Introducing spam detection for webforms: An additional layer of protection to keep your Zoho CRM clean and secure

Introducing spam detection for webforms: An additional layer of protection to keep your Zoho CRM clean and secure

Greetings all,

One of the most highly anticipated feature launches—Spam Detection in webforms—has finally arrived!

Webforms are a vital tool for record generation, but they're also vulnerable to submissions from unauthenticated or malicious sources, which can lead to the collection of spam records that clutter CRM systems and reduce data quality. 

Zoho CRM's new spam detection capability provides an additional security layer and minimizes dependencies on the basic options such as captchas and double opt-ins, ultimately improving data quality of webform submissions. Users no longer have to check potential spam records from webforms manually.

Let's dive into how Spam Detection restricts suspected spam records from webforms and helps users keep their CRM clean and organized.

What does spam detection do?

Spam detection offers the following advantages:
  1. Simplifies the manual review of potential spam in webform submissions.
  2. Detects potential spam submissions by identifying invalid or suspicious email addresses and scoring them to indicate spam probability.
  3. Holds these possible spam records for manual approval from users.
  4. Automatically blocks spam records to keep them out of the CRM account.

What happens to webform submissions?

All webform submissions are evaluated against predefined criteria and screened for spam detection. Let's say you've received several webform submissions for the Leads module from your website visitors.

Clean, non-suspicious records that originate from verified IP addresses—and are therefore deemed likely to be genuine and valid—are fed into the Leads module (unless approval has been set for all webform submissions).

In contrast, suspicious submissions are flagged as potentially spam and held back for manual approval in the usual record approval page called, Awaiting Leads (previously known as Approve Leads). These records are assigned a Spam Possibility Score based on the identified suspicious factors. 

The new Record Source column provides details related to the submission's source—for example, the submission's IP address, the webform name, and the URL—when you hover over the info icon. 

The new Spam Possibility column indicates the spam probability for each record as a percentage. You can also view the top reasons behind the scores of the spam record by hovering over the info icon beside it. 


Each reason identified contributes to the score, and the sum is calculated to determine the final Spam Possibility Score for the record. Some of the reasons are listed below:
  1. Submission from bots/crawlers: If a bot or crawler fills and makes a submission via your hosted webform, the Spam Detection layer will automatically identify this malicious submission.
  2. Submission with invalid phone numbers: If a form respondent shares an incorrect phone number, a toll-free number, or a junk contact number, it will be flagged as an invalid phone number.
  3. Submission with invalid email addresses: If the submitted email address originates from a spam source, an unauthorized domain, or a temporary mailbox, it will be flagged as an invalid email address.
We're also introducing an advanced security layer: Honeypot Field, which is a cybersecurity mechanism that identifies bots by detecting submissions made to invisible form fields that genuine users don't interact with. If the submission comes with values filled in the hidden fields, the system flags the entry as likely being a spam submission.

Spam Detection has more parameters like these to detect spam submissions and assign appropriate scores. For quick probability recognition, the following colors represent the severity of spam possibilities:
  1. Green: 1% - 20%
  2. Orange: 21% - 70% 
  3. Red: 71% - 100%

How spam detection helps handle records awaiting approval

Previously, records that awaited approval were evaluated manually and then approved, merged, resolved, or deleted accordingly. In addition to these traditional actions, and with the introduction of Spam Detection, administrators can now optionally block IP addresses of records with high spam possibility scores if they want to restrict further submissions from them.

  1. The Block IP button is available, along with the other buttons like Merge, Approve, or Resolve.

  1. Admins can also directly block an IP by using the Block IP button available when hovering over the info icon.

Record submissions from such blocked IPs will be categorized under the new Blocked record category.
Additionally, Zoho's system internally maintains a set of blacklisted IPs based on security assessments. Records submitted from those IPs will be automatically and permanently blocked by the CRM.
Notes
Note: Records under the Blocked category will be deleted in 60 days.

