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Issues With Work Mail - Tens of Duplicate Email to Groups - Delivery to Wrong Accounts

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Hello, Few years ago we started using Amazon Work Mail, we have created few users and few groups. We have "sales" and "service" @domain.com, in which users in these groups receive the email sent to these addresses.

  1. Duplicate Emails: Recently, we've had few incidents where the same email is received tens of times to the groups, leading to hundreds of emails sent to internal users. These emails are not all originating from the same user nor domain (the different incidents). I counted the same email being received 21 times in one minute for one instant.

From Work Mail Metrics Graphs, the abnormal behavior occurs at the following timings:

2025-June-29 07:00 UTC
2025-June-30 13:00 UTC
2025-June-30 14:00 UTC
2025-July-01 11:00 UTC
2025-July-01 12:00 UTC
2025-July-03 08:00 UTC
2025-July-04 17:00 UTC
2025-July-05 08:00 UTC
2025-July-05 13:00 UTC
2025-July-06 14:00 UTC
2025-July-11 03:00 UTC
2025-July-13 05:00 UTC
2025-July-14 03:00 UTC

We are not using AWS SES, we have no forwarding rules, and this doesn't happen everyday, it just randomly started occurring recently. These timings above could indicate something strange happening with the service.

  1. Delivery to Wrong Accounts We also encountered an issue where one internal user tried to send an email to another internal user but was received by other internal emails, but not the intended user.

Some solutions through AWS AI suggested checking DNS records and ensuring that no multiple MX records exist...etc. Currently all DNS records in place for email are the recommended ones for "Domain ownership details", "WorkMail configuration details", "Improved security details", and "Improved email delivery" under "Domains" under "Organization" under "Work Mail".

One extra question, is there anywhere where one could report these issues and inquire under Free Tier support? It's not for configuration help, it's to report issues with the service

Regards, 0x00FE

asked a year ago44 views

1 Answer
0

Based on the issues you're describing, there are several potential causes and troubleshooting steps to consider for your Amazon WorkMail problems.

For the duplicate emails issue: This appears to be an unusual pattern with multiple occurrences at specific times. Since you're not using Amazon SES directly and have no forwarding rules, this could be related to mail routing issues within WorkMail itself. The sporadic nature and specific timing patterns suggest it might be a service-side issue rather than a configuration problem on your end.

For emails being delivered to wrong accounts: This is concerning and indicates a potential mail routing issue within your WorkMail organization.

Here are some troubleshooting steps you can take:

  1. Enable message tracking in Amazon WorkMail and check the logs for delivery problems. This will provide visibility into what's happening with your emails during these incidents.

  2. Double-check your MX record for the domain. Ensure WorkMail is the only entry and has the lowest priority. Multiple MX records can cause messages to be routed incorrectly.

  3. Verify your DMARC settings in the Amazon WorkMail console. Incorrect DMARC settings can sometimes affect email delivery.

  4. Check if there are any Amazon SES inbound rules that might be affecting your mail flow, even if you're not directly using SES (WorkMail uses SES under the hood).

  5. For the wrong recipient issue, check if there are any mail flow rules or auto-forwarding settings that might be redirecting messages.

Regarding reporting these issues under Free Tier support: Unfortunately, the Free Tier support is quite limited and typically doesn't cover service issues like these. For service-impacting issues, you would normally need Business or Enterprise Support. However, you can try posting in the AWS re:Post community (formerly AWS Forums) where AWS staff sometimes monitor and respond to potential service issues. You could also try reaching out through social media channels where AWS support teams sometimes engage with customers.

Given the pattern of occurrences and the nature of the issues, especially emails being delivered to incorrect recipients, this does sound like it could be a service issue rather than just a configuration problem.
Sources
Mail routing - Amazon WorkMail
One Organization in Workmail not able to send or receive | AWS re:Post
Monitoring Amazon WorkMail email event logs - Amazon WorkMail

answered a year ago

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