topic Re: Increased spam getting through filters in Email

Increased spam getting through filters

Notsut — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 12:50:52 GMT

In the last month with no change to the spam filter settings I have had a significant increase in the amount of spam getting to my inbox. I have increased the severity of filtering but it has made no difference. What is going on? It is as if plus net is not bothering with filtering anymore.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

PhilipHeyes — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 10:07:33 GMT

Previously on Homeland we used to have spam marked as [-SPAM-] in the Subject field, easy to see and an Outlook Rule or Thunderbird filter could be used to detect this and move the spam message to a suable folder.

What now appears to be the unannounced replacement for this is [-SPAM-] in the Subject field is replaced by X-Spam: Yes in the message header. With this information I was able to create an Outlook Rule and a Thunderbird filter to perform the same message filtering task.

What is unclear is if this new spam filter will become the long term solution.

What is also unclear is if the Plusnet email spam portal has any effect at all now.

Here is clip of a spam email header showing the X-Spam: Yes , the message is a typical garbage advert.

X-Spam: Yes
X-Original-Recipient: mail.user@<account>.plus.com
X-CMAE-Envelope: MS4xfISISi5KqvmMRUlXMnVNcJu5YOXWXd+aXAdLcMA0/Fkw6Y+bFpiN4ixXVO91EXvIc+NkpKrx73IgBCiDUGeUdlGYywd6KBQrGiv159rRS0aJSEQJI4T8
 qHOh8sGL4g5Izka8VPX11nmAQhTQQUo2J58cUcnsJj5eAzgGriuqcLWukKf5hwkhjjzv9OggW9fDFsdCf93dJn/N00jipmt8upS9b7PxKsqzwRqHau6pphWC
 xtH9xgDSSnFQy3RZH8LOMtCTa2ZilbV34cK8BVD9Jys=
X-pn-pstn-db:" Spam 99
X-PN-Virus-Filtered: by PlusNet MXCore (v5.00)
X-PN-Spam-Filtered: by PlusNet MXCore (v5.00)
Subject: 40%Off Psilycaps for Thanksgiving Only!

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

fj12003cv — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 08:33:08 GMT

Yep - same here. Sudden huge increase. I fwd everything to reports@phishing.gov.uk but today I only got spam. 8 of them. TBH I was a bit disappointed with them, they didn't make much of an effort but it only takes a very small percentage to respond to make a profit. I'm switching to proton mail now though. Been with F9 for over 25 years, same email - only reason I keep it is a measure of loyalty and cos too much hassle to change it but gradually switching it all over.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

rahewitt — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 09:25:27 GMT

Yes, same here. Loads of emails going to my junk folder whereas nothing went there before! They must have just been filtered out or deleted before? Also, it's catching a hell of at lot my incoming email that isn't SPAM into the junk mail folder. Could do with some idea of what's going on and how long it's going to last?

I have to say that his whole email migration has been information light and not managed well at all. We could have done with a progress portal and some idea of how long it's going to take.

On a positive note it makes migrating away from PlusNet much easier once my email is elsewhere. It used to be a great ISP when they provided a full service at a decent price.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

PhilipHeyes — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 10:44:11 GMT

The unannounced changes to the SPAM filtering are just chaotic, a product of the Agile age where releasing changes & customer testing are far more important than open communications or delivery competency.

I worked at a UK ISP & Hosting Services provider, at the time they were in the business of divesting DNS Registration Services to other providers, the only concern was to get the (not profitable) DNS entries shifted. They migrated in batches of 1000s but under each record was an SME customer concerned their business websites remained online.

I'm not sure the individual customers got much of a thought in that process & the Plusnet Greeny mail migration come across as little if any better.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

stuck — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 20:31:27 GMT

@rahewitt wrote:

Loads of emails going to my junk folder whereas nothing went there before!

