Abstract: An email address is provided by a user when the user registers an account with a service provider. A unique ID is generated for the user. An email containing the unique ID is sent to the email address. The unique ID is embedded as a part of a URL link or in a loadable image. A user response to the email is detected. The user response includes a request to access the URL link or to load the image. Subsequently, the unique ID is retrieved from the request. The email address is confirmed as a valid email address if the retrieved unique ID is identical to the generated unique ID. A Turing test is conducted to determine whether the user is a computer bot. Access to the user account is granted only if the email address is confirmed as valid and the user is determined to not be a bot.