Defending Against Spammer AI (or: I Launched a Website and 47 Robots Asked to Fix It)
So I finally finished revamping my website. New look, new blog, the works. I proudly posted about it on social media and waited for the congratulations to roll in.
What rolled in instead was web designers. Lots of them. Within minutes. "Hey Ray! Love the new site! Quick question, have you considered a redesign?" I had just done a redesign. That was the whole post. It felt like 47 robots lined up to tell me my brand new car needs a paint job.
Turns out that's pretty much exactly what happened. Here's how the spam robots work, and how to keep them from driving you nuts (or worse, costing you money).
Yes, they're watching (but not the way you think)
Nobody at a web design shop was sitting there reading my post. Software was. There are tools that scan public posts all day long for phrases like "new website," "just launched" or "grand opening." They were built so brands could keep tabs on what people say about them, but a lot of lead-generation outfits use them to find fresh targets. Post the magic words and you land on somebody's list, sometimes with an automatic message fired off before you've even finished your coffee.
Some of them don't even need your post. When you move a website to new hosting, it leaves little public footprints, like new security certificates and changes to what the site is built on. There are services that watch for exactly that and sell the list. So if you just updated your site, expect some "I noticed your website..." emails over the next few weeks. You're not special. You're just fresh.
Enter AI: the spam got a lot more convincing
Old-school spam was easy to spot. Bad grammar, "Dear Sir/Madam," a prince who needs your help moving money. Now AI writes the pitch. It glances at your website in two seconds and spits out a message that sounds personal: it uses your name, mentions your business, maybe even compliments a photo. One person with the right software can send hundreds of those a day, each one "custom."
Most of it is just annoying. Some of it is dangerous. The FBI's latest Internet Crime Report says Americans filed over a million complaints in 2025 with more than $20 billion in reported losses. Phishing and spoofing was the most reported crime of all, and the FBI logged over 22,000 complaints involving AI, adding up to nearly $900 million in losses. So yeah, the robots aren't just selling web design.
How to spot a spam robot in a nice sweater
- The compliment is weirdly generic. "Love your website!" but they can't tell you one specific thing about it that a bot couldn't pull from your homepage.
- They found a "problem" in five seconds. Your site is "slow," "not showing up on Google," or "not mobile friendly." Funny how they never send proof.
- It's urgent for no reason. "Your domain is about to expire!" "Your Facebook page will be disabled in 24 hours!" Real problems rarely come with a countdown clock from a stranger.
- They want you to click, call or pay fast. A link, a "quick call" or an invoice you don't remember ordering.
- The sender doesn't match. The name says a big company, the email address says something like support-team-4471 at a free email account.
How to defend yourself (without becoming a hermit)
- Don't reply. Not even "no thanks." I know, your mother raised you to be polite. But a reply tells the robot a real human reads that inbox, and now you're on the "live one" list. Silence is golden. Delete is platinum.
- Block and report. It takes two seconds and helps the platforms catch them. Most social apps also let you send message requests from strangers to a separate folder so they don't clutter your real inbox.
- Never click links in surprise messages. If something says your domain, your ad account or your bank needs attention, close the message and go to the real website yourself. Type it in. Old school, but it works.
- Verify money stuff by phone. If a vendor emails to say they changed their bank info, or your "boss" urgently needs gift cards, pick up the phone and call a number you already have. The FBI counted over $3 billion in losses in 2025 from business email scams alone, and a 30-second phone call stops most of them cold.
- Turn on two-step login. For your email, social media, website host and bank. It's the extra code texted to your phone. Mildly annoying for you, extremely annoying for the bad guys.
- Protect your contact form. A hidden "trap" field that only bots fill out catches a ton of junk before it ever hits your inbox. (Ours has one. The robots keep falling in. It brings me joy.)
- Let the good AI fight the bad AI. Your email's spam filter is AI too, and it gets smarter every time you mark something as spam instead of just deleting it. Train your robot. It works for you.
But what if one of them is legit?
Could be! There are good designers and marketers out there, and some of them do cold outreach. Here's my rule: real pros don't mind being checked out. Look at their actual work. Call a past client. See if they exist anywhere besides that one message. A legit person will be happy you asked. A robot will just send you another message tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that.
The bottom line
Launching something new is supposed to be fun, so don't let the robots ruin it. Ignore, block, verify and move on with your life. Post your wins anyway. Just know that the second you do, the robots are going to show up and ask if you'd like to improve them.
And if you're looking for a real human to make you a video, that's us. We promise to read your website before we compliment it. Check out our services, see our work, or read my take on AI for the helpful side of the robots.
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