Build spam filtering systems with keyword matching, domain validation, and intelligent detection methods for effective email security.
Simple spam detection with keyword matching and domain validation:
interface Env {
EMAIL: SendEmail;
EMAIL_ANALYTICS: AnalyticsEngine;
}
interface SpamFilter {
checkSpam(
message: any,
): Promise<{ isSpam: boolean; score: number; reasons: string[] }>;
}
class SimpleSpamFilter implements SpamFilter {
private spamKeywords = [
"buy now",
"limited time",
"act fast",
"click here",
"free money",
"guaranteed",
"risk free",
"urgent",
"winner",
"congratulations",
"inheritance",
"lottery",
];
private trustedDomains = ["example.com", "trusted-partner.com", "vendor.net"];
async checkSpam(
message,
): Promise<{ isSpam: boolean; score: number; reasons: string[] }> {
let score = 0;
const reasons = [];
const sender = message.from;
const subject = message.headers.get("subject") || "";
const senderDomain = sender.split("@")[1];
// Check sender domain
if (this.trustedDomains.includes(senderDomain)) {
score -= 2; // Trusted sender
}
// Check subject for spam keywords
const subjectLower = subject.toLowerCase();
for (const keyword of this.spamKeywords) {
if (subjectLower.includes(keyword)) {
score += 1;
reasons.push(`Spam keyword: ${keyword}`);
}
}
// Check for excessive capitalization
const capsRatio = (subject.match(/[A-Z]/g) || []).length / subject.length;
if (capsRatio > 0.7 && subject.length > 10) {
score += 1;
reasons.push("Excessive capitalization");
}
// Check for suspicious patterns
if (subject.includes("!!!") || subject.includes("$$$")) {
score += 1;
reasons.push("Suspicious punctuation");
}
// Check for suspicious sender patterns
if (
sender.includes("noreply") &&
subject.toLowerCase().includes("urgent")
) {
score += 2;
reasons.push("Suspicious noreply + urgent combination");
}
return {
isSpam: score >= 2,
score,
reasons,
};
}
}
const spamFilter = new SimpleSpamFilter();
export default {
async email(message, env, ctx): Promise<void> {
const startTime = Date.now();
// Check for spam
const spamCheck = await spamFilter.checkSpam(message);
// Track spam check metrics
env.EMAIL_ANALYTICS?.writeDataPoint({
blobs: [
"spam_check_completed",
message.from,
message.to,
spamCheck.isSpam ? "spam" : "legitimate",
],
doubles: [
1, // Count
spamCheck.score,
Date.now() - startTime,
],
indexes: [
`spam_detected:${spamCheck.isSpam}`,
`score_range:${getScoreRange(spamCheck.score)}`,
],
});
if (spamCheck.isSpam) {
console.log(
`Rejected spam email from ${message.from}: ${spamCheck.reasons.join(", ")}`,
);
message.setReject(`Message rejected: ${spamCheck.reasons[0]}`);
return;
}
// Add spam score headers and forward
const headers = new Headers();
headers.set("X-Spam-Score", spamCheck.score.toString());
headers.set("X-Spam-Reasons", spamCheck.reasons.join(", "));
headers.set("X-Spam-Check-Time", (Date.now() - startTime).toString());
await message.forward("inbox@example.com", headers);
},
};
function getScoreRange(score: number): string {
if (score < 0) return "trusted";
if (score === 0) return "neutral";
if (score === 1) return "suspicious";
return "spam";
}For more sophisticated spam detection, you can enhance the basic filter using Workers AI to analyze email content with machine learning models. This approach can identify subtle spam patterns that keyword-based filters might miss.
- Email handler — reference for
setReject()andforward()actions used here. - Hard bounce handling — detect bounce notifications that often originate from spam infrastructure.
- Email storage and processing — log filtered emails to KV for later review.