Customer Service

Why retailers must secure transactional emails to combat scam threats

As online shopping continues to grow in scope and popularity, cyber criminals are finding new ways to exploit trust. For retailers, this is more than a security issue, it’s a trust issue.

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March 6, 2026 by Oliver Paetz — Head of Product Management, Transactional Email, Retarus

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As online shopping continues to grow in scope and popularity, cyber criminals are finding new ways to exploit trust. A recent survey reveals 85% of U.S. adults consider online scams and attacks a concern on shopping sites and apps. Nearly one in four has been impacted by a scam email, text message or call. These numbers underscore a critical truth: the inbox has become a frontline for fraud.

For retailers, this is more than a security issue, it's a trust issue. Every order confirmation, shipping update and promotional alert represents a promise from the brand to the consumer. When that promise is hijacked by scammers, the fallout can be severe: financial losses for customers, reputational damage for businesses and erosion of confidence in digital commerce.

Why transactional email security matters

It is estimated that a person receives approximately 121 emails per day. As recipients wade through their inboxes quickly, transactional emails that confirm purchases, provide shipping details, or share account updates are prime targets for spoofing.

Fraudsters, who make it their business to understand human behavior, know that these messages carry authority and urgency, making them ideal vehicles for phishing attacks. A fake shipping notification or order confirmation can easily trick a consumer into clicking a malicious link or sharing sensitive information.

The consequences extend beyond individual victims. When consumers lose trust in email communications, they disengage. They ignore legitimate updates, hesitate to shop online, and question the reliability of brands. In a competitive retail landscape, trust is currency and losing it can cost far more than any single fraudulent transaction.

The tools that make it possible

Fortunately, the technology to secure email communications is well-established.

Retailers can deploy a combination of protocols and leverage a transactional email partner to create a chain of trust between sender and recipient. Common protocols include:

Sender Policy Framework enables retailers to define authorized IP addresses permitted to send emails on behalf of their domain. This protocol verifies that emails originate from authorized servers, blocking spoofed messages.
DomainKeys Identified Mail attaches a digital signature to outgoing emails, ensuring they cannot be forged or altered in transit and can be validated by the receiving mail server. DKIM also helps with deliverability and ensuring messages do not end up in shoppers' spam folders.
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance builds on SPF and DKIM to verify both protocols have been met, flag the email if they have not and allow for action that provides visibility into authentication failures.
Thread Filtering, or adding domains to a sender allowlist, allows email recipients to designate "safe senders" and prevent important emails from wrongly being sent to spam. This action can be encouraged with an "add us to your address book" call to action in relevant emails.
Message Signing takes SPF, DKIM, and DMARC a step further with certificate-based, easily visible S/MIME signing to add proof of sender identity on the address level.

Together, these measures make it significantly harder for attackers to impersonate a brand. They also give consumers confidence that what lands in their inbox truly comes from a trusted source.

Practical steps for retailers

The process of implementing these protocols to ensure secure transactional emails and protect customers starts with an audit of email infrastructure. This includes identifying all domains and subdomains used for sending transactional emails. Once identified, ensure they are each properly configured for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

From there, it is critical to enforce the policies put into place, moving beyond monitoring to enforcement. This can include configuring DMARC to reject or quarantine unauthenticated messages so that suspicious sends do not find their way to shoppers' inboxes and cause potential harm and erosion of trust.

None of these measures happen in a silo. Marketing and IT must collaborate to ensure both team's goals are being met. Finding the right partner for transactional email can help ensure compliance, increase deliverability, enable real-time monitoring and more that support both enhanced campaigns and improved security. In many cases, using dedicated IPs for different kinds of emails helps avoid risks of conflicts between different functions' communications.

Looking ahead: Building consumer confidence

In 2026, email authentication will become a baseline expectation. Consumers are increasingly savvy and brands that fail to secure their communications risk falling behind. Verified emails aren't just a security measure, they're a competitive advantage. They signal professionalism, reliability, and respect for customers' safety.

Retailers that act now will position themselves as trustworthy partners in an era of digital uncertainty. Those that delay may find themselves paying the price in lost revenue and damaged reputation.

About Oliver Paetz

Oliver Paetz is the head of product management, transactional email at Retarus, where he has been driving innovation and customer success since 2017. His expertise spans transactional communication, process optimization, and global technology operations. Oliver is passionate about building scalable solutions that enable secure and efficient information flows for enterprises worldwide.

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