How to enable Spam Detection for your webforms

While setting up a webform, you'll see the Spam Detection section where you can adjust the Spam Possibility Score slider to set the threshold at which records should be flagged for manual review.

A score range of 90% to 100% will be set by default for all webforms as the tolerance level, which the webform owner can change anytime based on their preferences.

NotesNote: Records whose spam possibility scores fall within the set range will be held for approval, along with the relevant percentages and reasons. If, say, the chosen range is 80 to 100%, only those records with spam possibility percentages between 80 and 100 will be listed. Submissions with lower percentages will not be held as spam.

We've revamped the record approval page to provide a better UI experience and make it easier to manage and review spam records. Let's look at the changes in detail.

Revamped record approval page

  1. In modules like Leads, the "Approve Leads" field under Actions has been renamed to "Awaiting Leads". This change extends to other modules as well.
  2. The approval page has been redesigned to make it easier to switch between categories and review all records. This enhancement applies to all webform-supported modules and team modules.

  3. The number of records in each category displayed prevents users from overlooking records that are awaiting approval.
  4. You can also filter these records using the new filters in the left panel on the Awaiting Leads page.
    1. Filter By Source: Filters records based on the source—webform or import.
    2. Filter By Spam Possibilities: Choosing the Webform option will enable this filter to list records based on the spam possibilities.
    3. Filter By Fields: Lists records based on these fields: Created Time and Record Owner.
    4. Filter By IP - Webform: Filters blocked possible spam entries based on whether a given record is blocked manually by a user or automatically by the system. This filter is available only under the Blocked category.
That concludes everything about spam detection in webforms. Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.

Info
Availability 

Editions: All paid editions, including the developer edition (except for the paid trial edition)
DC: All DCs
Release Plan: This feature will be rolled out in phases. {Updated on Jan 30, 2026]

Regards,
Fiona

    • Recent Topics

    • Webhook Authentication Key

      As Google Ads' lead form extension does not integrate with Zoho CRM at the moment other than Zapier. I want to use the Zoho Flow webhook feature to send leads to Zoho CRM. Meaning creating a flow in Zoho Flow that triggers based on Webhook and then webhook

    • Workdrive comment links stopped working.

      I have marked a PDF file with 95 comments, they have worked for a while. When i clicked on them they brought me to the correct page and showed me the outline that i had drew on the plans. The comments included the page number of the outline, but now it

    • How to Bulk-Update Sales Orders in CRM

      Hi - I need to bulk update existing sales orders with dates from our ERP of when the sales orders were created. I made a date field on the Sales Order module where I want to insert that data. I can't Mass Update because I am not updating the fields to

    • Zoho ToDo in Cliq

      Our organization utilizes Zoho ToDo in the Zoho Mail Desktop app. Is there a way for these to show up in Cliq Desktop app as well?

    • 【Zoho CRM】サンドボックス機能のアップデート：カスタムビューが利用可能になりました。

      ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、サンドボックス機能のアップデートをご紹介します。 目次 1. カスタムビューとは 2. 今回の機能アップデートについて 1. カスタムビューとは カスタムビューは、ユーザーが設定した条件に基づいてデータをフィルタリング・整理し、 重要な情報へ効率的にアクセスできるようにする機能です。 「過去15日間の見込み客」や「受注間近の商談」、「特定の優先度レベルが設定された案件」など 条件を指定してわずか数クリックで設定できます。

    • Changing an agents email address

      How do you change an agent's email address? I keep getting a red circle even though I am an admin. And on one of my agents he has two email addresses? How is that possible?

