If you’ve ever sent a completely normal email while abroad, only to have it land in spam or trigger weird login verifications, you’re not alone. I used to think it was bad luck — now I know it’s just how email works when you’re constantly on the move.
Here’s What Happens
When you travel, especially internationally, your location and IP address change. Fast.
To spam filters and email providers, this can look suspicious — especially if:
- You’re using a new network or device
- Your message contains links
- You’re sending from a personal domain (like name@yourdomain.com)
- You use a VPN and your IP jumps from Germany to Thailand in 10 seconds
Basically, your behavior starts to resemble that of a spammer — even if you’re just sending a photo to your mom.
My Emails Started Going to Junk Folders
It got really annoying. Emails I sent to coworkers ended up in their spam.
Contact forms I submitted never got replies.
One time I couldn’t even reset a password because the email didn’t arrive.
Turns out, email providers (like Gmail or Outlook) weigh things like:
- IP reputation (some hotel Wi-Fi networks are used for spam)
- SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup (which I didn’t have set up for my personal domain)
- Message frequency and link patterns
So when you email from a café in a new country every three days, it’s not shocking your emails get flagged.
How I Fixed It
Here’s what helped reduce the flags and bounced messages:
- Use a consistent email provider (I switched to ProtonMail and stuck with it)
- Avoid sending from hotel Wi-Fi without a VPN or private network
- Set up SPF and DKIM records if using your own domain (there are step-by-step guides online)
- Don’t bulk-send messages from new networks
- Double-check your message content — avoid too many links, images, or anything that looks “marketing-like”
Small Changes, Big Difference
After setting up proper email authentication and being more mindful of when and where I hit “Send,” I stopped running into these issues.
Your email is your lifeline when you travel. Making sure it actually reaches people isn’t something you want to troubleshoot mid-crisis.