I'm getting lead and contact forms on my websites filled out with information that actually belongs to real people. For example, the names, addresses, and email addresses are all legitimate! However, it's clear that these individuals didn't submit the forms themselves. I've been around the internet for ages, so I find it puzzling. At first, I thought someone was trying to maliciously sign people up for stuff, but the sheer variety of different names makes that unlikely. It's not just fake information, either; it's real data that seems to serve no clear purpose. Could there be some kind of exploit happening here? Are these bots trying to access IP or domain info from my auto-reply emails?
1 Answer
It sounds like classic lead fraud and list washing. Bots often use scraped real info to make it seem like a legitimate lead, and your auto-reply can confirm that the recipient’s inbox is live. Then, they can resell that info and claim you made the first contact. A few good preventative measures include adding a honeypot field, using email verification, and tightening your auto-replies. If it keeps happening, consider implementing reCAPTCHA v3 or blocking repeated submissions from the same email or IP. Let me know if you need help spotting patterns in any examples you have! Just a heads-up: try not to share personal info online here.
Thanks for the tips! I really appreciate the help and information you provided.