SPAMMERS on BC.org

Anonymous
Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
edited June 2014 in Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests


Mods,


Isn't there any way the tech team can detect and STOP the spammers who are always appearing on the Active Thread. They must get "credit" for web site "hits" for the links they're posting, or they wouldn't keep posting. There must be a way to stop them. It's so insulting to the women who use this site, to be taken advantage of by these spammers. If BCO can detect "sock puppets" can't the spammers be detected and stopped too. At least keep them all off the Active List. I've stopped "reporting" the posts, because I don't want to get the "do not reply" emails from BCO. Thank you.

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Comments

  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited November 2013


    Sunflowers, we are in the process of implementing a program to do just this.


    Thanks as always for your patience.


    --The Mods

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2013


    THANKS MODS - just makes me "angry" when I think of those #%@#$%#@%$ trying to profit off of women's illness.


    THANK YOU MODS

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited November 2013


    Agreed, sunflowers! I too have stopped reporting those spam posts. There were so many that it took up too much of my time.


    Mods, thanks for your efforts. I'm sure this is very frustrating!

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited November 2013


    Yes, it is. Soon enough, our hopes are that the spam removal will be automated and none of us will have to worry about it again!


    Thanks again for all of your diligence and patience while we work hard to maintain the integrity of the Community.


    --Your Mods

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  • dogsandjogs
    dogsandjogs Member Posts: 1,907
    edited November 2013


    Thank you Moderators! I think it is horrible for them to go to a site like this and fill it up with their stuff. And lately they are trying to be clever and putting things like "I feel a lump" or something similar so we will click on the post. I too have been reporting, but it is getting tiresome---glad you are working on a solution!

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  • curveball
    curveball Member Posts: 3,040
    edited November 2013


    I don't think I've ever seen a genuine message with more than three or four links in it, while the spammers tend to have many more than that at a time. I suspect that a majority of the spams could be eliminated simply by blocking any new thread with more than (say) 5 links in it.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2013


    Moderators - the "we're working on it" is not acceptable any longer. The spammers are really spoiling BCO. It is too unpleasant to log on and see another one of the posts with deceptive subject lines, that just hide a post of a listing of links. These spammers are getting "hits" for their sites, taking advantage of women with bc.


    With the amount of money BCO raises, the high salaries it pays a few people, I think we can expect more respect for the women who post of this site.


    If BCO can "detect" "sock puppets" - I think we deserve to have the spammers stopped too.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2013


    SunflowersMA, we have newish software that detects and reports spam, and we continue to "train" the software to identify the constantly-evolving tricks that spammers use. As always, no post (whether reported by a member or by the software) is permanently removed until it has been reviewed by a moderator, which is why some of the reported spam may linger on the boards for a time, but we do get it.


    We strongly recommend that members who see these spammer posts never click on any of the links in them, to avoid giving the spammers the hits they want.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2013


    Moderators - as others have already posted on other threads, the spammers are using deceptive subjects, and it isn't until you get to the thread that it is possible to find it IS a spammer. Your response encourages people to avoid active threads.


    I am not concerned about reporting them, I don't bother anymore, it just generates unwanted email from bco.


    I suspect the spammers get "credits" for the hits on bco. even if their links aren't clicked. Otherwise, they wouldn't keep posting.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2013


    SunflowersMA, we understand that some of the spammers are using thread titles intended to draw members to click on their threads, but unless someone clicks the actual spam link within the post, there's no benefit to the spammer.

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  • curveball
    curveball Member Posts: 3,040
    edited December 2013


    Mods, I still don't understand why all posts with five or more links, especially if they come from a brand new member, can't be sent direct to moderation before they ever appear on the site. Is the forum software really incapable of doing such a simple thing?


    And although I haven't stopped reporting spammers, I agree with SunflowersMA that the response emails are a nuisance, especially the fact that there are three responses for each spam reported. The response emails are just a waste of time IMO. When I find a spam thread, I block it after reporting it, and if not for the response emails I would never think of it again. I suggested making it possible to opt out of the responses, but that hasn't happened, so now I've set up a rule in my email client to detect them. So far it has worked perfectly, and if that continues, after a little more testing I'll probably change it from "detect" to "discard without reading".

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  • badger
    badger Member Posts: 34,614
    edited December 2013

    I too detest spammers on BCO and report them every chance I get.  It's satisfying to thwart them.

    Agree with curveball about new posts with multiple links going right to Mods for review.  ThumbsUp

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2013


    curveball, we did ask the tech team explore your idea of flagging posts that contain links, especially by new members, and that's one of the factors they have the software looking at - although so far those sneaky spammers get past some of its efforts with formatting.


    We'll check again on the status of our wish to add an opt-out option for the emails around making reports. Thank you for continuing to report spam, and until we can limit the automated emails. adding a rule in your email client is a great solution!


    badger, we loathe them too, and thanks for your reports! We also look at every new registration, with special attention to those who post - both so we can help new folks find answers, and to spot spammers and sometimes delete them before they can bother members.

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  • ziggypop
    ziggypop Member Posts: 1,071
    edited December 2013


    Mods - Thanks for this site and the work you do. I love it when I see you post on threads with encouragement and suggestions. I will continue to try to report spammers whenever I see them. Good luck in trying to prevent them from your end.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2013


    another vote


    Agree with curveball about new posts with multiple links going right to Mods for review.

