Over the past three weeks, my blog seems to have been suffering from a large number of spam messages as comments. I’m getting between ten and twenty such messages per day, mostly from ‘Unknown’, although some do appear to come from named accounts.
Luckily, I have comment moderation on my blog, which means that I’m able to intercept these comments before the appear on my blog.
I wonder why these spammers bother ... but they do, so there must be something in it for them.
Perhaps one of them will leave an answer as a comment ... but I doubt it!
Luckily, I have comment moderation on my blog, which means that I’m able to intercept these comments before the appear on my blog.
I wonder why these spammers bother ... but they do, so there must be something in it for them.
Perhaps one of them will leave an answer as a comment ... but I doubt it!
I'm getting the same ones. The hidden name meaning of the individual responsible is "twat".
ReplyDeleteMillsy,
DeleteThey are a real pain ... and I’ve had five more since I published this blog post!
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteI've only had one Spam- an American styled Guru trying to tell me I'll be rich and famous- the only way I could stop his ravings was to 'BLOCK' his Posts altogether- that solved it. Hope this helps. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteYou’ve been lucky to only have had one spammer target you. I’ve tried blocking people, but they seem to keep setting up new accounts to get around the block.
All the best,
Bob
What's in it for them?
ReplyDelete"Scratch here to find your hidden name meaning" - almost certainly a link to a malicious web site or down load. Looks like a phishing attack to me.
Mike,
DeleteI think that you are right about it probably being linked to some sort of malware. Luckily, by having comment moderation on, I seem to have avoided any infection.
All the best,
Bob
You avoid any infection by not clicking on the link.
DeleteMike,
DeleteI never click on links from anyone I don’t know ... and I am rather reluctant to click on those from people I do know!
All the best,
Bob
The bane of a blogger's life!
ReplyDeleteSteve J.,
DeleteVery true!
All the best,
Bob
I've also seen an uptick in spamming in the last few weeks. Probably no coincidence that I'm also seeing hundreds of page views from one of the former Soviets (Turkmenistan this time around) during this same period.
ReplyDeleteEd M,
DeleteI wonder if it is linked with to the lockdown, which has seen even greater usage of the internet as well as ‘spikes’ in page views from some very odd places.
All the best,
Bob
I get them occasionally in necromonical arabic, of all things. A mystery why, and why me? Luckily not at the frequency you report.
ReplyDeleteAdelaide Gamer,
DeletePrevious spamming attacks have included some in unreadable or unrecognisable script, but this spate seems to be mainly ‘Scratch here ...’ ones.
All the best,
Bob
I have seen an eruption in the same SPAM email of late. Luckily, the SPAMMER (so far) chooses to pick my older, moderated posts.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Freitag,
DeleteFunnily enough, this blog post is the first one in some time that has not been spammed!
All the best,
Bob
Give it time...
DeleteJonathan Freitag,
DeleteI’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet!
All the best,
Bob
And just like that, gone! I have not had another of these spams in over a week.
DeleteJonathan Freitag,
DeleteI have only had a few since I wrote this blog post, and none for the past couple of days.
It seems that they have moved on to annoy other bloggers!
All the best,
Bob
I had one recently offering me the delights of being a vampire.
ReplyDeleteJim Duncan,
DeleteI never get anything that interesting!
All the best,
Bob
I got that one too a few days ago.
DeleteTamsin P,
DeleteI’m beginning to feel as if I’m being discriminated against by vampire spammers!
All the best,
Bob
I've typically been getting 2-4 spam comments a day lately. A few weeks back I started getting 20-30 per day, so I switched to comment moderation and it dropped off.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that they rely on readers accidentally clicking the links (which will take them to a website that automatically downloads malware to your computer).
Tamsin P,
DeleteYour attack of spam comments seems to have tailed off just as mine began. It’s at times like this that I am pleased that I opted to retain comment moderation.
These sort of phishing spams are ways of enticing the unwary into downloading malware or something similar.
All the best,
Bob
Yes, I've had an increase too (including an entertaining one that offered a deal to turn me into a vampire!). The amount is a lot less than yours though but I suspect you get a lot more hots on your blog.
ReplyDeleteAlastair,
DeleteI feel quite aggrieved that I’ve not been invited to become a vampire!
I suspect that the spammers have access to software that enables them to find high volume blogs. It would explain why I seem to be being inundated with spam comments.
All the best,
Bob
I get the 'hidden name' spam too. Dozens of them. I report them and block them. Google spam detection is usually pretty good so I don't know why these ones keep getting through, especially as the text is identical every time!
ReplyDeleteMartin Rapier,
DeleteLike you, I’ve tried blocking these comment from ‘Unknown’ ... but I’ve also not been that successful in stopping them.
All the best,
Bob
Might be a measure of popularity. I get none at all. :P
ReplyDeleteFitz-Badger,
DeleteI envy you. I've had a further twelve spam comments overnight!
All the best,
Bob