[SOLVED] New form of spam?

TobiSGD · 07-04-2012, 07:30 AM

I just stumbled about this thread: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ab-4175414825/
and it seems to me that this is a new (to me) kind of spam. Both posters registered today, have a name in the same style, have the last activity here just minutes separated and share even the same date of birth. The second poster links to a "blog" that's sole purpose is to advertise a commercial ripping program.

May it be that spammers now not only post their spam into threads that contain a specific set of keywords but make up their own new spam threads?

cliffordw · 07-04-2012, 07:40 AM

...And creating new users just to make the thread look like a legitimate conversation between 2 users..... Very suspicious indeed! Would be interesting to see if both users are registering with the same email address or connecting from the same IP?

dugan · 07-04-2012, 08:57 AM

You have one of your spambots start a thread and your other spambot(s) reply to it. This is a classic spamming technique.

TobiSGD · 07-04-2012, 09:04 AM

Never seen that before, or didn't realize it, so at least this is new to me. But the programmer of these spambots can't be very clever if he gives them the same date of birth, similar names and such.

dugan · 07-04-2012, 09:12 AM

I actually read about this spammer tactic on Wikipedia before I saw it in action. When I went to check Wikipedia for the reference, though, I couldn't find it.

Cliffordw, I would be very surprised if they had the same IP or the same email address. With a spambot, getting an new email address, registering with it, and then posting through a random proxy is an automated process.

EDIT: The thread has been removed. I trust that the accounts participating in it were also permanently banned?

jeremy · 07-04-2012, 09:19 AM

This is a fairly old tactic that we've seen on LQ before. Both accounts have been banned. Thanks for the heads up.

--jeremy

NyteOwl · 07-04-2012, 01:36 PM

Yes, been getting it on a couple of forums I help moderate too. Annoying little buggers. Like mosquitos.