Attack of the Spam-Bots

[BQretired]

If you get a PM that is clearly Spam, please check to see if the username is struck-through, or not (see Post #7).

If the username has strike-through, please DO NOT submit a Report. But, if the username is in the clear, please DO submit a Report.

Staff is aware of this situation, and is working to fix it.

Hopefully, we got this one nipped in the bud earlier than the last one.

 

[BQretired]

Bumping again, as we are still getting quite a few Reports.

 

[pondering]

I note that this is a "sticky" in the "General Discussion" section of the forum. People not browsing this section won't see it. (A person who only browses "Free For All" or "Busty Amateurs", for example, might receive the spam message but might never see this announcement.) Many forums would post an alert that is visible at the top of the screen until the logged-in user dismisses it; that guarantees that every user will see it once (until the alert is removed by the administrator or whoever).

 

[BQretired]

I note that this is a "sticky" in the "General Discussion" section of the forum. People not browsing this section won't see it. (A person who only browses "Free For All" or "Busty Amateurs", for example, might receive the spam message but might never see this announcement.) Many forums would post an alert that is visible at the top of the screen until the logged-in user dismisses it; that guarantees that every user will see it once (until the alert is removed by the administrator or whoever).

Thanks, I will look into this.

May decide to make this the main topic, for adding others.

 

[BQretired]

I note that this is a "sticky" in the "General Discussion" section of the forum. People not browsing this section won't see it. (A person who only browses "Free For All" or "Busty Amateurs", for example, might receive the spam message but might never see this announcement.) Many forums would post an alert that is visible at the top of the screen until the logged-in user dismisses it; that guarantees that every user will see it once (until the alert is removed by the administrator or whoever).

Unfortunately, the Xenforo software does not allow for this.

However, there is an addon that allows admins to send out Mass Alerts (not sure if admin will want to do this or not; a lot behind the scenes going on with the new servers). But, still no guarantee that the member will read that Alert either.

 

[Deleted member 106601]

Update - 07/20/21

Hi All,

You may of noticed another attack of spam in your personal messages. For those who have submitted reports, thank you.

Every report we've seen about them has been banned. Due to the odd design of XenForo (The forum's software), we haven't been able to send you a message confirming the report has been processed.

From what we can see, it looks like many bot accounts have sent a couple of messages and then closed out again.

Nothing to be long-term concerned about however.

Thanks all,

SL

 

[BQretired]

In addition to what @SteveLover wrote, if you should see a PM, and the username is struck-through, that means the user has already been banned for the Spam. So, please, no need to issue a Report on that.

But, if the username is clear, then, by all means, issue a Report.

In addition, a recent update to the Forums' software allows me to send an Alert Notification out to all current members. So, there is no excuse for a member not to view this thread at least once.

Attachment shows the username with strikethrough , and how it will look in the DM/PM. However, the BANNED, will not be noticeable at this level.