Trusted Sender Score

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about domain verification, email security, and using the Trusted Sender Score service.

Domain verification is the foundation of email security, and understanding how it works can help you protect your organization from spoofing and phishing attacks. When you verify a domain, you confirm that the entity claiming to own it truly does, which allows email systems to distinguish legitimate senders from impersonators. This process relies on standard security protocols that check the domain's configuration and authentication records. By taking the time to verify your domain and ensuring its security settings are properly configured, you significantly reduce the risk that someone could forge your identity in an email and deceive your customers, partners, or employees into taking harmful actions.

Spoofing attacks remain one of the most common and dangerous threats in the cyber landscape because they exploit trust rather than technical vulnerabilities. A spoofed email appears to come from a legitimate source, often a known brand or colleague, which makes recipients more likely to click malicious links or provide sensitive information. The Trusted Sender Score approach focuses on helping users and organizations quickly assess whether an email sender or domain can be trusted before engaging with its content. This proactive verification step can stop phishing attempts before they cause financial loss, data breaches, or reputational damage, making it an essential part of any comprehensive email security strategy.

Using an email security verification service is straightforward and requires no specialized technical expertise. You can check a domain or sender to receive an assessment of its trustworthiness based on publicly available security and authentication data. This information helps you make informed decisions about how to handle incoming messages, whether to block, quarantine, or allow them. For organizations, regular domain checks can also reveal configuration issues that might leave them vulnerable to impersonation. Even individuals can benefit from understanding the security posture of the domains they interact with daily, empowering them to spot suspicious messages more easily and avoid falling victim to increasingly sophisticated social engineering tactics.

Keeping your domain security settings current is an ongoing responsibility that evolves as new threats emerge and standards improve. Email authentication methods continue to develop, and staying informed about best practices helps you maintain a strong security posture over time. Regularly reviewing your domain's configuration, monitoring for unauthorized changes, and understanding how your security choices affect deliverability are all part of effective cyber hygiene. The Trusted Sender Score service exists to make this process simpler and more accessible, giving both technical and non-technical users a clear picture of email and domain security. By making verification a routine part of how you evaluate digital communications, you build resilience against phishing and spoofing across your entire network.

What is Trusted Sender Score?

Trusted Sender Score is a free cyber email and domain security verification service by Zulu Labs Inc. It helps protect against email spoofing, phishing scams, and other email-based threats by evaluating the trustworthiness of sending domains.

How do I check a domain's trusted sender score?

Enter a host domain into the lookup tool on the homepage. The service evaluates the domain and returns a trust score based on email authentication configurations, DMARC policies, and other security signals.

Why isn't my newly registered domain showing up?

Newly registered domains may need up to 24 hours to propagate across DNS and verification systems before they appear in Trusted Sender Score results. If your domain still doesn't appear after 24 hours, verify that your DNS records are correctly configured.

What does the trust score mean?

The trust score reflects how well a domain has implemented email authentication standards such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. A higher score indicates stronger anti-spoofing protections and better email security posture.

Is Trusted Sender Score really free?

Yes. Trusted Sender Score is a free service. The companion Trusted Sender Network app also bundles email and cyber security tools at no cost.

How do I become a domain admin?

Visit the Domain Admin page for guidance on becoming a domain administrator within the Trusted Sender Score platform. This allows you to manage verification settings for domains you control.

What is DMARC and why does it matter?

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is an email authentication protocol that helps domain owners protect their domains from unauthorized use, such as email spoofing and phishing. Implementing DMARC improves your trusted sender score and email deliverability.

Does Trusted Sender Score offer an API?

Yes, a Cyber Security API is available for developers who want to integrate domain trust verification into their own applications or workflows.

What is the Trusted Sender Network?

Trusted Sender Network is a companion app that bundles email and cyber security tools — including a DKIM wizard, cyber tools, and developer tools — into one free application.

How can I learn more about DMARC implementation?

Explore the Ultimate DMARC Project Guide for comprehensive implementation guidance, or review the Anti-Spoof Conformance Fact Sheets for standards and compliance information.

Still Have Questions?

If you didn't find the answer you were looking for, explore our About page to learn more about the service, or visit the How To guide for step-by-step instructions on using Trusted Sender Score.