Blogging, Internet, Teach

Clever Little Spammer On WordPress

I’ve received a few of these messages recently that haven’t gone directly to the Spam queue (they sit there waiting for my approval).

Here’s the most recent :

DonCharisma.org-Clever-Little-Spammer-Comment

The message reads :

When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get three emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove people from that
service? Bless you!

From :

Ferdinand
youtube.com/watch?v=lGHTuJFpuKQ
ferdinandmagana@gmx.net
196.196.28.118

Now as I understand it this is complete bullshit, basically the person just wants to get a free link on your site to their commercial site. Reason – they are promoting or marketing something on that youtube link or whatever the link in the comment leads to.

Why I say this is bullshit? Well, the commenter, had they turned on notifications (like they said in their message), can actually turn off notifications by themselves. So they shouldn’t need to contact you about this. If they were genuine, then they wouldn’t have a link to a page they are trying to market or promote.

So they’ve tricked you into giving them a free link which will help their SEO if you approve it. Why were you tricked ? Most people are generally helpful and they try to help if someone has a genuine problem, especially were it’s their own blog. It’s that psychology that these people are using against us.

Bottom line – this is BLACK HAT SEO from spammers which has been sent out automatically by a bot or automated process. Not a genuine person who needs your assistance.

So please if you get a message like this, check who sent it and what their link is. If it looks like they are dodgy or trying to sell something, then spam queue them. I think it’s not going directly in my spam queue, because some people are WRONGLY approving these comments.

NB. Genuine commenters give real email addresses and real website addresses. If they are on WordPress then the Gravatar system fills this in for them automatically, along with their photo if they have one.

Please pass this on, otherwise this nuisance will persist …

Cheers

Don Charisma

77 thoughts on “Clever Little Spammer On WordPress”

    1. You are very welcome John … and sorry to dissapoint but they spam all of our blogs, just look in your comments, spam … you’ll have them same as everyone else, it’s just akismet does a pretty good job of protecting you !

      Reply

  5. Thanks for the warning Don. Haven’t had this one show up on the blog, but get some real funny ones on my phone. Last time I started reading them their rights — the right to remain silent, etc. Would you believe they hung up on me?

    Reply

  6. Thanks for the heads-up on this, Don. I haven’t yet had a comment like this left on my blog but I will keep an eye out for it in future comments and SPAM it straight away.

    Reply

  12. Thank you for posting this message! Sometimes I have problems with what I consider “hidden spammers.”
    Do you ever get comments from folks that sound completely incoherent?

    Missing words and sentences that last entire lines? At first, I thought it was kind folks having a hard time expressing themselves and then a look into the gravatar revealed someone selling something. I finally had to delete a post of mine because it was fraught with those similar comments.

    Thanks again for this information–very helpful to a newer blogger like me 🙂

    Reply

    1. You are very welcome … and yes I get incoherent messages and the like from time to time … I put it down to the lunatics not having taken their medication, or the non-lunatics having drunk too much or taken drugs … have yet to find a better explanation !

      Reply

  13. Thanks, Don! I’ve been getting a couple of these here and there, and I wince. “How did you get in here, you little bugger?” Slapping the computer screen as if they were insects does not work, either. However, on a serious note, it’s strange how some of the spammers get through. Thanks for the update.

    In the words of a spammers: “I appreciates your informations.”

    Reply

    1. Yes lovely christopher … i appreciates your informations !

      I think some are getting through because some people are approving them, either that or they are new email/IPs that haven’t been flagged before … slapping computer screens can result in broken computer screens which is expensive, so I generally resist that urge !

      Reply

  14. I usually get the social media marketers or the foreign ones with Russian looking characters in the text area. Thanks for this.

    Reply

  15. I get a few of these. I automatically delete anything which gives the web address as YouTube (or similar) or is selling Nike trainers or fashion accessories or whatever. I have to say, Akismet does a pretty good job of flagging these up.
    Thanks for bringing this to the attention of the blogging community!

    Reply

  16. Very good advices Don.
    I receive a lot of spam too, from Viagra to the more funny, when they give me a big plus for my interesting article and I only did show one photo of a jewelry…..
    I do check all in the spam map, when I have the time.

    Reply

    1. WElcome hun … do you have a method for making garlic oil ? i tried and my raw garlic started fermenting, so I fried it … seems to have solved the problem 🙂

      Reply

      2. It’s 28 deg C here with aircon on, hotter without … basically the cloves I’d crushed started to float to the top and there were bubbles … which means the natural yeasts are eating the sugar, it’s how they ferment beer, wine etc … I emptied the contents into a wok, and fried on a low heat … no more bubbles, now more of a roasted than raw flavour … I do prefer the raw flavour, it’s great in humous, got bite and livens the humous … but you’re the cook, so you could probably teach me a thing or two about humous … and why don’t they sell “raw” chickpeas, that’s alwats confused me, wouldn’t humous be better made with fresh chickpeas ?

      3. We can buy raw, uncooked chickpeas everywhere here, aren’t they available there? Everything is better with fresh products isn’t it? Tinned chickpeas and beans just make life oh so simple 🙂 it depends on what time you have and how dedicated you are..

      4. I’d never been able to buy them in the UK, so perhaps shopping in the wrong places ?

        Not looked for the them here, but I suspect it’d be canned …

  20. Don, I so appreciate that you pay forward info like this. I’m a computer neophyte and everything about the computer baffles me. I still can’t figure out how to attach photos or art to my blog. When you pass on advice like this, it’s very helpful for people like me who might otherwise get spammed. I can always figure out the phony salesmen at the door or the annoying solicitor on my phone, but on the computer – I’m easily duped. Thank you for protecting folks like me.

    Reply

  23. Thanks for the tip! Oh to have back the good old days when spam was only the weird canned meat you took on camping trips!

    Reply

      1. yes that dreaded alien meat like substance floating in Jelly is still spam and like cockroaches will survive the apocalypse. I curse its creator, the anti-epicurean Sadist LOL

  25.   Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: DonCharisma.orgSent: Sunday, 23 March, 2014 07:07To: khairil.sianipar@gmail.comReply To: DonCharisma.orgSubject: [New post] Clever Little Spammer On WordPress

    a:hover { color: red; } a { text-decoration: none; color: #0088cc; } a.primaryactionlink:link, a.primaryactionlink:visited { background-color: #2585B2; color: #fff; } a.primaryactionlink:hover, a.primaryactionlink:active { background-color: #11729E !important; color: #fff !important; }

    /* @media only screen and (max-device-width: 480px) { .post { min-width: 700px !important; } } */ WordPress.com

    Don Charisma posted: “I’ve received a few of these messages recently that haven’t gone directly to the Spam queue (they sit there waiting for my approval).

    Here’s the most recent :

    The message reads : When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comm”

    Reply

      1. Speaking as a nurse here, viagra does not have the same effect on girls. Viagra’s original use was in a specific type of heart problem. Girls can use it for the heart problem, if prescribed by a doctor. Its the only benefit for them. Sorry girls!!

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