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5 Common Spam Problems in Make & How to Fix Them

Spam can be a serious problem in Make automation workflows, causing fake leads, junk form submissions, and unnecessary email notifications. If your Make scenarios process every submission without proper filtering, spam can quickly clutter your CRM, inbox, and databases, leading to wasted time and inaccurate data. Fortunately, there are effective ways to block spam in Make, preventing unwanted data from disrupting your operations.

1. Spammy Contact Form Submissions Flooding Your Make Workflows

The Problem

Connecting forms from Elementor, Typeform, Jotform, or Breakdance forms to Make can lead to an influx of spam submissions. Fake leads start filling your CRM, causing unnecessary auto-responses and notifications. Without proper filtering, your workflows process junk data, wasting resources and triggering actions that shouldn’t run.

How It Happens

Spammers use bots to scan the web for unprotected forms and flood them with fake entries. If your Make automation processes every form submission without checking for spam, you’ll end up with junk data spreading through your workflows.

The Fix: Block Spam at the Entry Point

• OOPSpam’s Make app analyzes submissions and assigns a spam score, helping you filter out fake entries. However, to prevent spam from hitting your workflows in the first place, use OOPSpam’s WordPress integration or other website-level solutions before the data reaches Make.
• Require email verification, add reCAPTCHA (if available), and use dropdowns instead of open text fields where possible.
• Use Make’s built-in filters to block high-risk entries. You can add a condition to your workflow that stops automation if a submission contains certain spammy words, domains, or has an OOPSpam spam score above a set threshold.

Stop Spam at the Source with OOPSpam WordPress Plugin

The best way to block spam before it reaches Make is by filtering it at the website level. The OOPSpam WordPress plugin helps prevent spam from entering contact forms and user registrations, reducing junk data before it even reaches your Make automation workflows.

2. Fake Leads Polluting Your CRM

The Problem

Your CRM, whether it’s HubSpot, Pipedrive, or Google Sheets, should store real customer data. Without proper filters, it can quickly fill up with fake names, disposable emails, and spam leads that trigger unnecessary follow-ups and waste time.

How It Happens

If your Make automation automatically pushes every form submission into your CRM, you have no way of knowing if the lead is real or fake until it’s too late.

The Fix: Validate Every Lead Before Storing It

• Use OOPSpam’s email verification feature in Make to detect temporary, disposable, or spam domain emails before they enter your workflows.
• Check IP reputation before adding leads. OOPSpam can detect submissions from suspicious locations or flagged IP addresses.
• Store flagged leads in a separate table (Google Sheets or Airtable) for manual review instead of adding them directly to your CRM.

3. Spam in Google Forms, Airtable, and Other Data Collection Tools

The Problem

Using Google Forms, Airtable, or Typeform for data collection can attract spam. Fake survey responses skew your data, bots flood open registration forms with junk, and spam submissions corrupt reports and analytics, making it harder to extract meaningful insights.

How It Happens

Public forms are a magnet for spambots, especially when they don’t require authentication. Since Make treats every submission as legitimate, it can pollute your datasets.

The Fix: Add Multi-Layered Protection

• Connect OOPSpam to your Make workflow to analyze responses in real time. If a submission is flagged as spam, it won’t proceed.
• Enable Google Forms’ built-in validation for emails and required fields.
• Limit public access to your forms—where possible, require authentication to reduce bot submissions.

4. Junk Email Notifications Overloading Your Inbox

The Problem

Make automations that send email alerts for form submissions or CRM updates can quickly become overwhelmed with spam. Junk notifications fill your inbox, important messages get buried, and automated responses end up being sent to fake leads, wasting time and resources.

How It Happens

Make doesn’t filter emails unless you tell it to. If a spam submission enters your workflow, it can trigger email alerts, follow-ups, and unwanted messages.

The Fix: Only Send Alerts for Legitimate Submissions

• Use OOPSpam’s filtering to analyze messages before sending alerts.
• Set up conditions in Make to block notifications if a spam score is too high.
• Use digest emails instead of individual alerts. Make’s “Aggregator” module can batch clean submissions and send a summary instead of a notification for every form entry.

5. Malicious Spam Containing Phishing Links & Harmful Content

The Problem

Spam can be a security risk. Some submissions contain phishing links designed to steal credentials, malicious URLs that lead to harmful websites, or deceptive messages that trick employees into clicking unsafe content.

How It Happens

Make processes data as-is, meaning phishing links can make their way into Slack, email, or CRM notifications if not filtered properly.

The Fix: Stop Malicious Spam Before It Spreads

• Enable OOPSpam’s filtering options in Make to block spam submissions from disposable emails, cloud providers, VPNs, and proxies to prevent spam from reaching your workflows.
• Set up keyword-based filters to block messages containing spam-triggering words like “urgent,” “reset password,” or “click here.”
• Manually review flagged messages before allowing them into customer-facing workflows.

Integrating OOPSpam with Make

If you’re using Make for automation, you can easily connect it with OOPSpam’s Make app to filter out spam without needing direct API integration. OOPSpam helps block fake leads, filter out spam form submissions, and prevent malicious content before it disrupts your workflows—all seamlessly within Make.

Steps to Integrate OOPSpam in Make

1. Add OOPSpam to Your Make Scenario

• In your Make workflow, click the ”+” button to add a new module.
• Search for OOPSpam Anti-Spam and select “Check for Spam.”

2. Create an OOPSpam Connection

• Click “Add” to create a new connection.
• Enter your OOPSpam API key (found in your OOPSpam dashboard; check the image above).

3. Map the Form Fields to OOPSpam

• Content → Map to the Message field.
• Email → Map to the Email field.
• IP Address (if available) → Improves spam detection accuracy.

4. Add a Router to Separate Spam and Legitimate Submissions

• After the OOPSpam module, add a Router to create two paths:

• • Spam submissions (if spam score > 2).

  • Legitimate submissions (if spam score ≤ 2).

5. Handle Spam Submissions

• Set a filter: If spam score > 2, mark submission as spam.
• Store spam entries in Google Sheets for manual review instead of triggering further actions.

Spam Score Guide

• 1-2 → Not spam (Safe to proceed).
• 3-6 → Likely spam (Should be filtered or reviewed).

6. Process Legitimate Submissions

• If spam score ≤ 2, allow the form data to continue.
• Send clean entries to email, CRM, or Slack as needed.

Final thoughts

Make is a powerful automation tool, but spam can ruin its effectiveness if left unchecked.

By integrating OOPSpam with Make, you can filter out junk, fake leads, and malicious submissions before they enter your workflows. Whether you’re dealing with form spam, CRM junk, or phishing attempts, a few simple automation tweaks can save time and protect your data.

Start by integrating OOPSpam and testing it on your most-used workflows. Check out our documentation or contact our support team if you need help setting up.

Have a spam-free day!