Norton spam

[adrianlondon]

We don't know if these users are all created and then used immediately, or were created a while ago and banked.

Plus, if the admins change the rules such that the first post goes in a moderation queue, the first scammy post will just be some AI generated "My Macbook doesn't boot - please help!!" and once approved (a bot simply scans the forum for that text) then the spams start.

So, it's not that easy unfortunately. Better than nothing, though.

I would have posted this an hour ago, but it seems someone decided to shut the database down for a bit 😁

 

[Boyd01]

... it seems someone decided to shut the database down for a bit 😁

IMO, that was for a good cause and (who knows?...) might even end up being related to this discussion.

 

[KaliYoni]

first post goes in a moderation queue, the first scammy post will just be some AI generated "My Macbook doesn't boot - please help!!" and once approved (a bot simply scans the forum for that text) then the spams start.

I think one advantage of a moderation queue would be that new users' posts wouldn't go active until times when there is a Moderator on duty. It's obvious spammers and scammers are taking advantage of unstaffed periods.

It is also obvious that MR gets hit really hard by these criminals during peak travel periods, when a lot of stressed, tired people are facing delays and use the first customer service phone number that pops up in a Google or ChatGPT search. When coupled with how rapidly new MR Forum posts are scraped by search engines and generative AI bots (minutes, not hours or days), I think it's clear MR needs to revisit the balance between new user access and stopping people who make MR unusable for everybody, including new users. Perhaps stricter new user rules can be in effect during major holidays and times when a lot of people are at airports, train stations, and on the road, similar to how drunk driving checkpoints are set up on New Year's Eve.

 

[goldmac2006]

We don't know if these users are all created and then used immediately, or were created a while ago and banked.

Plus, if the admins change the rules such that the first post goes in a moderation queue, the first scammy post will just be some AI generated "My Macbook doesn't boot - please help!!" and once approved (a bot simply scans the forum for that text) then the spams start.

So, it's not that easy unfortunately. Better than nothing, though.

I would have posted this an hour ago, but it seems someone decided to shut the database down for a bit 😁

I still saw spaced 99-cent Liquid Glass characters on it... all of them are trying to exploit us?

 

[KaliYoni]

created a while ago and banked.

Now that you've mentioned that, perhaps the waves, which seem to happen fairly often, of years-old threads getting resurrected by new users are caused by spammers who want to create accounts without starting a thread. Many sites, although not MR, automatically lock threads a few months after creation or after a fallow period to protect against this behavior.

 

[laptech]

Have just spent over an hour non-stop deleting/banning spammers as fast as I could, didn't even attempt to count, but it was literally hundreds of spammers. I guess they must be using AI to generate this huge flood, it's definitely a concern - we could be headed for a spampocalypse... 😱

In the meantime, the staff wil do all we can using the tools that we have.

As advances in AI increases, it's use for nefarious means will also increase such as AI spam bots. I just hope the site owner is pro-active in getting systems in place to prevent AI spambot attacks from attacking in the first place rather than reactive in that action will only be taken when AI spam bots attack the forum.