If you’re using the popular WordPress plugin Contact Form 7, you may be concerned about spam emails. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to help reduce the amount of spam that your contact form receives.
There are a few things you can do to stop spam emails in Contact Form 7. One is to add a honeypot field to your form.
A honeypot field is a hidden field that spammers will fill out, thinking it’s another required field on the form. When you detect that the honeypot field has been filled out, you can mark the submission as spam.
Another way to stop spam emails in Contact Form 7 is by using a plugin like SpamBurner or Akismet Anti-Spam. These plugins help to block spam submissions before they even reach your inbox.
What Is Spam And How It Can Be Harmful?
Spam is a term used to describe unsolicited emails, or more generally unwanted electronic messages. It’s estimated that over 90% of all email messages are spam.
While some people may consider spam to be a minor annoyance, it can actually be quite harmful.
Spam often contains viruses or other malicious software that can damage your computer or steal your personal information. It can also clog up your email inbox, making it difficult to find important messages.
And, if you click on a link in a spam email, you may be taken to a fake website that’s designed to trick you into revealing personal or financial information.
How To Identify Spam Emails?
We’ve all been there before. You open up your inbox to a slew of emails, and half of them are spam.
How can you tell which ones are worth your time and which ones aren’t? Here are some tips on how to identify spam emails:
- Check the sender’s address. If it looks suspicious or unfamiliar, it’s probably spam.
- Check the subject line. If it’s something generic like “Important information” or “You’ve won a prize,” it’s likely to be spam.
- Be wary of attachments. If an email has an attachment that you weren’t expecting, it could be malware disguised as a harmless file.
- Watch out for grammatical errors. Spammers often don’t bother proofreading their emails, so they’re full of typos and bad grammar.
- Be cautious of unusual requests. If an email asks you to do something that seems strange or suspicious, it’s probably spam.
For example, you might get an email claiming to be from your bank that asks you to enter your account information on a website. This is a phishing attempt, and you should never respond to it.
If you’re ever unsure whether an email is a spam or not, err on the side of caution and delete it. It’s not worth taking the risk of clicking on a malicious link or opening a harmful attachment.
How To Configure Your Email Settings In Contact Form 7?
If you’re using Contact Form 7 for your website’s contact form, you may have noticed that you’re getting a lot of spam messages. Spam can be a real pain, especially if you’re not sure how to stop it.
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to configure your email settings and reduce the amount of spam you receive.
One way to stop spam is to create a Honeypot field. This is a hidden field that bots will fill out, but humans will not see. To create a Honeypot field, add the following code to your contact form:
name=”your-email-address” honeypot=”true”
You can also try using CAPTCHA to reduce spam. CAPTCHA is a challenge-response test that helps to ensure that only humans can submit your form.
To add CAPTCHA to your contact form, you’ll need to install the reCAPTCHA plugin. Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, you’ll need to create a reCAPTCHA account and add your site to it.
After you’ve done that, you can add the following code to your contact form:
name=”your-email-address” recaptcha=”true”
You can also use a combination of both methods to further reduce spam.
If you’re still receiving a lot of spam, you can try changing your email settings. One setting you can change is the “From” address. This is the address that will be displayed when someone receives an email from your contact form.
To change the “From” address, go to the Email tab in the Contact Form 7 settings and add the following code:
From: noreply@yourdomain.com
You can also add a “Reply-To” address. This is the address that people will reply to when they receive an email from your contact form. To add a “Reply-To” address, go to the Email tab in the Contact Form 7 settings and add the following code:
Reply-To: yourname@yourdomain.com
You can also add a “Bcc” address. This is an email address that will receive a copy of every email that’s sent from your contact form. To add a “Bcc” address, go to the Email tab in the Contact Form 7 settings and add the following code:
Bcc: yourname@yourdomain.com
You can also try using a plugin like WPForms to create your contact forms. WPForms allows you to create custom forms and includes features like CAPTCHA and Honeypot fields to help reduce spam.
If you’re still having trouble with spam, you can contact your hosting provider and ask them to help you configure your website to reduce spam.
Plugins That Help Stop Spam In Contact Form 7
Some of the best plugins to help stop spam in Contact Form 7 are:
1. SpamBurner
SpamBurner is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by burning the email addresses of known spammers, so they can no longer use them to spam you.
