diff --git a/.env_SAMPLE b/.env_SAMPLE
index 91a7f54..35fafe4 100644
--- a/.env_SAMPLE
+++ b/.env_SAMPLE
@@ -1,3 +1,11 @@
 BOT_TOKEN=your_token
 QUARANTINE_ROLE_ID=1234567890
 QUARANTINE_HONEYPOT_CHANNEL_ID=1234567890
+# Spam detection configuration (optional - defaults shown)
+SPAM_SIMILARITY_THRESHOLD=0.85
+SPAM_CHANNEL_THRESHOLD=3
+MESSAGE_HISTORY_SECONDS=3600
+SPAM_MIN_MESSAGE_LENGTH=20
+SPAM_MAX_MESSAGES_PER_USER=50
+SPAM_MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH=200
+CLEANUP_INTERVAL_SECONDS=300
diff --git a/am_bot/cogs/quarantine.py b/am_bot/cogs/quarantine.py
index fd80c85..716684d 100644
--- a/am_bot/cogs/quarantine.py
+++ b/am_bot/cogs/quarantine.py
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
+import asyncio
 import logging
 import os
+from collections import defaultdict
+from dataclasses import dataclass
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from difflib import SequenceMatcher
 
 import discord
 from discord.ext import commands
@@ -13,27 +17,175 @@
 )
 QUARANTINE_ROLE_ID = int(os.getenv("QUARANTINE_ROLE_ID", 0))
 
+# Spam detection configuration
+# Minimum similarity ratio (0.0 to 1.0) to consider messages as duplicates
+SPAM_SIMILARITY_THRESHOLD = float(os.getenv("SPAM_SIMILARITY_THRESHOLD", 0.85))
+# Number of similar messages across different channels to trigger quarantine
+SPAM_CHANNEL_THRESHOLD = int(os.getenv("SPAM_CHANNEL_THRESHOLD", 3))
+# Message history retention in seconds (default 1 hour)
+MESSAGE_HISTORY_SECONDS = int(os.getenv("MESSAGE_HISTORY_SECONDS", 3600))
+# Minimum message length to consider for spam detection (ignore short messages)
+SPAM_MIN_MESSAGE_LENGTH = int(os.getenv("SPAM_MIN_MESSAGE_LENGTH", 20))
+
+# Internal constants (not configurable)
+_MAX_MESSAGES_PER_USER = 50
+_MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH = 200
+_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_SECONDS = 300
+
+
+@dataclass
+class MessageRecord:
+    """Record of a user's message for spam detection."""
+
+    content: str  # Stored lowercase for efficient comparison
+    channel_id: int
+    timestamp: datetime
+
 
 class QuarantineCog(commands.Cog):
     def __init__(self, bot: discord.ext.commands.Bot):
         self.bot = bot
+        # user_id -> list of MessageRecord
+        self.message_history: dict[int, list[MessageRecord]] = defaultdict(
+            list
+        )
+        self._cleanup_task: asyncio.Task | None = None
 
