Junk Mail Threshold

How the Spam Score Works

When emails are sent to your organization, GrowthZone checks them for signs of spam or junk. The result of this check is shown as a Spam Score — a number between 0 and 255.

• Lower score = more likely to be legitimate
• Higher score = more likely to be spam or junk

Your system administrator can set a Spam Threshold (also from 0 to 255). GrowthZone compares each incoming email’s spam score against that threshold to decide how it should be treated.

How GrowthZone Uses the Spam Score

GrowthZone uses the spam score in two main ways:

1. Hiding junk in Communication History 

    In Communication History, you can choose to hide junk mail. When this option is turned on, GrowthZone hides emails whose spam score is above your organization’s spam threshold.

2. Forwarding replies to your regular inbox
   GrowthZone gives you special “reply‑to” addresses (like reply-xxxxx@…) so that replies can be tracked within the system and, optionally, forwarded to your normal email (such as Outlook or Gmail).
   • If a reply’s spam score is below your spam threshold: GrowthZone treats it as safe and forwards it to your regular inbox.
   • If a reply’s spam score is above your spam threshold: GrowthZone does not forward it because it is likely spam. It still appears in GrowthZone, but may be hidden when you filter out junk.

Important: Spam scores and thresholds apply only to incoming messages (emails sent into GrowthZone), especially those coming into the archive and reply‑to addresses.

Where the Spam Score Comes From

The spam score is calculated using a combination of:

1. Industry‑standard spam checks
   GrowthZone uses a trusted email security service to analyze incoming messages. This service examines many technical and content‑based factors (for example, sender reputation, email authentication such as SPF/DKIM, formatting, and typical spam patterns) and returns a score. GrowthZone then converts that into our 0–255 range for consistency.
2. Reply‑specific checks
   Inside GrowthZone, we look at how a reply relates to the original message, and automatically give very old replies a very high score because they’re likely to be an abuse of an old reply address.

Reply-to Example

When an email is sent out from GrowthZone, anyone who replies to that email is automatically tracked in the communication history. These addresses typically look like “reply-6eee4op0@yourgzdomain.growthzoneapp.com” (items in italics will depend on the address and how your GrowthZone domain was configured). There is a small chance that you may receive junk mail back to those “reply” addresses. Meaning, someone tried to ‘spam’ the randomly generated reply address. This is one example of potential junk mail.

Step-by-Step Instructions

How to set your Junk Mail Threshold:

1. To prevent junk mail from being forwarded or sent out, each incoming email is given a Junk/Spam score. Go to Marketing & Communication, Communication section, click Settings and select Email Settings.
2. Locate the Junk Mail Threshold setting. If an email’s score exceeds the maximum threshold, it is not forwarded. By default, the max threshold is set to 252. You can change this threshold to better control your junk mail if needed. We recommend a value no greater than 252. Be aware of practices that might affect your spam score — please view Bulk or Mass Emails: Best Practices for more information.
   

3. The spam score filter can block spam emails from being sent and show as 0 recipients (the same Email Settings page under Marketing & Communication, Communication section). The system is still set up to show attempts for transparency. 

    You can use the filter ‘Hide Junk Mail’ to reduce visual clutter on the communication tab (recommended!). The filter is available in the Communication Advanced Filter when you click the Customize Filter icon.

   

   
   The Table Settings icon in the footer of the Browse tab.

Display Your Junk Mail Score

The Junk Mail “score” for emails can be displayed on the Communications tab if desired.

1. Navigate to your Communications module Browse tab.

2. At the bottom left of the window, click the gear icon in the footer bar.

   

3. In the Table Settings window, enable the Spam Score option and choose your display preference (Truncate, Wrap, or Full). NOTE: You can also change the order of the table columns by clicking and dragging the “handle” to the left of the column name!

   

4. Click Done, and the Spam Score column will now be visible. If an email has a spam score, it will be displayed in the column (outgoing/automated emails will not have a spam score).