If you run peer-to-peer events on Blackbaud Luminate Online® TeamRaiser, you have probably noticed something frustrating lately: a wave of spam registrations flooding your events. Automated bots and bad actors have been targeting public registration forms across the web, and TeamRaiser events are no exception. These fake sign-ups clutter your reporting, inflate your participant counts, and make it harder to see who your real supporters are. The good news is that this problem is very fixable. In this guide, we walk through the practical steps TeamRaiser users can take to handle, prevent, and stay ahead of spam registrations. We will cover the two changes that have made the biggest difference in our work, plus one extra option you can pull out when you need it. None of this requires a developer or a long project plan, just a few targeted settings and a quick assist from Blackbaud support.

Why TeamRaiser Spam Registrations Are on the Rise

Across Luminate Online TeamRaiser events, fundraisers have seen a noticeable influx of spam registrations recently. Automated bots target public registration forms because they are open, fast to fill out, and connected to a trusted platform. For busy annual giving teams, the impact is real. Junk records make your event totals unreliable, slow down list cleanup, and create extra noise right when you need clean data to drive your campaign. The fix is to make your registration path less attractive to bots while keeping it smooth for the supporters you actually want.

How to Stop Spam Registrations in TeamRaiser

Here are the steps we recommend, in the order we would tackle them.

Ask Blackbaud to Enable a Word Blocklist

Start by contacting Blackbaud support and asking them to enable a word blocklist for your account. This blocks registrations that contain suspicious patterns and known spam activity before they ever reach your event. It is a behind-the-scenes safeguard you cannot fully configure on your own, which is exactly why opening a support case is the right first move. Be specific in your request: tell them you are seeing a spike in spam registrations on TeamRaiser and ask them to enable blocklisting for suspicious activity.

Update Your CAPTCHA Setting in Luminate Online

CAPTCHA only works if it is switched on at the right level. Before adding it to your event, update your CAPTCHA version in Luminate Online so the platform uses the stronger reCAPTCHA v3 protection. Here is the path to follow:

1. Go to Setup in the navigation.
2. Click Site Options.
3. Select Security.
4. Click Go.
5. Update SEC_CAPTCHA_VERSION to RECAPTCHA_V3.

For reference, here is what that setting looks like once it is updated:

It is a small setting that is easy to overlook, and it makes the difference between a defense that works and one that sits dormant.

Add CAPTCHA as an Event Question

Next, add a CAPTCHA challenge to your registration flow as an event question. CAPTCHA asks each registrant to prove they are human, which stops automated bots in their tracks while barely slowing down genuine supporters. This single step removes a huge share of the automated junk you are seeing. One thing to keep in mind: the CAPTCHA will not appear as a visible question during the actual registration flow, but it will be active and working in the background.

An Extra Layer of Defense: Temporarily Add a Registration Fee

If spam is still slipping through, consider temporarily enabling a registration fee. Even a small fee adds a payment step that bots are not built to complete, which deters the bulk of automated sign-ups. This is a flexible lever you can turn on during a spike and turn back off once things settle, so it never has to be a permanent change to your supporter experience.

A Simple Combination That Works

You do not need every option at once. With the word blocklist and CAPTCHA in place together, we have seen spam registrations greatly reduced across TeamRaiser events. Those two changes form a strong baseline, and the registration fee is there as a backup when you need extra protection. Start with the first two, watch your numbers, and add the fee only if the spam persists.

Blackbaud’s Latest Update Adds Another Layer of Defense

Blackbaud is addressing this problem at the platform level too. A June 2026 update to TeamRaiser (version 26.1.2c) enhanced registration integrity protections, including smarter bot detection, improved content validation, and a fix that prevents pages from being incorrectly rejected due to length. When the system catches a suspicious submission, it blocks it and prompts the user to correct their information. These improvements work alongside the manual steps above, giving you broader coverage without any extra configuration on your end. You can review the full details in the Luminate Online release notes.

Spam registrations are annoying, but they should not pull your team away from the work that actually grows your annual fund. If you would like a hand auditing your TeamRaiser setup, locking down your registration forms, or building a cleaner reporting process around your events, book a call with Doing Good Digital and we will help you get your data and your campaigns back on track.