Tagged addresses
| Anti-spam technique: Tagged addresses | |
|---|---|
| Date of first use: | early 1990s |
| Effectiveness: | High |
| Popularity: | Medium |
| Difficulty of implementation: | Medium |
| Where implemented: | MTA or MUA |
| Harm: | Low |
Tagged addresses add a second part to an existing address that is not used for mail routing, but can be used for sorting or filtering mail. The exact syntax varies by implementation. Sendmail uses user+tag@dom.ain while most other systems use user-tag@dom.ain. In a few cases the user name is moved into the domain part to deter tagging as tag@user.dom.ain.
Tagged addresses are different from disposable addresses in that each tagged address is assigned to a specific correspondent or role. Typically a user will use a different tag for each mailing list to which he subscribes, and each web site that demands signup information. If a message arrives to a tagged address and the sender is the party to whom the tag was given, the message is presumably legitimate. If a tagged message arrives from someone else, it's probably spam and the tag tells you who leaked it.
