In our first blog post, we shared why we’re starting this blog—to provide simple, useful insights based on the real questions and issues we hear from clients every day. This post is exactly that.

Contact form spam is one of the most common annoyances we help clients with, and it’s not going away anytime soon. In fact, it’s part of an ongoing arms race between spam bots and the tools designed to stop them. As spammers evolve, so must the defenses—and that means this is a topic we come back to regularly.

If you’ve ever opened your inbox and seen a strange message from your website’s contact form—maybe with a clearly fake name or a message that doesn’t make any sense—you’re definitely not alone. This is a common question we hear from WP Lifeline clients:

“Why am I getting spam through my contact form, and how can I stop it?”

Let’s walk through why this happens, what kind of spam we’re dealing with, and how we can help reduce it—especially if your website is built on WordPress.

Why Is This Even Happening?

Spam messages usually fall into one of two categories:

1. Automated Bots

These are scripts that scan the internet looking for contact forms to fill out automatically. Once they find one, they submit fake names and vague messages—sometimes including random links.

Why they do it:

  • To test if your form is active, so they can target it later.
  • To sneak in links to shady websites and try to boost their search rankings.
  • To get a response from you, often as the start of a phishing or scam attempt.

2. Real People

Yes—some spam is submitted by actual people. Often, it’s someone paid to fill out hundreds of forms a day with vague marketing messages or something more concerning.

These manual submissions may be:

  • Phishing attempts, trying to get information about your business.
  • Reconnaissance, seeing how your business communicates to find weaknesses.
  • Mass lead generation for low-quality services.

This is why we recommend being cautious with any message that feels off. If you’re unsure about the sender or something doesn’t quite add up, it’s better to pause before replying. These submissions might be an attempt to exploit your systems, gather insider details, or bait you into further contact.

How to Reduce Spam Bot Submissions

Luckily, there are effective tools to help cut down on spam, especially from bots.

Our Go-To Solution: Google reCAPTCHA v3

This is an advanced spam filter that silently scores every form submission based on how “bot-like” it seems. You don’t see it, and your visitors don’t have to interact with it (no “click all the crosswalks, buses, or bikes” challenges).

Here’s how we use it:

  • We set a starting threshold score of 0.5—that’s a good balance between filtering out bots while letting real people through.
  • If spam still gets through, we increase the threshold to make it more strict.

What If reCAPTCHA Isn’t Enough?

In some cases—especially if you’re seeing repeated spam from the same source—we’ll explore additional filtering options, such as:

  • Keyword and email blocking – We can filter out submissions that include certain red-flag words or come from known spam email addresses.
  • Geographic restrictions – If your business only operates in specific regions, we can block form submissions from outside those areas.

Why Can’t reCAPTCHA Block Everything?

While Google reCAPTCHA is excellent at stopping bots, it can’t prevent real humans from filling out your form. And that’s where the challenge lies.

These manually submitted messages often appear somewhat legitimate, but there’s usually something that feels off. Maybe it’s too vague. Maybe it sounds robotic. Or maybe the sender is asking unusual questions.

If something doesn’t feel right—trust your instincts. The goal might be phishing, scamming, or just wasting your time.

What WP Lifeline Can Do (for WordPress Sites)

If your site is built with WordPress, we can:

  • Set up or fine-tune Google reCAPTCHA v3
  • Block spam keywords or email addresses
  • Implement geographic filters if needed

If you’re a WP Lifeline client and aren’t sure what’s currently in place, just reach out—we’ll take a look and let you know.

Final Thoughts

Spam is annoying, no question. But with the right tools and a little extra awareness, it’s something that can be managed. If your contact form is attracting suspicious submissions and your site is on WordPress, you don’t have to deal with it alone—reach out and we’ll help clean things up.