New security check for anonymous tickets in Zendesk

Zendesk has introduced a new flow for anonymous end users submitting tickets via the Help Center, API, and Mobile SDK.

Why is Zendesk making this change?

This is part of ongoing security work. Without any form of verification, it is easy to submit tickets in someone else’s name, fill support queues with spam, or misuse the system in other ways. The verification step is simply Zendesk’s way of ensuring that there is a real person behind each ticket.

How the new flow works

When end users submit tickets without being logged into the Help Center via; Web form, Web Widget (Classic), API, or Support SDK, the following happens:

1. The ticket goes into Suspended tickets and does not appear in the usual views.
2. Zendesk sends a verification mail to the email address provided by the end user.

The ticket only becomes active when either the end user clicks the verification link in the email or an agent manually restores the ticket from suspended tickets.

What do you need to do?

• Make sure you know how to find and restore suspended tickets. These blocked tickets will always have the suspension cause "Anonymous requests". 
   
• If you do not already have a routine for managing suspended tickets, now is a good time to establish one. This is a necessary step for well-functioning support. Get in touch if you want to discuss this and how it can work!
   
• If you have guides for your end users, update them so they know they must confirm their email address for the ticket to be received.
   
• It is also possible to customise the content of the verification email; you can do this in Admin Center → People → End users → Email verification email text.

Do you want to turn off the feature?

Go to Admin Center → People → Configuration → End users and uncheck "Verify anonymous requests". 

Contact our support here for questions or if you want help!