I'm trying to test out forwarding, filters, and spam. I want to see how a spam message will be affected by my current configuration.
I want to send myself a message that will show up as spam in my Gmail address.
How can I do this?
Notice how this is not asking how to send a spam message that won't be caught by the gmail filters… it's asking the exact opposite.
Ideally, the solution shouldn't cause my email address to go on some global black list on gmail's servers. If your method does cause this sort of thing, please mention it so that people trying it out will take care to use a test account they don't actually use.
Please don't offer a solution which doesn't answer the question above and instead focuses on a solution for this specific example. The reason being that my criteria could change tomorrow and I might have some other reason to test spam messages.
Things I have tried which didn't work:
- Sending an email with no subject and no body
- Using "viagra" in the subject line
- Using random symbols in the subject line
Things I don't want to try:
- Reporting a message as spam on the receiving account. I'm afraid Google might think it's actual spam and because I'm using a gmail address to send the message, I might be in violation of the agreement, or they may report my information (e.g. IP address I used to sign up for gmail) to some other authority.
Best Answer
Use the Generic Test for Unsolicited Bulk Email (GTUBE). It's a standardized spam signature used precisely for testing spam filters.
Put this in the body of the test email:
and it will force it to be recognized by Gmail as spam.