Hamster Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Hi all From the start of the New Year I noticed a very large increase in the amount of SPAM accounts being registered, and so I put all new accounts on Admin approval to enable the Admins to have a little closer look at them. From 1st January up to today I've banned about 1300 new SPAM accounts, which works out at around an 800% increase in these accounts being registered in a comparative period over the previous 12 months. I identify the accounts by checking various SPAM alert sites with the account's name, e-mail address and IP address. What I have also noticed during these checks is that there is also an increase in the number of SCAM accounts being created - that is an account where either/and/or the name, e-mail address or IP address is flagged up on SCAM alert sites as being used in attempted scams. I've now banned 2 SCAM accounts that I managed to identify - one got in, the other didn't. Although the Admins check each new account at the moment, another SCAM account could get in that hasn't been identified as such. The bottom line is [u]BE CAREFUL[/u] when buying from new forum members, especially if they contact you only by PM with 'too good' or 'too convenient' to be true offers. They tend not to post on the forums because then their forum name and other possible details are picked up by search engine bots and can be collated into a pattern of scamming behaviour. If you small a rat - there probably is one - alert a Moderator or Admin and we'll happily look into it. What we won't do is check out every member you're thinking of trading with - it's your decision and responsibility and neither the website or its owners can be held responsible if you fall for a scam. [b][size=3]Contact buyers/sellers through their e-mail address by clicking on the link on their profile page: Many legitimate members use the same forum name on several websites - Google it: Google their e-mail address and any trading name they give you: NEVER pay by Western Union: Check for any feedback here or on another website: If you accept payment by cheque, ask your bank to deal with it as a 'special presentation' - they will charge you to do this, but you will find out if the cheque is good or worthless much quicker; Do not send goods until your bank tells you that the cheque has cleared:[/size][/b] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Thanks for minding the store for us all Hamster. S'appreciated. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Yeah,thanx for looking out for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 I agree on the move to admin approval for new accounts - it's a move I've suggested before, as it works well elsewhere; especially alongside member recommendation (e.g. existing members vouching for new joiners). Glad to see such proactive action, but a little disappointed by the scale of it all - crikey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigmondo Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Well done that man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Thanks Colin. The level of spamming is becoming insane. I think this explains why email spam has gone down recently, forums are being used instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I think I have had a few people / scammers after my amp. I've withdrawn it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafbass02 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Really appreciate the hard work you guys do on our behalf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 [quote name='Musicman20' post='1133952' date='Feb 20 2011, 01:07 AM']I think I have had a few people / scammers after my amp. I've withdrawn it now.[/quote] Hey that was a genuine offer Gareth, The layby may have connections to the dogging community but 2am was the only time I could manage, The steamy windows was just because we had a bag of chips on the way, There was no need to turn around and drive off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombboy Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1134101' date='Feb 20 2011, 11:06 AM']Hey that was a genuine offer Gareth, The layby may have connections to the dogging community but 2am was the only time I could manage, The steamy windows was just because we had a bag of chips on the way, There was no need to turn around and drive off![/quote] And he was willing to give you a warm friendly shake! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 [quote name='tombboy' post='1134103' date='Feb 20 2011, 10:08 AM']And he was willing to give you a warm friendly shake![/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Wazoo Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Hamster' post='1133358' date='Feb 19 2011, 01:47 PM']Hi all From the start of the New Year I noticed a very large increase in the amount of SPAM accounts being registered, and so I put all new accounts on Admin approval to enable the Admins to have a little closer look at them. From 1st January up to today I've banned about 1300 new SPAM accounts, which works out at around an 800% increase in these accounts being registered in a comparative period over the previous 12 months. I identify the accounts by checking various SPAM alert sites with the account's name, e-mail address and IP address. What I have also noticed during these checks is that there is also an increase in the number of SCAM accounts being created - that is an account where either/and/or the name, e-mail address or IP address is flagged up on SCAM alert sites as being used in attempted scams. I've now banned 2 SCAM accounts that I managed to identify - one got in, the other didn't. Although the Admins check each new account at the moment, another SCAM account could get in that hasn't been identified as such. The bottom line is [u]BE CAREFUL[/u] when buying from new forum members, especially if they contact you only by PM with 'too good' or 'too convenient' to be true offers. They tend not to post on the forums because then their forum name and other possible details are picked up by search engine bots and can be collated into a pattern of scamming behaviour. If you small a rat - there probably is one - alert a Moderator or Admin and we'll happily look into it. What we won't do is check out every member you're thinking of trading with - it's your decision and responsibility and neither the website or its owners can be held responsible if you fall for a scam. [b][size=3]Contact buyers/sellers through their e-mail address by clicking on the link on their profile page: Many legitimate members use the same forum name on several websites - Google it: Google their e-mail address and any trading name they give you: NEVER pay by Western Union: Check for any feedback here or on another website: If you accept payment by cheque, ask your bank to deal with it as a 'special presentation' - they will charge you to do this, but you will find out if the cheque is good or worthless much quicker; Do not send goods until your bank tells you that the cheque has cleared:[/size][/b][/quote] Some advices for you: I am not sure how you ban these users, but I had been suffering the same issues with my own motorbike forum ( www.xt660.com/index.php ) and having noted that 80% of spammers seem to be from a few similar network regions, usually China or Russia I have minimized the risk of attacks by also putting the first part of their IP address on the ban list. i.e. 123.45.87.509 for example will be banned together with IP address 123.45.*.* and that will stop any further attempts from them. Eventually I have also downloaded a vigorous bot proof "captcha" system that is working wonders in stopping these buggers frm reoffending Edited February 21, 2011 by Grand Wazoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 [quote name='gafbass02' post='1134015' date='Feb 20 2011, 07:53 AM']Really appreciate the hard work you guys do on our behalf.[/quote] plus the one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 [quote name='ahpook' post='1135265' date='Feb 21 2011, 11:27 AM']plus the one[/quote] and another one hugely appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 [quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1135252' date='Feb 21 2011, 11:13 AM']Some advices for you: I am not sure how you ban these users, but I had been suffering the same issues with my own motorbike forum ( www.xt660.com/index.php ) and having noted that 80% of spammers seem to be from a few similar network regions, usually China or Russia I have minimized the risk of attacks by also putting the first part of their IP address on the ban list. i.e. 123.45.87.509 for example will be banned together with IP address 123.45.*.* and that will stop any further attempts from them. Eventually I have also downloaded a vigorous bot proof "captcha" system that is working wonders in stopping these buggers frm reoffending [/quote] Hi I started doing this presuming that the first two octets defined which country it was coming from, so if '123.456.789.101' is from China and there were several spammers coming from the '123.456.xxx.xxx' range of addresses I started doing a blanket ban on the first two octets - 123.456.* However, it seems IP address assigning isn't done logically as there is every chance that 123.456.879.xxx is in London and I got a few 'WTF' PM's from unhappy forum members - sorry, my bad I now use a better forum tool to check our database and when we move to a new board it should include a better spammer detection tool with frickin' lasers on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Thanks for the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 It's a shame as I quite like Spam although my absolute favourite is a Corned Beef sandwich..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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