    • Zoho CRM - Potentials Tab

      Hi! When I create a Deal (Potentials tab) the header looks like this: After a refresh on the page it looks like this: What should I do so that it is displayed like in the second pic without refresh? Also I have a user that as of recently, cannot see this

    • Unable to create embed code for resource of workdrive using API

      Hello Team, I am trying to create embed code for a resource using workdrive api in powershell, however facing some issues with injecting data in body. Followed Doc: https://workdrive.zoho.com/apidocs/v1/filefoldersharing/shareeveryone Please help, below

    • Feature Request - Insert URL Links in Folders

      I would love to see the ability to create simple URL links with titles in WorkDrive. or perhaps a WorkDrive extension to allow it. Example use case: A team is working on a project and there is project folder in WordDrive. The team uses LucidChart to create

    • not able to convert pdf to jpg and other forms and vice versa.

      i want to change my pdf to jpg, word, etc and some times jpg to pdf. i don't know how to do in this.

    • Enable / show scroll bar when Mega Menu is opened

      Hey there I am using the mega menu add-on and experience a "flicker" whenever the mega menu opens. The reason is, that the scrollbar, which has a width of a few pixels, stops showing when the mega menu opens. As the scrollbar disappears the whole page

    • Reports: Custom Search Function Fields

      Hi Zoho, Hope you'll add this into your roadmap. Issue: For the past 2yrs our global team been complaining and was brought to our attention recently that it's a time consuming process looking/scrolling down. Use-case: This form is a service report with

    • How can I transfer data from Production to Development environment?

      Hi, I am using Creator V6 and would like to bring all the data in production to the Development and Testing environments? Is there an easy way of doing that or I have to export and import each table?

    • New portal SAML authentication error: User not found

      Dears, Has anyone else been experiencing this lately? I am creating a new portal authenticated by SAML (Entra ID). I followed the same process as I did with other portals, but any new portal created after this always encounters this error. I’ve been reporting

    • Devis et facture multi page

      Bonjour, je suis sur Zoho invoice et je rencontre un problème sur mes devis et factures lorsqu'ils dépassent 1 page. je me retrouve souvent avec des lignes coupées ou le sous total page 1 et le total page 2. j'aimerai savoir s'il existe une possibilité

    • Help with Filtering Records, HTML Pages, and Automatic File Uploads in Zoho Creator

      Hi Zoho Creator Community, I’m building a Zoho Creator application and need guidance on a few features I’ve been struggling with. I want to implement them safely and efficiently, and I’d appreciate any examples, tips, or best practices. I want users to

    • Feature Suggestion for Zoho Websites – Inspired by Squarespace Systems

      Dear Zoho Team, I’m a Zoho user and also a Squarespace Platinum Circle member, and I recently noticed the launch of Zoho Websites in India. I wanted to share some ideas for features that could enhance the platform for professional users and agencies.

    • Custom View - Sort by Custom Field

      I created a custom field for our Engineering team to know which tickets to work first by numbering them.  I created a custom view to general data which includes the Engineering Priority.  However, I cannot sort the Engineering Priority column ascending

    • Zoho Indeed Intergation not pulling candidate details

      We have recently integrated zoho with indeed. Prior to this our candidates came into the candidates tab via the zoho.resumes email address from indeed and it pulled through the candidates mobile number, and majority of the time a postcode. However since

    • Custom View of tickets created today

      How can I create a custom view that list all my ticked created in the current date? Currently, if I select the "Created Time" criteria, the "Current Time" option does not work as today. Actually, I don't know how it works this "Current Time".

    • Lifecycle Reports

      From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports A lifecycle report captures and visualises the sequential states that a ticket undergoes across its lifespan. For instance, when a customer submits a support ticket for a faulty product,

    • Zoho Forms - Print Button on Forms

      Hi Forms team, I'm replicating a form for a client which is currently based on JotForm. I noticed that at the end of the form there is a button to print the completed form. I thought this would be something worth sharing and a nice to have in Zoho Forms.

    • Putting Watermark on Zoho Sheet

      Can this be done?

    • Validation function not preventing candidates under 18 or over 30 from submitting the web form

      Hello everyone, I’m trying to create a validation rule for the Candidate Webform in Zoho Recruit. I added a custom field called “Date of Birth”, and I want to make sure that candidates cannot submit the form unless their age is between 18 and 30 years.

