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Suggested workflow to remove bot accounts from your integration

Overrun with fake sign-ups? Use this guide to clean your database and remove bot-created accounts fast.

Updated over a week ago

If your site has been hit by a bot attack that caused a surge in fake sign-ups, this self-help guide walks you through recommended steps to review and clean your customer database, so you can restore data accuracy and keep your business protected.


Step 1: Export your Marsello customer database

1. In your Marsello admin, go to Customers > All Customers


2. To the right of the sort by feature, you will see a down-arrow icon. Click on this icon to begin your customer export.

In your Marsello admin, go to Customers > All Customers. To the right of the 'Sort By' feature, click the down-arrow icon to begin your customer export. The export will automatically download as a CSV file and will be saved to your computer's downloads folder.

Your export will automatically start downloading as a CSV file. It will be saved to your downloads folder on your computer.


Step 2 : Review your export to identify potential spam accounts

Review by email address

1. Open your customer export in either Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets

2. Sort the customer export by the email address column.

A spreadsheet showing a list of customer records opened in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. The data is sorted by the email address column to help identify suspicious or potentially spam accounts.

3. Search for common identifiers of spam accounts:

  • Many emails with the same unusual domain (for example: @mail.ru, @tempmail.com)

  • Random strings in the email address (for example, [email protected])

  • Use of temporary or disposable email domain (for example: 10minutemail.com, mailinator.com)

As you identify suspicious accounts, copy those rows into a new blank CSV file for removal.

Review by customer name

4. Return to your customer export and sort by the First Name column.

 A customer export spreadsheet displayed in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, with data sorted by the First Name column to help identify unusual or repetitive names that may indicate spam accounts.

5. Look for:

  • Gibberish names (for example, asdjkl, zzzzzz)

  • Repeated or identical names across multiple entries

Copy any suspicious rows into the same secondary CSV file.

Review by phone number

6. Back in your customer export file, re-sort the export by mobile number

A spreadsheet of customer data opened in Excel or Google Sheets, sorted by the mobile number column to help identify duplicate or suspicious phone numbers that may belong to spam accounts.

7. Search for common identifiers of spam accounts:

  • Repeated numbers (e.g., 1234567890)

  • Invalid or missing formats

Again, copy any identified spam accounts into the secondary CSV file.


Step 3: Bulk remove spam accounts from your Marsello database

Now that you have created a file of spam customers, you can permanently remove them from your Marsello database using their Export ID.

📝 Note: Your customers' individual Export Ids are located in the original CSV file of customers that you downloaded.

1. In your Marsello admin, go to Customers > All Customers

2. From the Update Customer List drop-down menu select bulk remove customers by ExportId.

The Marsello admin interface showing the "All Customers" page. The "Update Customer List" drop-down menu is open, with the option "Bulk remove customers by ExportId" highlighted, allowing the removal of spam accounts identified by their Export IDs from a previously downloaded CSV file.

3. In the pop-up, enter the customers' Export Ids that you would like to remove from your Marsello database.

In the pop-up, enter the customers' Export Ids to remove them from your Marsello database. Important: You need to enter one Export ID per line without any spaces.

⚠️Important: You need to enter one Export ID per line without any spaces.

4. Please double-check the Export ID's that you've entered and then click Remove customers.

5. Click Yes, remove customers to confirm that you want to remove the group of customers.

Double-check the Export IDs, click 'Remove Customers,' then confirm by clicking 'Yes, remove customers.

The group of customers will no longer be part of your loyalty program or receive your marketing.

⚠️ Important: This step will remove customers from your Marsello subscription and will not be automatically added back into your Marsello database the next time they shop.

Step 4: Managing Deleted Spam Accounts

What Happens When Spam Accounts Are Deleted?

When a spam account is removed, it is no longer counted in your billing calculations. However, these accounts might still appear in your customer list if you apply certain filters.

Visibility of Deleted Accounts

To view profiles of deleted spam accounts:

  • Use the "Include Removed" filter in your customer list.

  • When this option is enabled, removed profiles will be visible but clearly marked as deleted, ensuring they do not falsely represent active customers.

Billing Adjustment

Accounts marked as removed or deleted will not contribute to your billing total. This ensures you are only billed for legitimate, active customer profiles. By following these guidelines, you can efficiently manage spam accounts, ensuring clarity in your customer database and fairness in your billing. For further support, contact Marsello’s customer service.


Additional tips and tricks to prevent spam bots from signing up for customer accounts on your eCommerce store

Shopify eCommerce

HCaptcha

Shopify has a feature called hCaptcha which helps prevent bots from creating fake customer accounts on your eCommerce store. hCaptcha analyzes visitor behavior on your storefront to detect and block spam bots. It helps protect your store without adding unnecessary friction for legitimate users by minimizing captcha prompts.


hCaptcha is automatically enabled on all Shopify stores and can appear on the following pages:

  • Login

  • Account creation

  • Password recovery

reCAPTCHA (Shopify Plus only)

If you are on Shopify Plus, you can contact Shopify Plus Support to activate bot protection features, including reCAPTCHA.


BigCommerce

reCAPTCHA

reCAPTCHA, is built into all themes available in the Theme Marketplace and helps stop bots from signing up for customer accounts.


WooCommerce

WooCommerce doesn’t include built-in account verification by default. However, there are several third-party plugins available (usually for an additional cost) that can help block fake account signups:

  • Customer email verification

  • WooCommerce email verification

These plugins ensure customers verify their email address before their account is activated, adding a useful layer of protection.


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