How to Stop Spam, Scam Links and Raids on Your Discord Server
Protect your Discord server from spam, scam links, invite advertising and alt account raids with the right settings and a free AutoMod that gets stricter on repeat offenders.
Every growing Discord server runs into it sooner or later: a wave of free nitro scam links, someone flooding chat, a member advertising their server in every channel, or a raid of fresh accounts all joining at once. Your moderators cannot be online all day, so the answer is to let the server protect itself.
This guide covers the Discord settings worth turning on first, then shows how to set up Ethvex AutoMod, a free automatic moderator that catches spam and gets stricter with people who keep breaking the rules.
Start with the Discord settings you already have #
Before adding any bot, make sure these built in settings are doing their job:
- Verification level. In Server Settings → Safety Setup, set at least Medium so accounts must be registered on Discord for 5 minutes before they can talk. High also makes new joiners wait 10 minutes.
- Turn off @everyone for members. Make sure only staff roles have the Mention @everyone, @here and All Roles permission.
- Limit who can post links and images in busy channels, especially your welcome and general chat.
- Set a slowmode on your busiest channel. Even 3 to 5 seconds makes flooding far less effective. Ethvex can do this with
/slowmode. - Keep the Ethvex role above member roles so it is allowed to time out, kick and ban rule breakers.
Why a punishment ladder works better than one fixed rule #
Most anti spam setups do the same thing every time: delete the message, or ban instantly. Both have problems. Deleting alone does not stop someone who keeps going, and instant bans punish a regular member who pasted one link by mistake.
Ethvex AutoMod uses escalating steps instead. Each rule has a list of punishments that get stricter every time the same person breaks it:
| Violation | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Warn | Most people stop after a friendly warning. |
| 2nd | Timeout 10 minutes | A short break for someone who ignored the warning. |
| 3rd | Timeout 1 hour | Clear message that it is not okay. |
| 4th and after | Kick or Ban | Repeat offenders and bots are removed. |
The message that broke the rule is always deleted. If someone stays clean for a number of days (7 by default), their count resets, so one bad day does not follow a member forever.
Setting up AutoMod in five minutes #
Open the panel
Run /automod (or %am). You will need the Manage Server permission.
Set a log channel
Press Set Log Channel and pick a private staff channel. Every action AutoMod takes is logged there with the user, the rule and the step used.
Turn on the modules you need
Pick a module from the dropdown, adjust its settings and press Enable Module. Start with the ones below.
Build the punishment steps
For each module, use Add step to build the ladder, like Warn, Timeout 10m, Timeout 1h, Kick.
Exempt trusted roles and channels
Under Global Exemptions, add your staff, bots or a memes channel where caps and links are fine. Anyone with Manage Server is skipped automatically.
Enable the system
Press Enable System. AutoMod is now watching every message.
Which modules to turn on #
Anti-Invite: stop server advertising
Catches Discord invite links like discord.gg/... and discord.com/invite/.... This is the single most useful module for public servers, because invite spam is what most raiders and advertisers post.
Link Filter: block scam and phishing links
Blocks every link except the websites you allow. Add the sites your community actually shares, like youtube.com, twitch.tv or tenor.com, and everything else is caught. Subdomains of allowed sites work too. This stops most free nitro and fake login scams before anyone clicks them.
Spam Guard: stop message floods
Catches someone sending lots of messages in a short time. The default is 5 messages within 5 seconds, which a real person chatting rarely hits but a spam bot always does.
Mention Spam: stop ping floods
Catches messages that mention too many people or roles at once. The defaults are 5 users or 2 roles per message. Mass pings are a classic raid tactic and very annoying for your members.
Word Filter: block slurs and banned phrases
Add the words and phrases your server does not allow, one per line. Matching ignores capital letters and also catches the word inside longer words.
Caps Filter: calm down the shouting
Catches messages written mostly in capitals. Short messages are skipped, so a quick OK or LOL is fine.
File Filter and Account Age (Pro)
File Filter blocks dangerous attachments like .exe, .bat and .scr, which are often malware. Account Age checks people when they join and acts on brand new accounts, the most common sign of alts and raid bots. Before acting, Ethvex DMs the user to explain why. Both are part of Ethvex Pro.
Watch your moderators too #
Raids do not always come from outside. If a moderator account gets compromised, it can ban half your server in a minute. Abuse Guard watches for moderators who suddenly ban, kick or time out lots of people in a short time and alerts a channel you choose, so you can act fast.
If a raid is already happening #
- Lock the channel being hit with
/lock. Members can still read but cannot send messages. - Turn on slowmode with
/slowmodein your busiest channels. - Raise your verification level to High or Highest in Server Settings for the next hour.
- Clean up with
/purge. You can delete messages from a specific user, from bots, or messages containing certain text. - Ban the accounts responsible with
/ban, and check your AutoMod log to see who was caught.
Wrapping up #
Good protection is layered: sensible Discord settings, a few well chosen AutoMod modules, a punishment ladder that is fair to regular members and tough on spammers, and a log so your team can see what happened. Everything here is free on Ethvex except File Filter and Account Age. The full module list is in the AutoMod docs.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ethvex AutoMod free?
Yes. AutoMod is free on every server. Only two modules, File Filter and Account Age, need Ethvex Pro.
Will AutoMod punish my moderators?
No. Anyone with the Manage Server permission is skipped automatically, and you can exempt any other roles or channels under Global Exemptions.
How is this different from Discord's built in AutoMod?
Discord's AutoMod blocks messages but applies the same action every time. Ethvex AutoMod tracks repeat offenders and steps up the punishment from a warning to a timeout, kick or ban, with a log of every action.
What happens to the message that breaks a rule?
It is always deleted, whatever punishment step is used. The log entry records the user, the rule, the action and the channel, but not the message content.
Try it on your own server
Ethvex is free to add and every system is set up through simple panels. No code needed.
