Gandi's anti-spam policy

I think I'm receiving spam (unsolicited commercial email) from a domain name managed by Gandi.

If you're a spamming victim, here is our official policy on the subject and some potential solutions to help you avoid the problem.

1. Identify the origin of the spam

Do you think Gandi has something to do with spam?

• The sender or recipient of the spam has an address at ...@gandi.net: spammers regularly use false headers. Gandi does not spam, does not compile customer lists for spamming purposes, and does not sell such lists to third parties. These addresses in the >From or To fields are simply faked, and do not mean that the spam originated from or was forwarded by Gandi.
• If you follow a spam link by clicking on it, you will arrive at a Gandi error page: this page means that the domain was registered via our services, and is using our default servers.
• If you see names like redir-mail-telehouse1.gandi.net in the "Received" fields of the spam, you might think that Gandi has open relays: this is not the case. We take particular care to continuously monitor this. If the spam was relayed by our servers, it's because it was sent via a domain for which we provide a free forwarding service. Our servers therefore relayed the mail to the forwarding address specified by a Gandi customer. The fact that the spam transited through our relays actually shows that our forwarding service is working properly.
• Search the Whois (whois.gandi.net/en) for the domain name displayed in the email to see if it is registered with Gandi: as a registrar accredited by the authorities of each TLD (e.g. ICANN), we register domain names on behalf of our customers. The use of the domain name then rests solely with the owner of the domain, and his or her "contacts" (visible in the whois). In some cases, however, we can directly take action on the domain name.

2. What to do about spam?

• Contact the ISP or host used by the spammer and file a complaint in order to have their email account or website deactivated. In such cases we can't take direct action, but if you have any difficulty in identifying the spammer's ISP or host, don't hesitate to contact us at support-en@support.gandi.net, and we'll do our best to help you.
• Protect your email address: If you own a domain name yourself, you must be registered in the Whois database, which publishes your email address. Remember to protect this address. If you have a domain name with Gandi, simply check the "anti-spam" box in your contact details to take advantage of this protection (free service).
• File a complaint with the legal authorities.

3. What else can Gandi do?

Gandi is only a technical intermediary for domain name registration. However, this does not mean that Gandi encourages or accepts spam. In fact, the exact opposite is true. However, as a registrar, we are limited in what we can do. We can only modify, suspend or even delete a domain:

• If the spam is sent via our forwarding services:

such a practice, which interferes with the proper technical and/or general functioning of the domain, in particular by damaging our computer system and/or by generating complaints from third parties, is likely to justify the suspension or termination of the forwarding services, or even the suspension or deletion of the domain name itself (articles 14 and 19 of Gandi's General Terms and Conditions of Domain Name Registration).

• If the domain's personal information is incorrect in the Whois:

Like any accredited registrar, we need to make sure that the Whois information is accurate. If you suspect that the whois information for the domain linked to the spam you received is incorrect, you can report it to us here: https://www.gandi.net/abuse . If the information is not updated within 15 days, the domain will be suspended. Furthermore, if the contact information provided is knowingly false, and after we have confirmed it, the domain may be suspended without notice (articles 16 and 19 of Gandi's General Terms and Conditions of Domain Name Registration).

• Gandi also protects your email address:

If you think that your spammed email address has been obtained from Gandi's whois, simply activate the "anti-spam system" option in your account. It's free, it can be easily switched off, and it's perfectly safe: you'll still receive spam, but it will be identified as such, and therefore easy to automatically trash if you find our filter to be reliable.