Lucky you, the spam I'm getting is not marked as spam and lands in my Inbox.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

Notsut — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:30:45 GMT

Being a bit of a luddite not sure i understand all the tech. Details in your note. I have never had to set up any rules in outlook as the plus net filtering seemed to work very well. A couple of times over the many years I have been with plus net there has been short periods of spam, always explained with an apology from plusnet as a fault in their spam filtering. To me it looks like plusnet have disabled all spam filtering. Ie. A reduction in service coinciding with a migration to another supplier. When I get a chance I will call their help no. And see what response I get. Ive messaged already on facebook but just the standard response pointing to help pages. Maybe everyone experiencing this problem should call!! Perhaps plusnet is not keen to provide such a good service anymore.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

jab1 — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:36:29 GMT

@Notsut Because email is being moved, first-line support have little or no guidance they can officially offer - if they do attempt to 'help', take what is said with a large pinch of salt.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

Notsut — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:45:39 GMT

Good point although I wasn't expecting them to provide technical help as the new supplier should be sorting this. However I am paying plus net for broadband including mail and they have reduced the level of service. I will call them more as a customer complaint. I do not believe this is a fault I am convinced it is a reduction in service ie a deliberate removal of spam filtering

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

jab1 — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:48:55 GMT

As has been pointed out elsewhere, but you may not have seen, email has always been an 'add-on' free service - it was never a component of the broadband contract.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

Notsut — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 23:26:36 GMT

That maybe the case now but when I signed up multiple mailboxes were advertised as part of the package. My point still stands that the level of service has reduced.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

Townman — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 01:42:59 GMT

It’s not a case of the service being reduced but spammers becoming more cunning see https://www.redsecuretech.co.uk/blog/post/worm-like-spam-attacks-why-they-spread-so-fast-in-2025/537

Not every thing is a conspiracy.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

jkg — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 14:49:19 GMT

There was a time when Plusnet’s email platform actually learned from user actions. Moving a spam message into the Spam folder trained the system, and future messages from the same sender — or anything similar — were automatically diverted.

That no longer appears to happen.
Blatant junk is now landing straight in the inbox, including:

- 0maha Steaks Sampler • 0mahasteakss@maildely.com
- AAA Client Care • aaa@nancyadjram.com
- SpeciaI Keurig C0STC0 • speciaikeuri72@msdsstore.com
- BIueCross Coverage Changes • bcce5@msdsstore.com
- Costco Special • costcospecia@swarovaski.com

These are not subtle phishing attempts. They are crude, easily detectable spam that any competent filtering system should intercept without user intervention.

What makes this decline even harder to accept is the direction of travel: Plusnet’s current filtering is free, yet the replacement service under Greenby will be a paid product. If customers are expected to start paying for email, then the very least they should receive is a filtering system that works reliably and learns from user input — something Plusnet once delivered at no extra cost.

When the migration to Greenby is complete, this core functionality must not only return but improve. Charging for a service while delivering weaker protection is simply not defensible.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

stuck — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:32:29 GMT

@jkg wrote:
Plusnet’s current filtering is free, yet the replacement service under Greenby will be a paid product.

What exactly do you mean by that? It sounds like you are saying that users will have to pay extra to get spam filtering. If that's is correct then there is less than zero incentive for anyone to ever use Greenby's email offering, even existing broadband customers who will get two years free email.

@plusnettony @Townman @MisterW can any of you clarify?

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

jab1 — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:38:08 GMT

@stuck I don't think that is what @jkg means, but maybe he can clarify?

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

stuck — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:51:26 GMT

@jab1 I really hope you are right, but it certainly can be read the way I presented it.

Meanwhile we wait for clarification from @jkg or someone with better inside knowledge.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

jkg — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 19:13:42 GMT

To clarify:
It is my understanding that email only users will pay a fairly nominal charge, and broadband users will get 2 years free before pay a charge. My point is that paying a charge, one would expect development of the service.

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

Notsut — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 21:10:47 GMT

A week or so ago I spoke to a customer service person in plusnet ( about an unrelated problem with father-in-laws broadband) I mentioned about the amount of spam and he admitted there was a problem at their end. Things are a bit better now but those 'Ukrainian beauties' and the Nigerian lawyer are still trying to speak to me!!

Re: Increased spam getting through filters

rahewitt — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 10:51:57 GMT

This might be tempting fate, but... on Friday all the Spam stopped. Not sure why but very pleased.

Is this anyone else's experience, or just me?

Fingers crossed, eh?