---
name: "hiring_mark_spam"
area: "hiring"
title: "Mark an application as spam"
price: "$0.001"
method: "POST"
url: "https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/hiring_mark_spam"
mcp_server: "https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/hiring"
auth: "Authorization: Bearer <conecto_sk_ key>"
docs_url: "https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_mark_spam"
---

# Mark an application as spam (`hiring_mark_spam`)

Moves one application to spam or back, and can block the network and email domain it came from.

Move one application to spam (out of hiring_list_applicants unless spam is true), or back with spam false. block: true also blocks the network it came from and its email domain (never a free provider's, like gmail.com). One kept as spam on arrival opens like any application when marked not spam: the $0.50 fee is charged then. $0.001.

Price: $0.001 a call. A call that fails costs nothing.

## Use it when

An application is junk, or a real one was kept as spam by the blocklist.

- For blocking networks or domains without an application, use [hiring_update_blocklist](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_update_blocklist.md).

## Say this to your agent

> That last application is spam: hide it and block where it came from.

## Inputs

| Name | Type | Required | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| `applicant_id` | integer | yes | At least 1. |  |  |
| `spam` | boolean | no |  |  | `true` |
| `block` | boolean | no | Also block its network and email domain (with spam true). |  | `false` |

## Example

Written for Halverson Cycle & Repair, a bike shop with a repair workshop in Portland, Oregon.

MCP: call `hiring_mark_spam` on the MCP server `https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/hiring` with these arguments:

```json
{
  "applicant_id": 4101,
  "block": true
}
```

REST:

```bash
curl https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/hiring_mark_spam \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONECTO_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"applicant_id": 4101, "block": true}'
```

