DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS

[kramnala58]

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO SUSPECTED SPAM POSTS

We have been having problems with spam posts for the last month or so with the suspected spammer(s) finding a way to re-register even once they have been deleted and blocked. Us mods delete the posts ASAP, but we need your help by not replying to their posts. Thanks.

The two spam user id's we have been having particular problems with are celinefrankline and hildajovin

I posted this in PCX General because this is where the posts have been found.

[Jge64]

obviously they are using VPN's to skirt your deletion of their account.

deleting the acount allows them to come back in...

let them in and they try banning on username and/or hostname and derivations ....and do a partial ban as “cannot post, but allow to read”...once you ban, it will keep them as a member so they can't get back in, but will not have posting capability. Who cares if they can read? their posts will not be allowed.

[WhiteNoise]

Thanks for your input Glen. Makes sense.
Folks Please bear with us! We can only do so much. Mod kramnala58 has reached out to our forums owner, maddiedog.
We need some of his Hocus Pocus!

Oh, and Thank you all for Not responding to recent spam. Don't think I haven't noticed that I Tip My Hat

However reminders never hurt, so please pay attention and heed to Mod kramnala's warning.
Thanks fam!

[Jge64]

under admin settings, you should be able to partial ban....from my site:

[alx123]

My inability to discern spam posts could really get me in trouble. Apologies for my prior blunder and some in advance for what should be considered as careless future gaffe.

[WhiteNoise]

Nice of you to step forward Alex Nothing to forgive. Not all spam can be detected as such. I too have replied to spam not knowing it was what it was. Spammer's obviously have nothing better to do in life. Shame really.

[maddiedog]

obviously they are using VPN's to skirt your deletion of their account.

deleting the acount allows them to come back in...

let them in and they try banning on username and/or hostname and derivations ....and do a partial ban as “cannot post, but allow to read”...once you ban, it will keep them as a member so they can't get back in, but will not have posting capability. Who cares if they can read? their posts will not be allowed.

If we ban based on username, they make a new username. It's faster to delete because their posts are removed.

This forum is using a different engine than the one you posted too; my pane looks different.

Either way, I appreciate the suggestions. This whole thing is a hassle, so any input is helpful.


I managed to update the spam countermeasures. We will see if that helps or hurts the situation.

[Jge64]

I have a few extensions from spambots like this that i automatically block when they try to register:
.RU
.LIVE
.ANY EXTENSION THAT IS JUST NUMBERS
.HOTMAIL (from europe)

If that blows anyone out that is legit, they just send me a PM and I manually approve them. (Bots will never PM you)

[tjupille]

obviously they are using VPN's to skirt your deletion of their account.

deleting the acount allows them to come back in...

FWIW, I administer another site using phpBB. I have a "zero tolerance" policy on spam that involves a couple of steps:
1. Ban the spammer's username, and then ban the email address
2. Go to the ACP and delete the spammer's account and the posts.

Banning email extensions isn't really effective; most of the ones that I see are gmail or outlook accounts..

[Jge64]

So Maddie, are you saying this spammer "CelineFrankline" that just re-registered , When you look at his forum account information or (where are you ban people), and then go delete his posts?

[Jge64]

Sorry I truncated my message above, and I can't edit it. What I'm saying, and I think the individual above is saying, is don't delete the account , just let him stay, but ban him so that he can't post. Then go back and delete his posts.

That way he can't re-register with that name.

[homie]

I have a few extensions from spambots like this that i automatically block when they try to register:
.RU
.LIVE
.ANY EXTENSION THAT IS JUST NUMBERS
.HOTMAIL (from europe)
.youyou (in bed waiting for spring)

If that blows anyone out that is legit, they just send me a PM and I manually approve them. (Bots will never PM you)

[Limey]

Well, its getting worse. SvyatoslavGor just posted 2 pages of posts in a topic.

[kramnala58]

I cleaned things up, but this is getting old ... fast

[iceman]

I use a yaw-hoo email so hope a blanket ban is not made of that at any point (at least without warning) - btw, how can you PM is your blocked/banned from the site? Also, and I do not know how this is done, some sites seem to have a way to block VPN's i.e. if you register several times using a VPN or fake email, you are banned permanently - not sure how any of that is done unless they have greater access at server level not just site level.

[maddiedog]

Wow, spam images obviously didn't work. Mark, sorry for that hassle.

I updated back to spam countermeasure questions, and added some variety to weed out bots better.

If I ban the username, they just make another username, so in the case of spammers like aforementioned celinefranklin, I just delete them and their posts -- we can be confident anyone with that name will always be spam. If I just ban the name, they create an account with another name.

The email address is a different gmail each time, so blocking any email addresses won't help. I could block .ru, but there is a ton of spam posts right now that Mark sanitized for you all... I don't see much advantage there. We'll see if the new spam questions work any better.

[tomtomclub2005]

Hi, I've also noticed the increase in spam lately- Here is a prime candidate for deletion: https://www.hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php? ... d4852f0cc3
title is "How can I increase my chance of winning the lottery?"
would be useful to have a "report" button...

[tjupille]

Uhhh, there *is* a report button on the far right of any post (looks like a red exclamation point).

[GeorgeSK]

Five years and I never noticed that...

[maddiedog]

You can also PM me directly if you see spam! I usually get to PMs faster than reports since they send me an email.