Your Host Suspended Your Account for Spam — What Should You Do?
Why do hosting providers block accounts?
Hosting providers monitor server activity and automatically block accounts that:
- Send mass email messages (spam, phishing)
- Generate excessive CPU/RAM load through malicious scripts
- Host malware detected by antivirus systems
- Attack other servers (DDoS attacks, hacking attempts)
Your website ends up on RBL (Real-time Blackhole Lists) blocklists — which means emails sent from your domain land in recipients’ spam folders. Even after the website has been cleaned of malware, removal from a blocklist can take several days.
Step 1 — Do not ignore the message from your hosting provider
An email from your hosting provider usually contains information about what was detected: a specific file, the IP address of the attacked server, or sample headers from spam messages. These are valuable clues for finding the source of the problem.
Step 2 — Find the script sending spam
The hosting provider often identifies a specific PHP file in its logs that is sending emails. If not, look for scripts that use PHP’s Mail function:
grep -r "mail(" public_html --include="*.php" -l
The mail() function is used only in specific places in original WordPress code. Any occurrence in unusual locations (a cache or uploads directory) is suspicious.
Step 3 — Remove infected files, change passwords, and update the CMS
After finding and removing the malicious code, change all passwords (FTP, database, admin panel) and update WordPress along with its plugins. Then write to your hosting provider’s support team to let them know the issue has been resolved — ask them to unblock your account and specify exactly what you removed.
Step 4 — Remove your domain from email blocklists
Even after the spam is removed, your domain may remain on blocklists for up to a week. Check its status using MXToolbox Blacklist Check and submit removal requests to each blocklist operator where your domain appears.
Is your account suspended and you do not know where to start? Contact us — we give situations like this priority.