## Response

```json
{
  "call_id": "5f0c8a2e-3b7d-4c1e-9a64-2d8e1f7b0c93",
  "tool": "hiring_mark_spam",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "replayed": false,
  "cost_usd": "$0.001",
  "balance_usd": "$19.75",
  "result": {
    "applicant": {
      "applicant_id": 4101,
      "job": "bike-mechanic",
      "name": "Maria Santos",
      "email": "maria.santos@example.com",
      "phone": "+1 503 555 0130",
      "stage": "Applied",
      "rating": null,
      "source": "careers",
      "applied_at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
      "updated_at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
      "has_resume": true,
      "flags": [],
      "screened": null,
      "stage_since": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
      "stages_reached": [
        "Applied"
      ],
      "assessments": [],
      "interview": null,
      "next_step": {
        "step": "review",
        "label": "To review",
        "waiting_on": "you",
        "at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
        "overdue": false
      },
      "match_score": null,
      "screening_summary": null,
      "passed_filter_at": null,
      "risk": "high",
      "signals": {
        "risk": "high",
        "high": [
          {
            "code": "shared_phone",
            "applicant_ids": [
              2
            ],
            "text": "The same phone number is on 1 other application under another email address."
          }
        ],
        "minor": [],
        "authentic": [
          {
            "code": "name_in_email",
            "text": "Their name is in their email address."
          }
        ],
        "checked_at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00"
      },
      "spam": true,
      "links": [],
      "cover_letter": "I have worked in bike shops for six years, the last two also building wheels for a cyclocross team.",
      "answers": [
        {
          "question": "How many years have you worked as a bike mechanic?",
          "answer": 6
        },
        {
          "question": "Can you lift 50 lb?",
          "answer": true
        }
      ],
      "screening": null,
      "notes": [],
      "history": [
        {
          "at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
          "change": "Applied"
        },
        {
          "at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
          "change": "Marked as spam",
          "by": "Pip"
        }
      ],
      "interview_invite": null,
      "resume": {
        "file_id": "0fa5552b-c1c8-46b3-a50f-92dc424a8f02",
        "name": "Résumé Maria Santos.pdf",
        "content_type": "application/pdf",
        "size": "1.1 KB",
        "size_bytes": 1153,
        "sha256": "6b65acac1ceea7ed3492428300b2b14437c63d6d3c622e96f0d76366e03b0fb9",
        "created_at": "2026-10-14T08:00:00+00:00",
        "download_url": "https://cncto.co/d/0fa5552b-c1c8-46b3-a50f-92dc424a8f02?t=eyJmIjoiMGZhNTU1MmItYzFjOC00NmIzLWE1MGYtOTJkYzQyNGE4ZjAyIiwiZXhwIjoxNzkyNTAyMjA4fQ:1xInEO:uJqEy1qfhlGgVuQrsPSNgBydKRG9x0m1F3ONGhUom50",
        "link_expires_in_hours": 24
      }
    },
    "blocklist": {
      "ips": [
        "198.51.100.6/32"
      ],
      "email_domains": [
        "example.com"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

`result`: applicant: the application as it is now; blocklist: ips and email_domains; note: when a free provider's domain was left unblocked.

## Errors

| Code | Status | When | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| `not_found` | 404 | No applicant of the business has that applicant_id. | Find them with hiring_list_applicants. |
| `payment_required` | 402 | The application came in while the balance could not pay its fee, so it is held. | Top up; the application opens once its fee is paid. |

The refusals every tool can give (401 key, 402 balance, 429 limits) are on the errors page: https://conecto.chat/docs/errors.md

## Related

- [hiring_setup_careers](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_setup_careers.md): Sets up the careers page at cncto.co/j/<name>: its name, intro, website, reply-to address and who hears about applications. $0.001 a call.
- [hiring_design_careers](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_design_careers.md): Gives the careers and job pages the business's own look: colours, a font, corners, a cover, a headline and its own CSS. $0.001 a call.
- [hiring_create_job](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_create_job.md): Posts a job with its own page and application form on the careers page. $0.01 a call.
- [hiring_update_job](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_update_job.md): Changes a job's details, its criteria and filter, or opens or closes it. $0.01 a call.
- [hiring_list_jobs](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_list_jobs.md): The business's jobs with their status, page and applicants per stage. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [hiring_list_applicants](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_list_applicants.md): Applicants, newest or best match first: for one job or all, by stage, screening, risk, name or email, or the ones kept as spam. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [hiring_get_applicant](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_get_applicant.md): One application in full: answers, résumé link, screening and match score, the checks on who sent it, notes and history. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [hiring_screen_queue](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_screen_queue.md): The next applications nobody has screened, with the job's criteria and the résumé as text, blind by default. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [hiring_record_screening](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_record_screening.md): Saves a review of one application: strong, partial or weak, a summary, and each criterion with its evidence. $0.01 a call.
- [hiring_get_blocklist](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_get_blocklist.md): The networks and email domains whose applications are kept as spam. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [hiring_update_blocklist](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_update_blocklist.md): Blocks or unblocks networks and email domains; what comes from them is kept as spam, with no fee and no emails. $0.001 a call.
- [hiring_move_applicant](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_move_applicant.md): Moves an applicant to another stage of their job, with a note; the candidate is not told. $0.01 a call.
- [hiring_hire_applicant](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_hire_applicant.md): Hires an applicant in one call: Hired in hiring, a person in HR with their résumé on file, and their onboarding checklist started. $0.25 a call.
- [hiring_note](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_note.md): Adds a note to an applicant, rates them 1 to 5, or both. $0.01 a call.
- [hiring_email_applicant](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_email_applicant.md): Emails an applicant in the business's name; replies go to the careers page's reply-to address. $0.02 a call.
- [hiring_invite_to_interview](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_invite_to_interview.md): Emails an applicant a link to book an interview on one of the calendar's meeting types, and can move them to a stage. $0.05 a call.
- [hiring_save_assessment](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_save_assessment.md): Writes a skills test or changes one: questions scored on their own, written answers to mark, a time limit and shuffling. $0.01 a call.
- [hiring_list_assessments](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_list_assessments.md): The business's skills tests: title, questions, time limit, and how many were sent and completed. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [hiring_send_assessment](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_send_assessment.md): Emails an applicant their own link to a skills test. $0.02 a call.
- [hiring_assessment_results](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_assessment_results.md): An applicant's tests: status, score, each answer against the expected one, answers to mark, time taken and how often they left the page. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [hiring_mark_assessment](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_mark_assessment.md): Gives points to the written answers of a completed test. $0.01 a call.
- [hiring_delete_assessment](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_delete_assessment.md): Deletes a skills test with every candidate's answers to it. Free.
- [hiring_delete_applicant](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_delete_applicant.md): Deletes an applicant and their résumé for good. Free.
- [hiring_dashboard_link](https://conecto.chat/tools/hiring/hiring_dashboard_link.md): A one-time link to hiring at a glance: each applicant's stage and next step, the tests and interviews waiting, and the open jobs. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.