In the digital era, email marketing remains one of the most effective tools to communicate with clients and partners. However, not all email addresses we interact with are valid: typos, fake emails, inactive inboxes, and fraud attempts can cause communications to never reach their destination or expose the company to security risks.

For this reason, verifying an email address is an essential step for anyone who wants to work with reliable data.

But what exactly should be verified in an email, and how can you perform this check effectively?

What to check in an email address?

When verifying an email address, several aspects must be considered that affect the validity, security, and effectiveness of communication:

• Syntax and format: ensure the address is written correctly, without typos, to avoid undelivered emails or being flagged as spam

• Domain and DNS records: check that the domain exists, is active, and correctly configured with SPF, DMARC, MX, and A records

• Mailbox existence: verify that the inbox is active, so you don’t send emails to fake or inactive addresses

• Temporary or disposable emails: detect disposable email addresses, often used for fake registrations or scams

• Reputation of the address: check if the email is blacklisted, flagged as spam, or linked to risky domains

• Suspicious activity: identify possible abuse or exposure in data breaches to ensure the address is safe

• Deliverability: verify if the email can actually receive messages by analyzing server response and SMTP score

Benefits of verifying an email address

Verifying an email address is not just a technical operation, but a fundamental step to ensure secure communication and reliable data.

In particular, email verification allows you to:

• have real contacts, making email marketing campaigns more effective and targeted

• protect against fraud and fake emails, reducing risks to processes and personal information

• cut down on errors and waste by sending messages only to valid addresses

• increase security in mailbox and data management

• improve deliverability and the reputation of sending systems, ensuring emails reach the right recipients

How to check an email address?

There are several email verification tools that allow you to check addresses and detect anomalies before sending any communication. These range from simple online email checkers, which only validate the address format, to more advanced validation tools capable of analyzing domain validity, DNS records, SPF and DMARC configurations, and more.

However, when email verification needs to be integrated into business processes and handle large volumes of addresses, it becomes crucial to rely on more structured solutions such as APIs.

How to check an email address via API: Email Verification Start and Advanced

To ensure email address validity and secure communication, Openapi offers two API services: Email Verification Start and Advanced. Both can verify email addresses in seconds and on a global scale, but differ in their level of detail.

• Start provides essential information such as email status, SPF and DMARC configurations, provider type, detection of temporary/disposable emails, and identification of catch-all domains. It also checks the server’s antispam systems, mailbox availability, and suggests corrections for domain typos.

• Advanced offers a more comprehensive analysis, including a fraud score based on email reputation, detection of spam-risk or honeypot addresses, deliverability rates, recent abuse, data breach exposure, advanced domain configurations, and details on the age and creation of the address. It can also sanitize the address by removing aliases and masking.

Thanks to these API services, companies and professionals can automate mailbox checks, prevent sending to fake or inactive emails, protect personal information, and optimize email marketing campaigns with active and reliable contacts.

Want to try Openapi services? You can start with the Playground: no need to worry about code or tokens, everything is generated automatically. A quick and easy way to explore the APIs before full integration.