2. Honeypot
Honeypot is another great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by adding a hidden field to your contact form that spammers will fill out, but humans will not. This will help to stop them from spamming you.
3. reCAPTCHA
reCAPTCHA is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by adding a CAPTCHA to your contact form that will help to stop spammers from spamming you.
4. Akismet
Akismet is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by checking all the comments and contact form submissions against a database of known spammers, so they can be stopped before they spam you.
5. Antispam Bee
Antispam Bee is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by checking all the comments and contact form submissions against a database of known spammers, so they can be stopped before they spam you.
6. WP-SpamShield Anti-Spam
WP-SpamShield Anti-Spam is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by checking all the comments and contact form submissions against a database of known spammers, so they can be stopped before they spam you.
7. CleanTalk Security (formerly StopForumSpam)
CleanTalk Security (formerly StopForumSpam) is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by checking all the comments and contact form submissions against a database of known spammers, so they can be stopped before they spam you.
8. SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam
SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by adding a CAPTCHA to your contact form that will help to stop spammers from spamming you.
9. Simple History Honeypot
Simple History Honeypot is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by adding a hidden field to your contact form that spammers will fill out, but humans will not. This will help to stop them from spamming you.
10. WPBruiser {no- Captcha anti-Spam}
WPBruiser {no- Captcha anti-Spam} is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by adding a CAPTCHA to your contact form that will help to stop spammers from spamming you.
11. Growmap Anti Spambot
Growmap Anti Spambot Plugin (GASP) is a great plugin that helps to stop spam in Contact Form 7. It works by adding a CAPTCHA to your contact form that will help to stop spammers from spamming you.
These are just some of the best plugins that can help stop spam in Contact Form 7. Be sure to check them out and see which one works best for you.
Tips To Keep Your Contact Form From Being Spammed
If you have a contact form on your website, chances are you’ve been spammed. It’s an unfortunate reality of the internet, but there are ways to combat it. Here are a few tips to keep your contact form from being spammed:
Use a CAPTCHA
This is perhaps the most effective way to keep your contact form from being spammed. CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart” and it is a challenge-response test that can be used to ensure that only humans are able to fill out your contact form.
Use a Honeypot
A honeypot is a hidden field in your contact form that is invisible to humans but detectable by bots. When a bot fills out your form, it will fill out the honeypot field as well, which will alert you that the submission is likely spam.
Require A Phone Number
This isn’t foolproof, but requiring a phone number can help to reduce the number of spam submissions you receive. This is because it’s more difficult for bots to generate a random phone number than it is for them to generate an email address.
Use a Whitelist
A whitelist is a list of approved contact form submitters. If you only allow submissions from certain IP addresses or email domains, you can reduce the number of spam submissions you receive.
Use a Blacklist
A blacklist is the opposite of a whitelist; it’s a list of IP addresses or email domains that are not allowed to submit your contact form. If you’re getting a lot of spam submissions from a particular source, you can add it to your blacklist to stop future submissions.
Use a Form Processor
There are a number of form processors available that can help you combat spam submissions. These services will typically use a combination of methods, such as CAPTCHA, honeypots, and blacklisting, to keep your contact form clean.
Keep Your Form Simple
The simpler your contact form is, the less likely it is to be spammed. If you have a lot of fields, consider breaking them up into multiple forms or using a multi-step form.
Monitor Your Form Submissions
If you’re getting a lot of spam submissions, it’s important to monitor your form so you can take action accordingly. This could mean adding a CAPTCHA to your form or blacklisting a particular IP address.
Use SpamBurner
SpamBurner is a service that helps you combat spam submissions by automatically filtering them out. It uses a variety of methods, such as CAPTCHA, honeypots, and blacklisting, to keep your contact form clean.
Use Akismet
Akismet is a service that helps you combat spam comments on your blog or website. It uses a variety of methods, such as CAPTCHA, honeypots, and blacklisting, to keep your contact form clean.
Last Views
Spam is unsolicited commercial email and it can be harmful to your computer or website. Spammers use deceptive tactics to get you to open their emails which can install malware on your device or take you to a fraudulent website.
Contact Form 7 is a popular plugin for WordPress websites, but it’s also susceptible to spam attacks. Fortunately, we’ve already shown you different ways to protect your contact form from being spammed.
We’ve also shared a few essential tips to keep your contact form plugin from being spammed in the future
