If you have forms on your website — reCAPTCHA is for you!
What exactly is reCAPTCHA? It is a service created by Google that detects fraud, stops bots and other automated attacks while approving valid users who try to fill out your forms on your website.
Why don't you want bots to fill in the forms?
Bots often fill in the forms with malicious links and if you accidentally click on them, you can open up viruses on their website and then a lot of things can go wrong. In addition to getting spam in their inbox, they can take over your site, change your URLs and your results on Google ranking and even destroy your website altogether. In even worse situations, you can get rid of money if you have an e-commerce or collect email addresses on your website.
How do I get reCAPTCHA?
You must have a Google account — an email registered with Google just like with all other services Google offers. Then you create an account at Google reCAPTCHA and choose the security type that suits you; Version 2 or Version 3, Version Enterprise. You have to read about the different types and decide which one is best suited. Keep in mind that version 3 needs to be approved by the user via a cookie solution as v3 collects personal data in the US just like most Google services do.
reCAPTCHA V 3
reCAPTCHA Enterprise
Actual problems websites had without reCAPTCHA
Below is a list of different types of problems you may experience on your website if you do not use reCAPTCHA or similar tools on your website.
scraping
Content theft for ad revenue diversion or competitive use
Fraudulent transactions
Purchase of goods or gift cards with stolen credit cards
Account Takeovers (ATO)
Permission Fill to Validate Stolen Accounts
Synthetic accounts
Creation of new accounts for marketing value or future abuse
Fake posts
Publication of malicious links or dissemination of misinformation
Money Laundering
Bot generated ad click revenue on fraudulent websites
You have a responsibility as the owner of a website to ensure that website is protected from attacks. reCAPTCHA does not help against all types of attacks, but only protects against intrusions via forms and is one of the more protections you need for a safe stay for your visitors.
