we'd recommend you subscribe to a sales engagement and cold emailing tool like Smartlead to maintain high deliverability, consistent sender reputation, and higher ROI.