Hi there! I need some advice on blocking fake form entries on my WordPress website. My contact forms are getting hit with tons of bogus submissions and I think it might be someone trying to mess with my business.
Here’s what I noticed about these spam attacks:
The IP addresses look real because they’re using proxy services
Every submission comes with different browser information
It seems like they’re using automated tools to fill out my forms
My forms collect basic customer details like names and phone numbers through plugins. The volume of fake entries is getting out of hand and it’s making it hard to find real customers.
Has anyone else dealt with this kind of problem? I’m looking for practical solutions that actually work against these sophisticated spam bots. Any tips or tools you’d recommend would be amazing!
hey nate! totally get the frustration. a good idea is to use a captcha – it’s annoying, but it can help cut down on spam. also, try setting up a validation rule for your forms, like only allowing certain email formats. best of luck!
Had the exact same thing happen last year - definitely a competitor flooding my forms. Here’s what actually worked: Set up rate limiting on your server to block multiple submissions from the same IP. Add a honeypot field that’s hidden from real users but bots will fill out automatically. Require email verification before anything hits your database - most of these tools use fake emails anyway. Also check what security features your host offers. A lot of them have built-in protection for this stuff.
Try adding time-based delays to your forms - real people need time to fill them out, but bots submit instantly. I had the same problem with my service business and a 10-second minimum delay between page load and submission killed most of the automated attacks. Check your form plugin logs too - look for weird patterns in timing or how fields get filled out. Wordfence and similar WordPress security plugins have anti-bot features that’ll catch these attacks without messing with real customers. Stack multiple detection methods though - smart attackers will find ways around single solutions.