A Sarbacane Campaigns automated follow-up (Received campaign scenario) goes to almost all contacts when they have not given their consent to the tracking pixel: without consent, neither opens nor clicks are measured, and everyone is classed as "did not open" or "did not click". This is the most common cause. Then check the scenario settings, without deactivating it.
A Sarbacane Campaigns licence.
An automated follow-up (Received campaign scenario) that has already been sent.
Have your contacts given their consent to the tracking pixel? A contact without consent has no open or click measured: they go into the negative branch and receive the follow-up, even if they read the email. To collect this consent, see Email tracking pixels: what you need to know and do.
Does the scenario observe the right campaign and the right behaviour? In My campaigns, click the follow-up's thumbnail: the scenario is shown on the right. Check the observed campaign and the choice made in the trigger event field (opened / did not open, or clicked / did not click).
Is the message under the right branch? A follow-up meant for contacts who did not open must be under the did-not-open branch, not under the opened branch.
Is the observation delay long enough? A contact who opens the email after the observation delay is already classed in the negative branch. With a delay that is too short, contacts who would have opened receive the follow-up.
Caution To check the scenario, do not deactivate it: deactivation stops the journey of all contacts in progress.
Best practice Before activating a follow-up, send the original campaign to your own address to check which branch you end up in. Create the original campaign rather than duplicating an old one, avoid scheduling and unscheduling it several times, and do not change your contacts' consent between the send and the follow-up.
You have identified the cause, and your next follow-ups only go to the contacts concerned.
Contact technical support, giving the name of the original campaign, the name of the follow-up, and the email address of a contact who should not have received the follow-up.
