Guess we are leaving the cloud - Outbound Email Ports Blocked, AWS refuses to unblock

Hey everyone,

I am trying to run a hosting company using a Plesk box setup on EC2 but I am having huge issues with mail and AWS. I can not externally access my SMTP or mailbox as it needs access to port 25. I have gone back and forth with the Trust & Safe Team but they refuse to give me any answers as to WHY my account has violated anything.

The only emails I will receive are completely generic and automated emails after 48 hours. Reading these emails, THIS IS NOT A HUMAN SENDING THESE EMAILS. If it was my use case would be completely ok. If it's not my use case then please tell me why an account, that has never received any violations, has had autopay setup since day one and has been paying AWS for 3 years has violated any rules or terms.

My use case which is not valid:

Dear AWS Trust & Safety Team,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to request the removal of email sending limitations on our EC2 instances, specifically for enabling port 25 for both incoming and outgoing email services. We understand the importance of maintaining the integrity and security of the AWS infrastructure, and with this letter, I aim to provide a comprehensive explanation of our use case, alongside robust safeguards we have put in place to ensure the responsible use of email capabilities.

Use Case Description:

Company Name is an innovative web hosting company specializing in both traditional and cutting-edge web hosting solutions, including WordPress and Virtual Reality (VR) environments. Our infrastructure is built on AWS EC2, with Plesk as the cornerstone for managing web services, including email for our hosted websites.

Our use case for sending email from EC2 instances is twofold:

Operational Communications: To support the administrative and operational needs of running a hosting service, including system alerts, account notifications, and customer support communications.

Client Services: Providing our clients with integrated email services as part of their web hosting packages, enabling them to use personalized email addresses linked to their domains for business communications, customer outreach, and internal correspondence. This includes both transactional emails (e.g., account sign-ups, password resets) and direct communication emails (e.g., customer inquiries, newsletters).

Commitment to Preventing Unwanted Mail:

We are acutely aware of the challenges and nuisances posed by unwanted mail, and we take this matter very seriously. To mitigate the risk of our services being used for spam or malicious activities, we have implemented several measures:

Strict Acceptable Use Policy (AUP): All clients are required to adhere to our AUP, which explicitly prohibits the sending of unsolicited email and any form of email abuse. Violations result in immediate action, including service suspension and termination.

Active Monitoring and Abuse Prevention: We utilize advanced monitoring tools to detect and prevent potential abuse in real-time. This includes rate limiting, sender reputation checks, and automatic alerts for suspicious activities.

Client Verification: Implementing stringent client verification processes to ensure that only legitimate businesses and individuals can utilize our email services.

Regular Audits and Compliance Checks: Conducting regular audits of our systems and practices to ensure ongoing compliance with industry standards and best practices for email sending.

We believe that our detailed use case, combined with our commitment to preventing the misuse of email services, aligns with AWS's goals of maintaining a secure and reputable email ecosystem. We are willing to work closely with the AWS team to address any additional concerns or requirements you may have.

In closing, enabling port 25 for our EC2 instances is critical for our business operations and the delivery of comprehensive hosting solutions to our clients. We are fully committed to responsible email practices and are keen on ensuring that our use of AWS services contributes positively to the AWS community.

Thank you for considering our request. We are eager to provide any further information or clarifications needed and look forward to your positive response.

Warm regards,
Alex

This is the 8th email, I have sent back and forth and now they have started to completely refuse my ask:

Hello,

Thank you for submitting your request to have the email sending limit removed from your account and/or for an rDNS update.

This account, or those linked to it, have been identified as having at least one of the following:
    * A history of violations of the AWS Acceptable Use Policy
    * A history of being not consistently in good standing with billing
    * Not provided a valid/clear use case to warrant sending mail from EC2

Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time, please consider looking into the Simple Email Service. https://aws.amazon.com/ses/

Regards,
AWS Trust & Safety

my response:

I do not understand why I have received this email AGAIN. Please stop disparaging my reputation without any specific examples or evidence. My use case is very clear and none of my org accounts have had anything remotely close to either of these:

* A history of violations of the AWS Acceptable Use Policy
* A history of being not consistently in good standing with billing

I need you to please expand/explain to me on what is needed from my business to allow port 25 as my clients and my own Mail client on my MacBook CANNOT connect to our server. 

I need this resolved as this is a mission critical service for my business. I have SES set to send email as you refused my request before and needed to send emails but I can not use the whole service I am playing for due to your port block. No external email clients can connect to my ec2 instance even with port 25 inbound open. 

I need more information on what is missing, in my opinion my use case is very clear and restricts unwanted mail. My clients are starting to yell at me due to a service they are paying for but can not use, so if this can not be resolved, I will have to look for alternate hosting as your team has are being very unhelpful. 

**use case removed**

This has been weeks of back and forth with ZERO real reason to denying me port 25 other than 3 very vauge reasons which I do not believe apply to anything related to what I am stating. 

Hopefully, you can help, I will start looking to leave AWS as I doubt you will be much help and need this resolved yesterday.

Well, I received this after another 48 hours:

Hello,

Thank you for submitting your request to have the email sending limit removed from your account and/or for an rDNS update.

After a thorough review, we confirmed our original finding and cannot grant your request.

Please consider looking into the Simple Email Service (SES) https://aws.amazon.com/ses/.

We cannot assist you further with this issue and we may not respond to additional messages on this subject.

Regards,
AWS Trust & Safety

IMO no one is reading these emails at AWS. I am not sure if anyone on this forum or AWS can help me get this port opened but at this point, AWS has left me no choice, as they do not want my company as a client! We will be looking for alternative hosting and unless this is resolved I will NEVER use AWS again.

An extremely unhappy customer, Alex