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  • kmpod
    kmpod Member Posts: 234
    edited December 2013


    Like Badger, I get a great deal of satisfaction from reporting the spammers.


    You can't get much lower than exploiting a cancer forum.

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  • Blessings2011
    Blessings2011 Member Posts: 4,276
    edited December 2013


    Mods - I report spam posts left and right (but you knew that...)


    It seems that almost immediately the post gets a message "This post has been removed by the community"...


    Actually, how long DOES it take for a spam post to get removed?


    Thanks for all you do....

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  • Obxflygirl1
    Obxflygirl1 Member Posts: 377
    edited December 2013


    blessings......you are a wealth of BC information. I always read your posts. This is probably a crazy question, but how do you tell if a post is a spammer or not? I'm clueless .......

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2013


    Blessings, we see that you report the vile spammers, and appreciate it!


    How fast the spam post disappears after you report it depends on whether the Mod who reviews reports at that time sees it right away, or ff there's a delay if we're working on something else. Sometimes we catch and delete them even before there's a report, because we also sweep new registrations, watching for trouble as well as for new folks we can help finding info on the site.


    • The Mods

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  • badger
    badger Member Posts: 34,614
    edited December 2013

    Blessings, I seem to recall that if five people report a post as spam, it's replaced with the message that the post has been removed by the community.  Mods still have to review and delete it though, so sometimes the thread stays in Active Topics until they can get to it.

    Obxflygirl1, one thing I look for is a new thread with a single unread post.  Sometimes the poster's name is an odd combo of random-looking letters and numbers, but not always.  They've usually just joined today.  Used to be you could tell by the title of the thread but they've gotten sneakier about names so it's not always that obvious.

    Mods, thanks for all you do here!  ♥

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  • AmyQ
    AmyQ Member Posts: 2,182
    edited December 2013


    the last spammer I reported also got an earful from me...before it was deleted of course. I have to say that made me feel pretty darn good!

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2013


    And if you do click on a thread and realize that it's links to watch sports or TV shows or some other spammy thing, just report it without clicking any of the links, and we'll take care of it. We do have software that's watching for spam too, but nothing's more effective than you awesome community members!

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  • Blessings2011
    Blessings2011 Member Posts: 4,276
    edited December 2013


    Obxflygirl1 - Aw, thank you for that compliment!!!


    I just manage to catch a lot of spammers maybe because I have no social life and I spend way too much time on BCO?


    It's pretty much exactly as badger said. The spam posts are usually at the beginning of Active Posts, because as soon as someone clicks on it, you can tell by the subject matter it's pure junk.... like a list of all the football games or boxing matches coming up on a certain TV channel.And the poster's names are kind of gibberish.


    And yeah, the topic titles used to be more blatant, like "Spend Your Time Watching This Weekend" - but now they sneak in BC-related phrases. Like the Mods say - absolutely vile. GRRRR!!!!

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited December 2013


    ok, after a long hiatus, I just reported some spam. Not looking forward to the many emails I will now get advising me of the status of said post.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2013


    Sorry 'bout that, exbrnxgrl! It is on the tech team's To-Do list, to make it possible to opt out of receiving those emails.


    In the meantime, freestanding email clients and online mail services like Gmail offer the option to filter emails from a specific address (such as do-not-reply@breastcancer.org) direct to Trash.

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  • curveball
    curveball Member Posts: 3,040
    edited December 2013


    but you might not want to set up a rule that sends everything from do-not-reply@breastcancer.org straight to the trash, because it would delete the emails you get when one of your favorite topics is updated or someone sends you a PM, as well as the responses to your spam reports. The rule I use catches everything from the do-not-reply email address which also has the word "reported" in the subject line. Which leads me to ask, if someone reports a post of mine as a rules violation, does that generate an email message to me, and if so, what is the subject line of that email? I wouldn't intentionally violate the rules, but if I did it by accident I would not want a message about it from the mods to get auto-deleted. Or do you Mods send a PM for possible rules violations?

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2013


    That doesn't generate an email for you. If someone reports one of your post as a rule violation, and we consider it's indeed breaking some of our community rules, we'll delete it and we'll send you a private message to let you know why your post was removed from the boards.

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  • Warrior_Woman
    Warrior_Woman Member Posts: 1,274
    edited December 2013


    Hi Everyone - I am relatively new here and cautious about being taken advantage of at a time when I am vulnerable. Are spammers just posting irrelevant stuff or attempting to sell bogus BC products? For example, I have read through so many of the posts about the Cold Caps to prevent hair loss and I just want to know that it's not just a bunch of people who are all in on some money making scam. As far as I can tell, most members of the thread are active participants all over bc.org. Can I assume this isn't spam?

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2013


    Yes WarriorWoman, you can assume that isn't spam. Spammers are usually newly registered members, posting for the first time. Normally they try to sell breast cancer products but they also come to the boards trying to sell/advertise live streaming and other "services" (sports, events, TV shows, etc). For your own security, DO NOT CLICK on links in these ads and, if you see this kind of posts or any other that you find suspicious, please use the Report this Post option so we can take care of it.


    As always, thank you to everyone who reports spam!!

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  • riverhorse
    riverhorse Member Posts: 126
    edited December 2013


    IMHO the spammers are pretty obvious. Simple solution, do not click on their posts. The best way to extinguish a behavior is to ignore it.

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