-    async def _delete_honeypot_message(self, message: discord.Message) -> None:
-        """Delete the message that triggered the honeypot."""
-        try:
-            await message.delete()
-            logger.debug(f"Deleted honeypot message from {message.author}")
-        except discord.errors.Forbidden:
-            logger.warning(
-                f"Could not delete honeypot message from {message.author}"
+    def cog_load(self) -> None:
+        """Start the periodic cleanup task when cog is loaded."""
+        self._cleanup_task = self.bot.loop.create_task(
+            self._periodic_cleanup()
+        )
+
+    def cog_unload(self) -> None:
+        """Cancel the cleanup task when cog is unloaded."""
+        if self._cleanup_task:
+            self._cleanup_task.cancel()
+
+    async def _periodic_cleanup(self) -> None:
+        """Periodically clean up old messages from all users."""
+        await asyncio.sleep(60)  # Initial delay
+        while True:
+            try:
+                self._cleanup_old_messages()
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.error(f"Error in periodic cleanup: {e}")
+            await asyncio.sleep(_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_SECONDS)
+
+    def _cleanup_old_messages(self) -> None:
+        """Clean up old messages from all users."""
+        cutoff = datetime.now(timezone.utc) - timedelta(
+            seconds=MESSAGE_HISTORY_SECONDS
+        )
+        users_to_remove = []
+
+        for user_id, messages in self.message_history.items():
+            self.message_history[user_id] = [
+                msg for msg in messages if msg.timestamp > cutoff
+            ]
+            if not self.message_history[user_id]:
+                users_to_remove.append(user_id)
+
+        for user_id in users_to_remove:
+            del self.message_history[user_id]
+
+        if users_to_remove:
+            logger.debug(
+                f"Cleaned up history for {len(users_to_remove)} users"
+            )
+
+    def _record_message(self, message: discord.Message) -> None:
+        """Record a message in the user's history."""
+        # Store lowercase and truncated for memory efficiency
+        content = message.content[:_MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH].lower()
+
+        record = MessageRecord(
+            content=content,
+            channel_id=message.channel.id,
+            timestamp=datetime.now(timezone.utc),
+        )
+
+        user_history = self.message_history[message.author.id]
+        user_history.append(record)
+
+        # Enforce max messages per user (remove oldest if over limit)
+        if len(user_history) > _MAX_MESSAGES_PER_USER:
+            self.message_history[message.author.id] = user_history[
+                -_MAX_MESSAGES_PER_USER:
+            ]
+
+    def _get_similarity(self, text1: str, text2: str) -> float:
+        """Calculate similarity ratio between two lowercase strings."""
+        return SequenceMatcher(None, text1, text2).ratio()
+
+    def _detect_cross_channel_spam(
+        self, user_id: int, new_content: str, current_channel_id: int
+    ) -> bool:
+        """
+        Detect if a user is spamming similar messages across channels.
+
+        Returns True if spam is detected.
+        """
+        content = new_content.strip()
+        if not content:
+            return False
+
+        # Skip short messages to avoid false positives (e.g., "lol", "ok")
+        if len(content) < SPAM_MIN_MESSAGE_LENGTH:
+            return False
+
+        history = self.message_history.get(user_id, [])
+        if not history:
+            return False
+
+        # Lowercase once for all comparisons
+        content_lower = content.lower()
+
+        # Find channels where similar messages were posted
+        spam_channels: set[int] = set()
+
+        for record in history:
+            # Skip messages from the same channel
+            if record.channel_id == current_channel_id:
+                continue
+
+            # Quick length check - very different lengths can't be similar
+            len_ratio = (
+                len(content_lower) / len(record.content)
+                if record.content
+                else 0
             )
-        except discord.errors.NotFound:
-            logger.debug("Honeypot message already deleted")
+            if len_ratio < 0.5 or len_ratio > 2.0:
+                continue
+
+            similarity = self._get_similarity(content_lower, record.content)
+            if similarity >= SPAM_SIMILARITY_THRESHOLD:
+                spam_channels.add(record.channel_id)
+                logger.debug(
+                    f"Similar message found in channel {record.channel_id} "
+                    f"(similarity: {similarity:.2%})"
+                )
+
+        # Include current channel in the count
+        total_channels = len(spam_channels) + 1
+
+        if total_channels >= SPAM_CHANNEL_THRESHOLD:
+            logger.info(
+                f"Cross-channel spam detected for user {user_id}: "
+                f"similar messages in {total_channels} channels"
+            )
+            return True
+
+        return False
 
     async def _assign_quarantine_role(
-        self, member: discord.Member, guild: discord.Guild
+        self, member: discord.Member, guild: discord.Guild, reason: str
     ) -> bool:
         """Assign quarantine role to member. Returns True on success."""
+        if QUARANTINE_ROLE_ID == 0:
+            logger.warning("Quarantine role ID not configured.")
+            return False
+
         quarantine_role = guild.get_role(QUARANTINE_ROLE_ID)
         if quarantine_role is None:
             logger.error(
@@ -42,9 +194,7 @@ async def _assign_quarantine_role(
             return False
 
         try:
-            await member.add_roles(
-                quarantine_role, reason="Triggered quarantine honeypot"
-            )
+            await member.add_roles(quarantine_role, reason=reason)
             logger.info(f"Assigned quarantine role to {member} ({member.id})")
             return True
         except discord.errors.Forbidden:
@@ -101,38 +251,59 @@ async def _purge_channel(
             logger.warning(f"HTTP error purging in {channel.name}: {e}")
         return 0
 
-    @commands.Cog.listener()
-    async def on_message(self, message: discord.Message):
-        if message.author.bot:
-            return
-
-        if message.channel.id != QUARANTINE_HONEYPOT_CHANNEL_ID:
-            return
-
-        if QUARANTINE_HONEYPOT_CHANNEL_ID == 0 or QUARANTINE_ROLE_ID == 0:
-            logger.warning("Quarantine IDs not configured. Skipping.")
-            return
-
+    async def _handle_quarantine(
+        self, message: discord.Message, reason: str
+    ) -> None:
+        """Handle quarantining a user: assign role and purge messages."""
         member = message.author
         guild = message.guild
 
-        if guild is None:
-            logger.warning("Message not in a guild. Skipping.")
-            return
-
         logger.info(
-            f"Honeypot triggered by {member} ({member.id}) "
-            f"in channel {message.channel.name}"
+            f"Quarantine triggered for {member} ({member.id}): {reason}"
         )
 
