In the context of our services, spam manifests primarily as invalid or duplicate submissions, often containing fabricated or misleading information.
At SALT, we prioritize the security and integrity of your submissions. While we cannot guarantee complete immunity from spam, we have implemented several measures to mitigate its impact and ensure the reliability of our services.
SALT Spam Filter
When active, our spam filter automatically runs on submissions created using a consumer form link (see FAQs below for more info). This filter performs the following checks to identify spam:
Has this phone number been used in the past 24 hours?
Has the email address been used in the past 24 hours?
Has this IP address created multiple submissions for the same lines of business in the past 24 hours?
When a submission matches the criteria above, it is flagged as "spam" and SALT will automatically archive it.
The SALT Spam Filter can be enabled/disabled from the integrations section of your SALT account.
"Blocked as Spam" Scenarios
There are a few different scenarios in which either a consumer, agent or even an entire agency would be blocked as suspected spam. We've depicted each of these scenarios below, including instructions for how to "unblock" yourself or a consumer as spam.
Scenario 1: Consumer Blocked as Spam -
When a consumer's submission has been flagged as suspected spam, they'll see either one of the following notices or a combination of the two:
"We're Sorry" Spam Notice:
This screen indicates that the consumer's submission was flagged due to SALT's stipulated spam criteria being found (invalid or duplicate phone/email).
"No Access" Spam Notice:
This notice indicates that the consumer's submission was flagged due to one of the following reasons:
1. The consumer's IP address was blocked due to there being multiple submissions for the same LOB within 24 hours.
2. The consumer tried to restart or reload the submission after being shown the initial "We're sorry" spam Notice.
Scenario 2: Agent/Employee Blocked as Spam -
SALT agents and employees will see one or a combination of the aforementioned spam notices when one of the following occurs:
Agent/employee fills out more than one consumer form on behalf of the prospect when NOT signed in to SALT.
Agent/Employee fills out an embedded SALT form on behalf of the prospect.
(See FAQs below for more info.)
Locating & Unmarking Spam
You can view all submissions flagged as spam by navigating to insuranceform.app/submissions and selecting both the "Spam" and "Archived" checkboxes.
To unmark a submission that was mistakenly flagged as spam:
Navigate to insuranceform.app/submissions.
Select both the "Spam" and "Archived" checkboxes within the left-hand search filter.
Select the submission, tap the red "Suspected Spam" dropdown, and select Not Spam.
[Note: If you unmark a submission as spam, SALT will allow that submission and any others from that IP address to come through as valid, authorized submissions.
Please be sure you're only unmarking verified submissions to prevent opening yourself up to more spam susceptibility.]
Additional Spam Prevention Tools
Additional Spam Prevention Tools
Google Recaptcha
Google Recaptcha
This integration adds verification to the first step of forms, requiring the user to pass a standard “Are you a human” test.
To activate, navigate to: https://insuranceform.app/integrations/recaptcha
Fenris/Estated Geocode Block
Fenris/Estated Geocode Block
When activated, this integration tool allows agents to enable "geocode state blocking" within the Fenris and Estated integrations.
When a prospect enters their current address(Fenris) or property address (Estated), our system compares the state provided with the state derived from their incoming IP address. If there's a match, data integrations proceed as usual. If not, the submission continues, but Fenris/Estated integrations won't be triggered, preventing you from erroneous charges.
Agents can still manually initiate the Fenris/Estated data requests through the SALT admin after the form has been submitted.
To activate Estated/Fenris Geocode Block:
Navigate to Integrations.
Select "Details" under Estated/Fenris
Tap "Advanced Configuration" and select Enable IP State Verification.
Contact Verification Step
Contact Verification Step
When this optional step is added to a form, prospects must enter a verification code sent to their mobile phones. Once this verification code is confirmed, the prospect can continue submitting.
To activate, navigate to your Forms section, select a form, and add the Contact Verification step under the "Prospect" category.
[Note: We will not send lead notifications for unconfirmed prospects when this step is on a SALT form.]
Expand for more info on 'Lead Notifications'
Expand for more info on 'Lead Notifications'
Before Feb 29th, 2024, lead notifications were sent the moment we had valid contact info. As of March 1st, 2024, this is no longer the case.
Lead notification emails are now enqueued with a 15-minute delay from their last edit, and they will never be sent if the submission is completed before that 15-minute time window expires.
If the submission is incomplete and 15 minutes have passed since their last edit, we’ll send the lead notification email.
The only exception for this is for SALT forms with the Contact Verification step added. When this step is on a SALT form, we will check to see if the contact has verified their phone number BEFORE sending the lead notification.
This action prevents you from being notified of a potential spam submission, as the prospect still needs to confirm their contact info as requested by the agent.
State Filter Step
State Filter Step
When this optional step is added to a form, agents can specify which states they’re targeting with that form. The prospect must indicate which state they need to obtain insurance in. If the prospect selects an unsupported state, they will be directed to an invalid state screen, where we display a "rejection message" that the agent can customize.
It’s possible for a spammer to select a valid state but want to submit information for Fenris/Estated data from another state. We mitigate this by disabling data integrations when the prospect’s indicated coverage state does not match the property's state for Estated or the insured's current address for Fenris.
To activate, navigate to your Forms section, select a form, and add the State Filter step under the "Intro" category.
Spam-related Refunds
Spam-related Refunds
SALT Submissions -
When our SpamFilter identifies a submission as spam, we refund any data credits consumed for SALT submissions.
[Note: This would only be relevant if your agency has exceeded its 300 "soft cap" submissions for the year.]
DaaS API Requests -
If a submission bypasses our spam measures, resulting in DaaS API requests and subsequent billing, the agent will be responsible for these charges, as outlined in the table below.
FAQs
FAQs
What's the difference between a consumer form link and an agent-facing consumer form?
What's the difference between a consumer form link and an agent-facing consumer form?
Consumer form links are those sent to consumers or prospects to complete. When the consumer taps the link, a SALT form opens in their browser, ready for them to complete.
Agent-facing consumer forms are those an agent accesses internally through the SALT platform. Agent-facing consumer forms are accessed by logging into SALT, navigating to your Forms section, and tapping the link below the form's title.
What is an embedded SALT form?
What is an embedded SALT form?
An embedded form is a SALT consumer form embedded within an Agent-hosted Website, Social media, etc. (as pictured below).
How can I prevent my agency from being susceptible to spam?
How can I prevent my agency from being susceptible to spam?
Embedded forms on agency websites make your agency more susceptible to data scraping/spam attempts.
Our recommended best practice is to use Direct links to SALT's forms sent to known or semi-qualified prospects whenever possible. Using a separate qualifier form that will then direct to a SALT form link via CRM automation is far superior to an embedded form.