Relentless SPAM overnight and today

[Cornelia Hoskin]

I've had to switch to moderating new members, which is REALLY inconvenient. They are spamming only the men on my board - 4 or 5 today are leaving comments on their pages.

Is there anything else I or Ning can do to stop these spammers?? They keep hitting up the same members, too!

[Tatiana A. Kostanian]

I have a Ning Network and am also in membership on other networks. On one network, I received a spam proposition letter. I am very insulted given that i am a member on life-support stating just this. On that network, i could not delete the message as there was nothing nearby making alowances to delete the person. I tried to find an e-mail to a Ning Technician because this is not the first time on an Ning Site I have repeatedly received messages as this. Clearly there has to be a positive way to stop thsese teflon type personas. I would appreciate it if I could gain a person from Ning to post back to me so I can tell you the site where I received this message. I hope this will be addressed and a better way offered especially peoples with multiple disabilities to find positive assist without having to look all around the Ning Network and finding no appreciative answers. Thank you.

[Thomas Hoey]

Well, I only average from 2 to 8 sign ups a day.

I believe it would be fair to say that most of the spam is going down.

And, for me, the best thing to do is welcome each member,  personally, and figure out who they are. AND keep an eye on the activity box. If you see someone approaching multiple members right after they sign up, that is like a warning alarm going off. There was a period in the Spring when we were deluged and then it started going down. I have only had one spammer to remove in the last month.

It is amusing when I see that they always upload a pic and it is a beautiful girl. Our members, for the most part, do not attract nor are they beautiful model types. So I guess, we have an advantage. We never get the "I can get you rich" spam and have no idea why not.

However we use a trick question (which I obviously cannot give out here) and the captcha. But, we do not approve members since that to me would be counter productive.

And Jen. Trust me. Just delete them...no message.

[Mike Stahl]

I have tried captcha and questions and the spammers still get in. I do not want to moderate signups because I don't like being moderated when signing up for sites and I don't believe my users will either. Obviously the captcha isn't working and the spammers have figured their way around it. 

 

Are there any other options for us?

[Cornelia Hoskin]

Mike, I agree with you completely. Approving members is an additional barrier and connotes exclusivity. I want to provide an open welcoming feel, and this is exactly opposed to that. Unfortunately, I've been moderating memberships for three weeks now and haven't had a single problem with SPAM. However, I am constantly tethered to my computer/mobile so that I can approve ASAP. I then send along a welcome apologizing for the approval message and explaining it.

Picture it: Sunday morning. Romantic weekend away in the Vermont countryside. A walk in the crisp air. EMAIL>>YOU HAVE A NEW MEMBER TO APPROVE.

Bummer.

[Mike Stahl]

I get your point but at the same time why make it harder for people to become members because there are bad people out there? I police my network every day. As a user I am less likely to hang around and wait for someone to tell me it is okay to come in when I want to play a part now. A question is why do these spam filters fail so wildly? 

Are these spammers emails really being banned network wide by Ning? It was/is my understanding that when I banned someone it helped other Creators. Am I wrong? It's pretty easy to spot the accounts once they show up but these guys use real people's names and attempt to post fake photos for their profiles.