Closed Random Spamming!

[Brum]

Am I the only one who is bothered by the constant barrage of posts by people trying to sell passports, driving licenses etc? I'm a zoo geek, I don't engage in activities that may require a false identity and I assume none of my fellow zoo geeks do either? (I could be wrong there though... )
So, my fellow ZooChatters, why do we think these people are targeting our humble community?

 

[DavidBrown]

I'm right there with you in being sick of the spam. There have been multiple attacks by these jerks in the last few days. Hopefully there is some way to block them?

 

[Simon Hampel]

We've been pretty fortunate on ZooChat over the past year or so - there's been a global epidemic of forum spam due to some software specifically designed to get around most anti-spam-bot checks and post bulk spam on a pre-defined list of forum sites.

We seem to have kept under the radar pretty well on ZooChat - some of my other sites haven't been so lucky and I've had to do a lot of work to keep the sites spam-free (we're talking hundreds of users registering every day to post spam).

I've just implemented the latest version of XenForo forum software on my sites that are already using the software (ZooChat will be migrated later this year or early next year), and it's making a huge difference to the ability to minimise and manage spam - I'm looking forward to getting ZooChat running on this new software too.

The spammers we're getting at the moment are mostly humans - we've been largely bot-free for now.

 

[Simon Hampel]

We've been pretty fortunate on ZooChat over the past year or so - there's been a global epidemic of forum spam due to some software specifically designed to get around most anti-spam-bot checks and post bulk spam on a pre-defined list of forum sites.

We seem to have kept under the radar pretty well on ZooChat - some of my other sites haven't been so lucky and I've had to do a lot of work to keep the sites spam-free (we're talking hundreds of users registering every day to post spam).

I've just implemented the latest version of XenForo forum software on my sites that are already using the software (ZooChat will be migrated later this year or early next year), and it's making a huge difference to the ability to minimise and manage spam - I'm looking forward to getting ZooChat running on this new software too.

The spammers we're getting at the moment are mostly humans - we've been largely bot-free for now.

 

[MRJ]

Am I the only one who is bothered by the constant barrage of posts by people trying to sell passports, driving licenses etc? I'm a zoo geek, I don't engage in activities that may require a false identity and I assume none of my fellow zoo geeks do either? (I could be wrong there though... )
So, my fellow ZooChatters, why do we think these people are targeting our humble community?

I doubt there are actual fake passports available, more than likely they are after your credit card number or perhaps a cash transfer via Western Union. And an offer of fakes makes for a good scam too. Who is going to go to the cops complaining their fake drivers license didn't arrive?

These guys aren't targeting zoochat specifically, they are running a numbers game. If they can find one mug in 10,000 they are probably happy.

The moderators seem to be doing a good job keeping the spam under control. Best thing for the rest of us is to just ignore it when we see it.

 

[TheOnlineZoo]

So, my fellow ZooChatters, why do we think these people are targeting our humble community?

Spammers target every online community. My local Audubon group has a similar problem - and with links to **** sites, no less. It costs spammers virtually nothing to hit a site, and if only one person provides a credit card, they come out ahead.

 

[nanoboy]

I'm right there with you in being sick of the spam. There have been multiple attacks by these jerks in the last few days. Hopefully there is some way to block them?

I find the spam posts to be entertaining. I think it's the volume that is annoying, as well as the fact that I got tricked to open the thread based on the title.

I really enjoy reading the phishing emails I get from the Nigerian generals though.

 

[IanRRobinson]

I agree with Brum and David - the invitations to buy false ID are patently illegal and alarming. Thanks to Sim for looking at getting these bandits out of our cyberspace!