Summary
Bot signups with domain names in email addresses are a multifaceted problem stemming from various sources and motivations. Experts and marketers suggest causes ranging from simple mischief and email validation testing to malicious activities like competitor sabotage, probing for website vulnerabilities, and SEO spam. These bots often exploit free trials, harvest emails, or try to ruin the reputation of a sending infrastructure. Disposable email addresses are commonly used to mask identities during these activities. Mitigating these signups involves deploying reCAPTCHA, bot management tools, honeypots, rate limiting, and improved email validation and monitoring systems.
Key findings
- Diverse Motivations: Reasons range from random griefing and testing to sabotage and SEO spam.
- Exploitation of Offers: Bots exploit free trials and promotions.
- Vulnerability Probing: Web forms are probed for weaknesses and code injection opportunities.
- Competitor Sabotage: Fake signups aim to inflate counts or damage sender reputation.
- Infrastructure Attacks: Signup abuse is an attempt to damage sending infrastructure reputation.
- Data Masking: Disposable emails mask identities for malicious activities.
- SEO Spam: Bot activity contributes to SEO spam and profile creation.
Key considerations
- Implement reCAPTCHA: Use reCAPTCHA to differentiate bots from genuine users.
- Employ Bot Management: Utilize tools to identify and block malicious bot traffic.
- Enhance Validation: Improve email validation and filtering to detect disposable addresses.
- Rate Limiting: Implement rate limiting to restrict form submission frequency.
- Honeypots: Deploy honeypots to trap and identify bot activity.
- Monitor POST Data: Check POST data logs for SEO-related content to identify spam bots.
- Pattern Detection: Monitor form submissions for patterns indicative of automated behavior.
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
Bot signups with domain names in the email address occur for various reasons. These include black hat SEO tactics to create spam profiles, attempts to exploit free trials or promotions, probing for website vulnerabilities, competitor sabotage, and testing email validation systems. Bots may also be used for malicious purposes, such as damaging sender reputation or simply scanning the internet for future opportunities.
Key opinions
- SEO Spam: Bots create accounts for black hat SEO, generating spam profiles and comments.
- Exploitation: Bots exploit free trials and promotions, using disposable email addresses.
- Vulnerability Probing: Bots probe for website vulnerabilities, testing security and code injection.
- Competitor Sabotage: Competitors use bots to inflate subscriber counts or damage sender reputation.
- Validation Testing: Bots test email validation systems.
- Malicious Intent: Bots scan the internet for future malicious purposes.
Key considerations
- Security Measures: Implement CAPTCHAs and honeypots to prevent automated sign-ups.
- Pattern Detection: Monitor for patterns in usernames and IP addresses to identify bots.
- Email Validation: Enhance email validation systems to detect disposable or suspicious email addresses.
- Infrastructure Protection: Bots attempt to ruin the reputation of sending infrastructure.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Moz Community Q&A answers that spam signups, including those with strange email addresses, are often a result of bots probing for vulnerabilities in your website's forms. They may be trying to exploit a security flaw or simply testing to see if they can inject malicious code.
28 Feb 2023 - Moz Community Q&A
Marketer view
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares that one reason for fake email signups (including bot signups) is competitor sabotage. Competitors might use bots to sign up with fake emails to inflate your subscriber count or damage your sender reputation by marking your emails as spam.
6 Dec 2024 - Neil Patel's Blog
What the experts say
5 expert opinions
Bot signups with domain names often result from various malicious activities. These include random griefing, attempts to validate email addresses, harming competitors, probing for weaknesses, burying tracks for hacking, malicious intent, pitching form protection solutions, or the abuse originating from blog comment spam bots. Disposable email addresses are used to mask user identities and can be linked to spamming and signup abuse. Fake signups may also be an attempt to test email validation and deliverability systems.
Key opinions
- Griefing/Validation: Signups are sometimes random griefing or attempts to validate email addresses.
- Competition Sabotage: Competitors attempt to harm others through form abuse.
- Security Probing: Forms are used to identify weaknesses and potential hacks.
- Data Masking: Disposable emails hide identities during signup abuse.
- SEO Spam: POST data might show the abuse originating from blog comment spam bots.
- Testing Deliverability: They are testing email validation and deliverability systems.
Key considerations
- Monitor POST Data: Check POST data logs for SEO-related content to identify spam bots.
- Implement CAPTCHAs: Using captcha on forms to identify bots.
- Email Validation: Improve email validation to detect disposable addresses.
- Security Audits: Implement constant website security audits.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise shares several reasons why fake signups may be attempted, including testing email validation and email deliverability systems, or potential spambot activity.
17 Feb 2022 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that signup form abuse is either random griefing or an attempt to use the form as an email validator.
16 Sep 2022 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Bot signups with domain names in the email address can be prevented using various mitigation techniques. reCAPTCHA distinguishes between legitimate users and bots, preventing form completion. OWASP recommends CAPTCHAs, rate limiting, and honeypots. Cloudflare's bot management tools identify and block malicious bots, analyzing traffic patterns. Bots target easily abused forms and harvest emails to create accounts, sometimes bypassing filters.
Key findings
- reCAPTCHA Mitigation: reCAPTCHA helps distinguish between legitimate users and bots.
- Bot Mitigation Techniques: CAPTCHAs, rate limiting, and honeypots hinder bot signups.
- Bot Management Tools: Cloudflare's tools identify and block malicious bots through traffic analysis.
- Targeted Forms: Bots seek out easily abused forms.
- Email Harvesting: Bots harvest emails to create accounts, bypassing filters.
Key considerations
- Implement reCAPTCHA: Use reCAPTCHA on signup forms to prevent bot submissions.
- Employ Mitigation Techniques: Incorporate CAPTCHAs, rate limiting, and honeypots into form handling.
- Utilize Bot Management: Implement bot management tools for traffic and behavior analysis.
- Monitor Form Abuse: Monitor the rate of form submissions and look for suspicious behaviour.
- Filter Bypass Prevention: Enhance email filtering and monitoring to detect bot-created accounts.
Technical article
Email marketer from Stop Forum Spam writes about potential checks and balances for emails. This site also writes about bots that look for forms that are easy to use for spam signups.
23 Sep 2021 - Stop Forum Spam
Technical article
Documentation from Cloudflare explains that bot management tools can identify and block malicious bots attempting to sign up on your website. These tools analyze traffic patterns and behavior to distinguish between legitimate users and bots.
11 Jan 2024 - Cloudflare
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