Constant Contact is NOT making it harder to remove fake emails — they’re actually trying to stop them from coming back. The platform’s new detection system places suspicious sign-ups in “Temporary Hold” status, and its official guidance advises leaving them there. This feels backwards (why keep fake contacts?), but the logic is protective, not punitive.
Why Constant Contact wants you to keep fake emails in Temporary Hold
The Temporary Hold system prevents you from sending to those addresses and keeps them off your bill.
While Constant Contact doesn’t explicitly document Temporary Hold as blocking future submissions, keeping fake contacts in this status prevents accidental sends and protects your sender reputation.
Delete them, and bots can resubmit the same addresses through your form.
Here’s what happens with held contacts:
| Status | Billable | Can receive emails | Prevents accidental sends |
| Temporary Hold | No | No | Yes |
| Deleted | No | No | No |
Fake emails in Temporary Hold cost you nothing and protect your list from sending to bad addresses.
What you should actually do with fake contacts
Don’t delete contacts in Temporary Hold unless you’re certain they’re legitimate addresses wrongly flagged. The system isn’t perfect (some real contacts get caught), but most held emails are genuine threats.
For contacts that bypass Temporary Hold and land in “Awaiting Confirmation”:
- Export fake contacts and re-import them as unsubscribed (for bulk removal)
- Enable Confirmed Opt-In (double opt-in) if you haven’t already
- Unsubscribe manually one by one (for small numbers)
Contacts stuck in Awaiting Confirmation won’t become billable or sendable, but a growing queue signals an active bot attack.
When to remove your sign-up form entirely
Heavy bot traffic can overwhelm filters. If fake sign-ups continue to flood in, temporarily remove the form from your site. Wait a few days, then re-add it (this clears the bot’s programmed target and often stops the attack).
Preventing fake sign-ups before they start
Constant Contact automatically enables reCAPTCHA on native forms (embedded or standalone). Third-party forms (such as WordPress plugins) require manual protection — either add reCAPTCHA yourself or switch to a Constant Contact-hosted form.
If your emails are going to spam after cleaning your list, your sender reputation might already be damaged. Run a free email deliverability test to check your inbox placement rate, then use email warm up to rebuild trust with mailbox providers.
Still dealing with fake contacts?
If Constant Contact’s protection isn’t stopping the flood, schedule a deliverability consultation with our team. We handle bot mitigation, list hygiene, and authentication setup at no charge (no credit card, no trial limits).
Frequently asked questions
Here are some commonly asked questions on this topic:
No. Contacts in Temporary Hold stay inactive and never count toward your contact tier or receive emails.
Yes. Export them, re-import as unsubscribed, then delete if needed. Unsubscribed contacts don’t count toward billing.
User-applied Temporary Hold stays indefinite until you change it. Suspended status (from non-existent bounces) triggers a 15-day hold.
Only if you suspect legitimate emails were wrongly flagged. You can self-manage contact statuses for most cases.
They’re not. Fake contacts land in “Awaiting Confirmation” and never activate unless someone clicks the confirmation link. The issue is visual clutter, not billing.
