Recent spam posts: what's the goal?

[RCinNC]

Recently I've been seeing some long first time posts that have been marked as "reported", which I presume is because they're spam. They seem to be about the normal stuff that gets discussed on here a lot (things like Rotella, or broken spark plugs). I wouldn't have caught it as spam, but I went back and checked the names of the members who posted these entries, and they both were just slight variations of each other, so that does look like a giveaway that something's afoot.

Can someone who is knowledgeable in the weird ways of the internet explain the goal behind spamming a forum with posts that seem to be about a motorcycle related issue? I can certainly understand the goal behind email spam for something like time shares or penis pills: they either want to sell you something, get you to respond to the email to confirm it's a working email address, or follow a link in order to harvest your information or install malware on your computer. But what's the goal behind these bogus entries? What purpose do they serve to the person (or bot) that is making them?

 

[Sierra1]

I'm with you on this one. And, there's one or two that are quite long. Seems like a shit ton of work for nothing. Especially when you figure this probably isn't the only place they're spamming. The only info they can get from this site is our personal email addresses. . . . I think.

 

[OldRider]

They have learned that they have to get their toe in the door first. They want to have discussions with people and try to build up some confidence with you. Start sending personal messages and after you get to be biddies they can start their game. Stock tips, sell something, send you links to click on. They will try and figure out some way to separate you from your money.

 

[cyclemike4]

They have learned that they have to get their toe in the door first. They want to have discussions with people and try to build up some confidence with you. Start sending personal messages and after you get to be biddies they can start their game. Stock tips, sell something, send you links to click on. They will try and figure out some way to separate you from your money.

Well never thought of that. I wondered what they would be getting from this.

 

[Sierra1]

And, some of the phrasing is definitely not U.S. or even UK. There's one, Streffie, that has responded, claiming "not a spammer". Not believing it myself. Once again, it's the phrasing. Very similar to the proven spammers. Guess we'll see.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Knocked out 4 of the 5 reported, so as mentioned in a thread elsewhere, thanks to you guys for reporting.

RC, beats the heck out of me what the answer is, but like Karen's 88 year old Mom says

People - They're all different.

 

[RCinNC]

I'm really curious about it, and the online research I did about it hasn't produced any results. It's been about 13 years since I retired as a criminal investigator, and computer scams have gotten a lot more sophisticated over the years. I'd love to have someone in the know confirm what's being attempted here. Are they even real people posting, or is it a bot? I wonder how many forums have seen these exact same posts appear?

 

[tallpaul]

I honestly think the aim is to find special interest forums and poke the vehicle or object of the forum with a stick to get people to react. I'm still not 100% behind the one new member that has been admitted, as I still feel there are some inconsistencies with them and their claims and responses. Time will tell.

 

[pooh and xtine]

There is a great example here in the UK relating to a bike “reflash” service promoted via bike forums. This joker connected your bike to a random electrical plug on your bike, did 2 or 3 dyno runs showing massive before and after power gains and charged £350 for 30 minutes of his time (he could do 8 bikes in a day). He could apparently tune every make and model of fuel injected bike whatever the ecu, whatever the encryption, however new the bike. It was subsequently proven that no changes were made to your ecu.

He trawled the bike forums, setting up multiple fake personas, building up believable presences by making friendly, anodyne posts over weeks or even months until suddenly starting a thread about snatchy throttles, or surging at a constant throttle, or “I’ve a mate who’s bike really flies having been to Hilltop” etc. In many cases his personas would engage in conversation on these threads extolling the virtues of this “remapping” service and always including the email address, price and physical address of the dyno shop. His personas claimed he tuned BSB superbikes, press test bikes and that all his remapping was invisible to scrutineers or insurers. It was all pretty transparent because he used the same phraseology and posted during particular hours of the day (although UKGser forum members fell for it for 10 years!).

He targeted this forum a few years ago and moved worldwide with a franchise arrangement sending dud Raspberry Pis to unsuspecting bike shops (virtually all of which have stopped now).

He’s still in business and is still a forum sponsor of UKGser...

 

[PhilPhilippines]

Look into my eyes, look into my eyes , not around my eyes... I think we know who it is.

 

[AVGeek]

I can't say why we have been targeted, but I'm now looking at all posters who skip the introduction section and post straight into a thread. As always, if you see something, say something (report it), since we can't be here all the time.

 

[pooh and xtine]

And yes, based on the glowing references on UKGser, I fell for the scam back in 2015 with my first ST, but I wasn’t convinced by his method (connecting the dyno to the abs plug under the seat!) and couldn’t tell any difference in the bike so I took it back and got a refund. The “remap” was removed amidst dire warnings that my bike was running too lean and that he would accept no liability if it blew up (!). I rode away and the bike was no different. I posted my experience on UKGser forum and got masses of abuse from his acolytes and I suspect his forum alter egos (and threatening phone calls...). But he was potentially raking in £10k a week from the placebo flashes that bikers believed because they had the dyno graphs to prove it (and had paid £350).

There is so much more to this incredible fraud, but it would take too long. Suffice to say that internet forum spam can be lucrative...

 

[RCinNC]

I'd be tempted to just let one of the spam threads play out, to see what actually happens. Knowing their methodology and intentions might help others avoid the pitfalls of whatever it is that they're trying to accomplish. Of course, I might end up feeling bad if one of the members ends up buying a beachfront condo in Death Valley...

 

[PhilPhilippines]

I'd be tempted to just let one of the spam threads play out, to see what actually happens. Knowing their methodology and intentions might help others avoid the pitfalls of whatever it is that they're trying to accomplish. Of course, I might end up feeling bad if one of the members ends up buying a beachfront condo in Death Valley...

It would almost certainly involve money. I would ignore, report and remove.

 

[Sierra1]

And my friends wonder why I'm so skeptical.

 

[SkunkWorks]

Most likely harvesting everyone's e-mail addresses and contact info, to either sell to other spammers or use themselves.
Some forums require a certain number of post-counts before granting access to other member's info.
This might be some sort of tactic to gain access by having the bare minimum number of legit posts?

 

[tallpaul]

And my friends wonder why I'm so skeptical.

Nothing wrong with having a healthy degree of skepticism.

 

[Sierra1]

It's the old "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" thing.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Bounced a couple more this morning. Be aware that doing this can kill a thread, like the recent one about horns.

 

[Vec]

moderators, Good job on keeping out the riffraff.

I myself am very new to this forum, and joined here because I am looking for a liter bike to add the 3 bikes in my garage.
I split my time daily driving either my V Strom 650 or my DR 650, my hardly abelson wideglide gets ridden occasionally usually after dinner for a short 50 or 60 mile evening ride.

there’s only two bikes I’m considering at this time to add to my stable, A 2014+ Super Ten , or an Africa twin non-DCT model.

With that being said, I probably won’t post much but I read here several times a day utilizing the new post button trying to research and gain information.

So, with that being said....
moderators, keep up the good work.