    • Report to know the history of certain Tickets on Desk

      Hi there guys, As the title implies we're wondering if there's any way to get some kind of Report that allows us to check the History of various Tickets at the same time since as of today if we want to know that we have to check them 1 by 1 which is not

    • Advanced Usage Billing: Prepaid with Drawdown

      Picture yourself at your favourite coffee shop, Bean & Brew. You come by every morning for your usual cappuccino, and occasionally you get an extra cold brew and a muffin or two in the afternoon. Interestingly, Bean & Brew has a new idea of offering a

    • Zoho Commerce in multiple languages

      When will you be able to offer Zoho Commerce in more languages? We sell in multiple markets and want to be able to offer a local version of our webshop. What does the roadmap look like?

    • Urgent Zoho Creator down!!!???

      Now my zoho creator faced this issue. Anyone has idea? Urgent!!!

    • The Social Wall: September 2025

      Hello everyone, As we step into the fall season, some major updates are on the horizon. Meanwhile, here are the exciting updates we rolled out this September. Approvals in iOS Managing approvals just got more seamless on mobile. With this update, the

    • Introducing Detailed View for Candidates in Vendor Portal

      We’ve added a new Details sub-tab inside the Vendor Portal to help vendors easily view complete candidate information after submission. With this update, vendors can now access all candidate details, from personal information to associated job openings,

    • Zoho One Down

      Zoho Team, Checking if when the services up - currently Zoho One is down

    • How can I track which zoho users are actively using Zoho CRM

      I have several licenses of Zoho CRM. We now need to add a new user. I could purchase a new license, but before I do, I would like to see if any of our existing users are not actively using the license assigned to them. How can I determine the activity

    • Access to Detail View From HTML Snippet

      Zoho Creator displays a detail view that slides out from the right onClick of a record in a report. Am I able to access that detail view from an html snippet, e.g. click a record in a list and display the detail view? The zc_LoadIn dialog is a bit clunky,

    • Billing Management: #10 Solving Common Mistakes in Billing

      Over the past few weeks, we have explored different facets of billing, from the simplicity of traditional one-time billing to the evolving landscape of subscriptions, retainers, and usage-based models. We've unpacked how billing isn't just about sending

    • 【開催間近 - 10/17】東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.3 参加登録 受付中！(参加無料)

      ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 10/17(金)に、東京・新橋で「東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.3」を開催します！ ZOHOLICSよりも小規模なイベントですので、「リアル開催はちょっと緊張する…」という方も、安心してご参加いただけます✨ 当日は、初公開の事例を2つご紹介予定です！ なお、セッション映像のアーカイブ配信は予定していないため、会場にお越しいただいた方だけが、登壇者へ直接質問したり、リアルな声を聞いたりできる貴重な機会となっています。 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

    • Loading CSS Stylesheets into HTML Snippet

      Combining html/css into a single snippet can grow quite large for a UI that has a lot of functionality/styling. To keep things tidy, are we able to pull files into an html snippet using a <link> tag? If so, what are some best practices?

    • Notes Attachments

      Two things it would be nice to have the attachment size the same as the attachments sections and it would be nice to be able to attach links like you can in the attachments section. Thank you

    • Canvas: empty images

      Hello. If I add an image field like contact photo in a Canvas design, and the field is empty, there is an ugly placeholder in its place. This doesn't happen in the standard view. In the standard view, if the contact photo is empty, nothing appears in

    • Google enhanced conversions not working

      Hi guys, I've connected Zoho CRM through Google Ads interface with the goal to setup the enhanced conversion tracking in Google Ads. I have to Zoho related conversion goals which you can see in the images below: For the conversion goal above I've setup

    • Sync Contacts with iPhone

      Is syncing the Zoho Personal Mail contacts with the iPhone (or other mobile devices) in the works?  I just dumped Yahoo & then found out that contacts sync is missing.  Importing is only a stop gap and a step backwards for me.

    • Next Page