-        await self._delete_honeypot_message(message)
+        # Delete the triggering message
+        try:
+            await message.delete()
+        except (discord.errors.Forbidden, discord.errors.NotFound):
+            pass
 
-        if not await self._assign_quarantine_role(member, guild):
+        if not await self._assign_quarantine_role(member, guild, reason):
             return
 
         deleted_count = await self._purge_member_messages(member, guild)
 
+        # Clear their message history from memory
+        if member.id in self.message_history:
+            del self.message_history[member.id]
+
         logger.info(
             f"Quarantine complete for {member} ({member.id}). "
             f"Deleted {deleted_count} messages from the last hour."
         )
+
+    @commands.Cog.listener()
+    async def on_message(self, message: discord.Message):
+        # Ignore bot messages and DMs
+        if message.author.bot or message.guild is None:
+            return
+
+        # Check 1: Honeypot channel trigger
+        if message.channel.id == QUARANTINE_HONEYPOT_CHANNEL_ID:
+            if QUARANTINE_HONEYPOT_CHANNEL_ID != 0:
+                await self._handle_quarantine(
+                    message, "Triggered quarantine honeypot"
+                )
+                return
+
+        # Check 2: Cross-channel spam detection
+        if self._detect_cross_channel_spam(
+            message.author.id, message.content, message.channel.id
+        ):
+            await self._handle_quarantine(
+                message, "Cross-channel spam detected"
+            )
+            return
+
+        # Record the message for future spam detection
+        self._record_message(message)
diff --git a/helm/am-bot/templates/deployment.yaml b/helm/am-bot/templates/deployment.yaml
index 361aeda..a7e28a8 100644
--- a/helm/am-bot/templates/deployment.yaml
+++ b/helm/am-bot/templates/deployment.yaml
@@ -65,6 +65,35 @@ spec:
             - name: QUARANTINE_ROLE_ID
               value: {{ .Values.quarantine.roleId | quote }}
             {{- end }}
+            {{- /* Spam detection configuration */}}
+            {{- if .Values.spamDetection.similarityThreshold }}
+            - name: SPAM_SIMILARITY_THRESHOLD
+              value: {{ .Values.spamDetection.similarityThreshold | quote }}
+            {{- end }}
+            {{- if .Values.spamDetection.channelThreshold }}
+            - name: SPAM_CHANNEL_THRESHOLD
+              value: {{ .Values.spamDetection.channelThreshold | quote }}
+            {{- end }}
+            {{- if .Values.spamDetection.historySeconds }}
+            - name: MESSAGE_HISTORY_SECONDS
+              value: {{ .Values.spamDetection.historySeconds | quote }}
+            {{- end }}
+            {{- if .Values.spamDetection.minMessageLength }}
+            - name: SPAM_MIN_MESSAGE_LENGTH
+              value: {{ .Values.spamDetection.minMessageLength | quote }}
+            {{- end }}
+            {{- if .Values.spamDetection.maxMessagesPerUser }}
+            - name: SPAM_MAX_MESSAGES_PER_USER
+              value: {{ .Values.spamDetection.maxMessagesPerUser | quote }}
+            {{- end }}
+            {{- if .Values.spamDetection.maxContentLength }}
+            - name: SPAM_MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH
+              value: {{ .Values.spamDetection.maxContentLength | quote }}
+            {{- end }}
+            {{- if .Values.spamDetection.cleanupInterval }}
+            - name: CLEANUP_INTERVAL_SECONDS
+              value: {{ .Values.spamDetection.cleanupInterval | quote }}
+            {{- end }}
             {{- /* Additional environment variables */}}
             {{- range $key, $value := .Values.env }}
             - name: {{ $key }}
diff --git a/helm/am-bot/values.yaml b/helm/am-bot/values.yaml
index d6c39cb..5db8cdc 100644
--- a/helm/am-bot/values.yaml
+++ b/helm/am-bot/values.yaml
@@ -39,6 +39,23 @@ quarantine:
   # Role ID to assign to users who trigger the honeypot
   roleId: ""
 
+# Spam detection configuration
+spamDetection:
+  # Similarity threshold (0.0-1.0) for detecting duplicate messages
+  similarityThreshold: "0.85"
+  # Number of channels with similar messages to trigger quarantine
+  channelThreshold: "3"
+  # Message history retention in seconds (default 1 hour)
+  historySeconds: "3600"
+  # Minimum message length to check for spam (shorter messages are ignored)
+  minMessageLength: "20"
+  # Maximum messages stored per user (memory protection)
+  maxMessagesPerUser: "50"
+  # Maximum content length stored per message (truncates longer messages)
+  maxContentLength: "200"
+  # Interval for periodic cleanup of all users (seconds)
+  cleanupInterval: "300"
+
 # Additional environment variables
 env: {}