#spam/scams

[frownyalfred]

out of curiosity, what does a spam ask look like?

Generally go fund me links, donation links, porn spam links, any sort of call to action for me/my followers. Some are more sophisticated than others.

This is your friendly reminder that you should not, under any circumstances, give money to online fundraisers you see on Tumblr. Even if they say they're "vetted" or "confirmed." These kinds of spam fundraisers prey upon people's desire to do good and help people in need. They are rarely real and you have no ability to verify where that money is actually going.

Some ways to spot a spam/fraudulent ask:

The account doesn't follow you or only recently followed you

There is a link, esp a weird looking link (link shortener, etc)

The CTA link isn't a gofundme or other typical donation site (but the presence of one by itself doesn't mean it's legit)

The account is not sending the ask via anon (interesting new trend; this is probably to "build" trust)

The account has all of the Tumblr badges/etc you can buy/add on

There is some sort of emotional component (guilt, fear, urgency) directed at you or followers

The ask comes immediately following one of your posts doing well, getting reblogs out of your normal circle, going "viral" etc

Obviously the advice above doesn't apply to people you actually know online, but I feel like it's very important to reiterate. These kinds of spam asks/scams work because people are actually sending money to them. They wouldn't keep asking if it didn't work.

Please consider critically what you are reblogging/asks you're answering before putting them out to the broader community.

Money can be a helpful tool for broader social issues or even a smaller local/community issue. But it's not the only one we have at our disposal. And not engaging on a social issue on Tumblr doesn't mean you don't have the potential to help/do work in the rest of your life.

[smashorpass50plus]

Hey guys, new scam alert. Remember, Tumblr will only email you for such issues, and to never click links from people you don't know.

Edits!!!!!!

Disc: [ID: an anonymous asker pretending to be tumblr support team, contacting you through your asks to confirm your email through a suspicious link. end ID]

Shut up about Palestine on this post. Shut up. Shut!!! Up.

[ralfmaximus]

January 24 2024 Scam Alert:

There's a new phishing email making the rounds that looks like an authentic message from Google, warning you that unless you take action your Gmail account will be closed and all your messages deleted. All you have to do is click the link to confirm or deny the action.

It is, of course, fake. It collects your password "for verification" then hijacks your account.

Don't click any link in an email no matter how official it looks. Instead, go to your Gmail dashboard directly. If there is indeed any risk Google wants to delete your account, you'll be notified there.

[hkayakh]

Why is Spamton in my reddit DM's trying to scam me?

[fiyabwal]

Welcome to tumblr where we spent 6+ years reporting and fighting off pornbots, and now we're at a stage where random users are attacking well known gimmick blogs for NOT promoting scambots.

[khaire-traveler]

I reiterate that if you're going to ask people for donations, you will come across as extremely suspicious if you spam their inbox. People are likely to report and/or block you, thinking you're a bot. If you need donations, I do not recommend going about like this. I really, REALLY do not recommend it.

[cacodaemonia]

Okay, I'm completely closing my askbox because I've been getting bombarded with these gofundme scams. I'll probably reopen it briefly if there's an ask game going around, but otherwise, I'm keeping it closed. I'm sick of being reminded how dirtbags will take advantage of awful situations and naive people to make money 🔪

If anyone needs to contact me for some reason, feel free to DM me.

[storm-of-feathers]

franticly googling how to be best friends with all my mutuals when i never answer dms and barely answer asks but i want to be best friends

[16woodsequ]

FFN Spam Alert

I've gotten several spam messages on Fanfiction.net recently and wanted to spread the word. All of these messages followed similar patterns of someone claiming to be an artist, who read my work and is thinking about making art for it. These messages always mention a fic by name, in an attempt to seem more legit.

Examples:

This person actually sent me two messages about my Forest of Apple Trees fic, both worded exactly the same. Here's another from them:

More signs of spam is the person's profile:

The profile only has links to the artist's accounts, no stories, favourites, or other things to indicate this person really uses FFN and really wrote that message.

In all likelihood, this person is using a bot and a script to farm messages to try to get people to go to their profile and follow the links and commission art from them.

This is really annoying because the message seems to be awesome for a few seconds, only to really just be an advertising scheme.

If you get messages like this, do not respond, do not click on their links. You can email support@fanfiction.com and use the subject line [abuse] to report spamming. (I've already reported this person, please don't do it yourself, and don't go to their profile to harass them please.)

If you are an artist who thinks this is a good way to advertise, please stop.

[kaziitheavali]

imagine trying to market spam/scam dating app to an aro ace person.

[supreme-leader-stoat]

I cannot express how much I do not want mental health advice from the hellsite-partnered robot. If I want to vent I'll either vaguepost on main or gripe in my friends' DMs like a normal person.

[st-eve-barnes]

I will NOT respond to any asks regarding fundraising or donating, most of these accounts are known bots/scam and I do not have the time/patience or the knowledge to look into which ones aren't.

Any more asks like this will get blocked and reported immediately.

[crouton-moons]

Zionist.

saying don't fall for scams does not make someone a zionist. tumblr asks are NOT actual calls for aid!

i was just going to delete this ask like i do all scam asks, but i figured id post it just in case other people are getting similar things for... not being gullible? for trying to stop other people from being scammed and sending their money to scammers instead of actual palestinians?

many people in palestine obviously need aid. an obvious bot sending thousands of messages to thousands of people asking for "aid" will not help those people. they aren't from actual victims. they're from random people who are weaponizing the kindness of strangers to make a buck. falling for it helps absolutely no one. critical thinking is even MORE important in a time like this, stop falling for this obvious shit! they're just like the ai porn bots. they're used by the same exact people for the same exact reasons, getting money off those who are gullible. they're scumbags who are weaponizing peoples empathy to make a buck off a genocide. stop. falling. for. it.

they're trying to take advantage of you. they're assuming you're too stupid to think critically about who you think you're helping. stop proving them right.

there are thousands of actual ways to donate to those in need that aren't tumblr ask scams!

[silurisanguine]

Latest scam/spam coming in to AO3.

Registered user probably mass commenting with the same generic comment in hopes that some naive person will think it's genuine.

Note the utter impersonal approach -

'dear author' 'your work on This story'

This is so the same messege can be copy pasted on any fic.

Either it's a scam from some ai shillster/ general thief trying their luck or some terrible new artist thinking they can bullshit their way to get business. Probably the former. Either way it's breaks T&C so I reported their ass because this is the equivalent on digital cold calling and they can fuck off.

[taintandviolent]

you guys….. THE Channing Tatum messaged me on tumblr and called me adorable

[delgado-master]

I hate that you can’t go “hey this Palestinian donation blog is obviously a scam” anymore without people getting angry because assholes think every Palestinian donation blog is a scam and report legitimate donations.