In 60 Seconds

Spam Fighting in 60 Seconds

•Spam destroys morale. If your sales rep gets 5 spam leads in a row, they will ignore the 6th lead (which is real).
•Bot Spam: Automated scripts filling out forms. Fixed with 'Honeypot' fields (hidden fields).
•Vendor Spam: 'Hi, do you need SEO?' humans filling out forms. Fixed with 'Negative Keyword' filters in your CRM.
•Validation: Use tools like NumVerify or NeverBounce to check if a phone/email is real *before* it enters your CRM.
•The 'Double Opt-In' Trap: Do NOT require email confirmation to become a lead. That kills speed. Filter silently in the background.

If you have a contact form, you have spam.

"Greetings, let me optimize your website."
"Cheap meds from Canada."
"akjsdhfkasdf" (Bot testing).

Spam isn't just annoying; it dilutes your metrics and frustrates your team. You need a Sanitization Layer between your Form and your Sales Rep.

Layer 1: The Front End (Stopping Bots)

Bots are dumb. They look for <form> code and fill every visible field.

The Honeypot: Add a field to your form called "Website_URL" but hide it with CSS (display: none).
- Logic: Humans can't see it, so they leave it empty. Bots read the code, so they fill it.
- Action: If "Website_URL" is not empty -> Delete immediately.
ReCAPTCHA v3: Use Google's invisible captcha. It scores user behavior. Don't use the "Click the bus" version (v2) unless necessary.

Layer 2: The Middle End (Stopping Vendors)

Humans selling services are smarter.

Negative Keyword Filter: In your CRM (Zapier/GoHighLevel), check the "Message" body.
- If contains: "SEO", "Ranking", "Guest Post", "Investment", "Bitcoin".
- Action: Mark as "Spam". Do not notify Sales Rep.
Country Blocking: If you are a plumber in Austin, you don't need traffic from Russia. Block IPs from outside your service country (via Cloudflare).

Layer 3: Data Validation (Typos)

Sometimes real customers make mistakes.

Phone Validation: They type (555) 123-456. That's not enough digits.
- Fix: Use input masking on the form. Force the format (XXX) XXX-XXXX.
Disposable Emails: Block @mailinator.com or @tempmail.com domains using a validation API.

Handling the "Maybe-Spam"

Don't delete everything. Sometimes "SEO" appears in a real message ("I need help with my SEO agency's office plumbing").

The "Review" Folder: Route suspicious leads to a manager for manual review, rather than auto-deleting.
The Auto-Reply Test: Send a text: "Hi, are you a human? Reply YES." Bots won't reply. Vendors might, but you can filter them then.

Verification Checklist

Honeypot Active: View Page Source. Is there a hidden field?
Keyword List: Have you updated your negative keywords with the latest spam trends?
Cloudflare: Is your WAF (Web Application Firewall) tuned to challenge bad bots?

Common Mistakes

[!CAUTION] Blocking Voicemail Drops Sometimes real customers don't leave a message. Do not treat "No Message" calls as spam. Treat them as "Missed Call Opportunities" and text them back.

Over-Filtering: Don't block generic domains like @gmail.com or @yahoo.com.
Ignoring Call Spam: "Robocalls" regarding car warranties. Use a "Call Whisper" ("Press 1 to connect"). Robots can't press 1.

FAQ

Q: Why don't I just turn off the form at night? A: Because customers search at night. Use the spam filter to keep the inbox clean, but keep the door open.

Q: Can I sue spammers? A: Theoretically (CAN-SPAM act), but good luck finding them. Defense is cheaper than prosecution.

Sources and References

Cloudflare: Bot Management Guide - Infrastructure level blocking.
Zapier: How to filter spam leads - Automation workflows.

Changelog

2024-05-18: Initial publication.

Read Next in This Hub:

Form Design - Keeping the good leads.
Lead Routing Rules - Moving the clean data.

Related System:

Response Protection - Includes spam firewall.

Spam and Low Quality Leads: How to Filter Without Blocking Real Customers