Why Forwarding to AOL Can Cause Spam Issues on Your Server

Forwarding email accounts to @aol.com addresses can cause your server to be falsely flagged as a spam source. This happens because when your server forwards a message, the email headers make it appear as if your server originated the spam—even if the message was sent by an external spammer.

As a result, AOL users who mark forwarded spam as “junk” or “spam” may unintentionally cause your server IP address to be listed on spam blacklists or temporarily blocked by AOL.

Why This Happens

• Your server becomes the “last hop” in the email route.
• AOL’s spam filters assume the last server that touched the message is the sender.
• When an AOL user clicks “Report Spam,” AOL records your server’s IP instead of the original sender’s.
• Repeated reports can damage your server’s email reputation.

Recommended Action

You should avoid forwarding mail directly to AOL (and similar providers such as Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail). If your server ends up listed or blocked, you may need to:

• Remove or disable forwarders that send email to AOL.
• Encourage users to check email via IMAP/POP instead of forwarding.
• Use server-side filters to reduce forwarded spam.

How to Find Which Accounts Forward to AOL

You can identify all email addresses on your server that forward to @aol.com by running the following command in SSH as root:

egrep aol.com /etc/valiases/*

This will output a list of cPanel accounts and forwarders that send email to AOL addresses.

Example Output

/etc/valiases/domain.com: forwarder@example.com: aoluser@aol.com

What to Do After Identifying AOL Forwarders

• Contact the affected users and explain the issue.
• Disable or delete the AOL forwarder via cPanel → Forwarders.
• If the user must use AOL, recommend:
  • IMAP access
  • POP3 access
  • Setting up filters on the server or within their AOL account
• Monitor your mail queue and server reputation after making changes.

Additional Tips

• AOL is strict about spam complaints; even a few can cause blocklisting.
• Forwarding to Gmail/Yahoo can also cause similar issues.
• Direct forwarding is an outdated practice—encourage users to use proper mailbox access instead.
• Ensure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly set up to improve deliverability.