Dodgy Private Messages??

[GIVEPEEACHANCE]

Logged on for the first time in ages today, and had a private message. It was from a person called 'Mann In Black' asking me to click on a link to check for viruses on my PC. This user is now banned so it set alarm bells ringing. I deleted this message without returning the receipt.

Has anyone else had a message like this?

Added by Skymouse: If you see any message that looks like spam or abuse, etc, please click the report button. The report button can be found in private messages and also messages in the forum. It looks like this: http://www.wetbbs.com/forums/images/buttons/report.gif

[WT]

Yes, Givepeeachance.

There have been two or three of these recently. Do not under any circumstances click on such links, which are intended to infect your computer not fix it! The message that the recipient is virus infected is simply untrue and designed to get you to abandon common sense and click the dodgy link. Don't do it! We ban the senders permanently as soon as we are aware of them, in the same way as other spammers.

[skymouse]

Furthermore, if you receive any message that seems at all suspicious, please report the message so that we can take the quickest action.

[Val]

I've had a few Spams. I assume that since this board is not the hive of activity it was a couple of years ago, spammers get in, lay their eggs/crap and move on because there isn't the constant chatter that there used to be to show them up.

[Indigo]

Ooops - sorry Sky. I just deleted mine from BestForumTeam (also banned - so I guess you're wise to them) before I read this.

It somehow didn't ring true that somebody could remote-detect that my machine was infected.

Besides which, "BestForumTeam" just isn't Skymouse style.

[skymouse]

The word "Forum" is now disallowed in any new user name.

[GIVEPEEACHANCE]

There's another one in my inbox, do you have access to it in order to take the necessary action?

[nbear8]

I wrote a message to a member and got a dodgey response likely not from them as the other posters said a link to a site to fix virus I supposedly had on my machine so wonder where it is coming from ?

[WT]

Sky,

You probably already have but can you also ban names including 'Admin', 'Administrator', 'Mod', 'Moderator', 'Supervisor' and any others you can think of. We had a couple like that. They don't seem to attack 'Mouse' LOL :D

And nbear8's point is a good one. Can you make sure the Board has the latest software update, anti-virus and anti-spam please, as the prevalence of attacks suggests that something has been compromised.

[skymouse]

"admin" is already banned, along with "forum" - and any names that contain those words (e.g. administrator, CoolAdminGuy, SkymouseAdmistrationalEnrocer, etc.

I could also ban "Mod".... but that would then also hit some innocent names, e.g. words contain modern, mode, Lover of WetModels, etc.

[pissedmyself]

I am getting these too... wouldn't a good way to stop this be to have anyone have to have XX amount of posts on the board before they can send private messages? Internet 101 says don't click on a link in an email such as these though....

[Ger]

The past days all of the user bot names end with "man". I agree in the pvt message disable as long as there was no message posted on the board. (If possible)
I wouldn't even mind to disable the whole pvt message thing for a while...

Ger.

[skymouse]

To report a spam message:

1. When you have the private message open on your screen, look for the tiny symbol that looks like an exclamation mark inside a triangle.

It looks like this:

http://www.wetbbs.com/forums/images/buttons/report.gif

Click that symbol, and then Send.

I will receive the notification, along with a copy of the offending spam message, and have a quick way to ban the spammer.

Please use this method of reporting. I will ban all reported spammers eventually, but ones who are reported using this mechanism will be handled first.

SM

[WT]

Sky,

I agree with Ger. Provate messages need to be restricted. Since the bots found this loophole, the number has grown from 1 in a week to 3 a day. I have, therefore, had to disable the ability to receive private messages in my profile except from contacts. That may stop users reporting dodgy messages to me as well, I am not sure.

I have also turned off visitor messages, as there is no control over those.

Let us know if you make the system more secure and I can then open up my profile settings again.

Others may also want to make this profile change.

[Indigo]

Sky - do you want us to bother reporting if you've already banned the spammer by the time we see their message? Or in those circs, should we just delete without troubling you??

[Adrian]

Logged on for the first time in ages today, and had a private message. It was from a person called 'Mann In Black' asking me to click on a link to check for viruses on my PC. This user is now banned so it set alarm bells ringing. I deleted this message without returning the receipt.

Has anyone else had a message like this?

Added by Skymouse: If you see any message that looks like spam or abuse, etc, please click the report button. The report button can be found in private messages and also messages in the forum. It looks like this: http://www.wetbbs.com/forums/images/buttons/report.gif

I have just checked my private message box only to discover that I'd had no less than seven such messages since Monday, all purporting to be from different people. Needless to say they've all been deleted without any read receipts being sent.

[Adrian]

Would it be possible to restrict the sending and receiving of private messages to individuals who have made 15 or more meaningful posts, as is the practice at Peesearch?

[skymouse]

Sky - do you want us to bother reporting if you've already banned the spammer by the time we see their message? Or in those circs, should we just delete without troubling you??

If the user is already marked as banned, it's not necessary to send the report.

[WT]

Now Sky has added this restriction preventing immediate Private Messages, I have again enabled them on my profile. I will definitely now get 'report' messages from registered users but, as Sky says, you only need to click the report button if we have not already exterminated the bot or spammer!