Discord servers of every size get hit by spam bots, scam links, and raid attempts. A single raid can fill your channels with pings and junk in seconds, and that noise drives real members away. The good news is that you can stop most of it in about five minutes using Discord's built-in tools plus one free bot. This guide walks you through both.
Step 1: Turn on Discord's built-in AutoMod
AutoMod is a native Discord feature that scans messages and blocks content that matches your rules. To set it up, open your server, click the server name, and choose Server Settings. Then open Safety Setup and select AutoMod.
Create a rule for commonly flagged words. Add terms like "free nitro," "free gift," and other phrases spam accounts use. AutoMod can block the message, send an alert, or time out the user. Start with block message so spam never appears in your channels.
Create a second rule to block suspicious links and mention spam. Mention spam is when a bot pings many members at once, a common raid tactic. Set a low limit, such as three mentions in one message, and AutoMod will catch it before it floods your notifications.
Step 2: Turn on verification settings
Verification keeps new accounts from posting until they clear a gate. In Server Settings, open Safety Setup and look for the verification level. Raise it to require a verified email or a verified phone number. This alone stops many throwaway spam accounts.
You can also enable membership screening. When screening is on, new members must agree to your rules and complete a simple gate before they can see or type in channels. Go to Server Settings, then Rules Screening, and turn it on with a short welcome note. Combined with AutoMod, these built-in settings handle a large share of everyday spam.
Step 3: Add Nova Bot for one-click raid protection
Discord's tools are strong, but they do not block every scam link or slow down a coordinated raid. Nova Bot fills those gaps and is free to set up in one click. To add it, open the invite link, choose your server, grant the permissions it asks for, and the protections turn on automatically.
Nova Bot adds dedicated spam and raid protection. It detects sudden join spikes, repeated message floods, and other raid patterns, then acts automatically. It also blocks invite links posted by non-staff, which stops raiders from pulling your members into a throwaway server. Scam-link blocking catches phishing and fake gift links before anyone clicks them.
On top of that, Nova Bot can auto-warn or time out users who break the rules. Instead of a human watching every channel, the bot issues a warning or a timeout on its own so your mod team can review the situation later.
Setting it up takes about a minute. You can find the full setup guide and feature list at https://novadiscordbot.com/discord-auto-moderation-bot and the main site at https://novadiscordbot.com/.
Wrap up
Spend five minutes on this order: enable AutoMod rules, raise your verification level, turn on screening, then invite Nova Bot and let it handle raids, invite links, and scam links. You will have a much quieter server without paying for anything.
The Nova Bot Team
