You may receive an email warning that a number of emails were sent from your account yesterday. This usually means your account passed a daily limit on outgoing email. It does not, on its own, mean your emails are spam. The steps below explain what the warning means and what to check.
What the warning means
Hostking servers set a daily limit on how many emails an account can send in one day. The exact number depends on the server settings. When an account passes this limit, the server sends a warning. The warning shows how many emails were sent and the account name.
The warning is about volume. A high number of emails can come from a legitimate source, such as a newsletter, or from unwanted use of your account. You need to check which one applies.
Check whether the emails were expected
- Sign in to the client area at https://my.hostking.host.
- Open your email account and check the sent folder.
- Look for messages you did not write.
- Check whether a newsletter, invoice run or other bulk send went out yesterday.
If you recognise all the messages and the volume was expected, no action is needed. If you plan regular bulk sending, contact support so the limit can be reviewed.
If you did not send these emails
Someone may have guessed or stolen a mailbox password. A website script, such as a contact form, can also be used to send spam. Work through these steps:
- Change the password for the affected email account.
- Change the password for any linked web application, such as a WordPress admin login.
- Check your contact forms and website scripts for signs of misuse.
- Check your sent folder again after the changes.
- If the account is still sending messages you did not write, contact support via live chat or a support ticket and ask for help.
Pause outgoing email on cPanel
If you need to stop an email account from sending while you investigate, you can hold or suspend its outgoing mail:
- Go to Email → Email Accounts → Manage.
- Under Restrictions, set Sending Outgoing Email to Hold or Suspend.
- Click Update Email Settings.
Set the option back to Allow and save when you are ready to send email again.
Pause outgoing email on DirectAdmin
DirectAdmin also sets a daily outgoing limit. If you need help pausing or changing outgoing email on DirectAdmin, contact support.
Check that your email is genuine
Fake emails claiming that your cPanel account is suspended, or that a sender action is required, are a known scam. They copy cPanel or webmail branding and link to fake login pages.
- Do not click links in unexpected warning emails.
- Sign in to the client area directly at https://my.hostking.host.
- Mark suspicious messages as junk or phishing.
- Contact support via live chat if you are not sure whether a message is genuine.
Contact support
Our support team can check your account's sending activity and limit settings. Use live chat on the website, or open a support ticket from the client area.
Email bounces and spam filters
A different warning, which says a message was classified as spam, comes from the recipient's spam filter. The filter scores the message. It is not a Hostking daily limit warning.
If the recipient gets a spam classification for your messages, check the following:
- Use a clear subject and plain text content with few links.
- Make sure the sending domain has correct SPF and DKIM DNS records. Your domain's DNS settings are managed in the client area.
- Ask your IT team or email provider to check the reverse DNS (PTR) record for the sending server, if you send mail from your own mail server.
Contact support via live chat if you need help with any of these checks.
