Accusation:
Randomly scanning the blockchain for suspicious activities, a chain of votes on a seemingly innocent spam comment caught my eye. 19 votes from accounts with random-syllable usernames on a days old comment on a month old post.
Someone's clearly spamming for profit. I really did not expect this to lead to such an extend as it did, though!
The Findings
Observing the activities over the past few days I was able to connect a huge network of more than 1700 accounts involved in this industrially scaled farming operation! And the number is still growing!
It will be impossible and boring to describe how I dug into this chronologically, so I shall describe the situation structurally:
There are hundreds and hundreds of accounts doing exactly what I had witnessed in my "Accusation" above. These accounts transfer their rewards over to a few hub-accounts, these accounts then function as an extraction point for the ill-gotten gains, transferring the accumulated money out of the platform.
These are the "extraction points" of the network:
@imenosblis; @ramoxingfruc; @unbuinibel; @malmbertdorla; @fawealmati; @simphifinking; @findtigeharg; @pidarlambnews
A look at their wallets will show the vast array of accounts sending in money, and it shows they have already successfully extracted 198 SBD.
That doesn't sound like much, but consider this has only been running for roughly 3 weeks, all the gains are only the SBD share of 2 weeks of farming, and with every vote, the SP behind this network grows, exponentially strengthening this operation!
If this is not stopped, it will cause major damage!!!
And no, we can't just mute and ignore this - flags are needed to protect the reward pool from rape!!!
Luckily initiatives like @spaminator and @sadkitten have also started picking up on these, and in fact, the @sadkitten AI has already started flagging comments in this farm automatically!
Give @sadkitten a round of applause please!
What's worrying, all these accounts have been registered though steemit, so they should have been checked!
Now you know why the signup process has slowed down and where all these new users are coming from. I think something needs to be done about this at the mothership!
yours,
Sherlock
P.S.: just to give you an impression on the extend of this network, here are 95% of the accounts identified, sorry if it's breaking your scroll-wheel!
The other 5% will remain undisclosed but under monitoring to check the growth of the network as it continues operating!
@brilboanihearth; @fifzeilime; @sfulfimari; @stinunkdotaf; @lieremysdand; @esouttadep; @plorcomqudoll; @racalvoroo; @tingreaclover; @pursunete; @beltideccheapf; @adrepreros; @promearlasque; @blacanhortue; @cirdystpanqui; @ricwhiquartund; @tfulovnuero; @joitoucara; @ranicuslo; @handwenhoma; @cieperero; @padviotere; @singtungvesme; @torsbubgapam; @pimanbacktu; @neiquikurwea; @exeznapubb; @zingmarmate; @linkbetumy; @sweettilrama; @costvirantai; @itmorake; @libcutumlo; @nihelpile; @thmatacetseo; @vernicamu; @volkduscompcard; @ninghasleni; @vernilyri; @reacmoosefor; @conlibuckhand; @neypackrigast; @enelarin; @tisubkewi; @retenfeme; @kedelolof; @lequasaltsmal; @naeblooddisga; @liledimy; @reefureafi; @dianutoficl; @consdeschyde; @pracmorrsquanpon; @asprespiolow; @cutthstarulan; @haikaremo; @vairecmemat; @tongditheso; @prefortirroks; @itgadocro; @gihudawbia; @tronlutetab; @pabloposi; @imunlego; @baytisyrga; @exsaulinpart; @apoutpronrel; @refervoilcan; @findditraithe; @churchbarksysri; @dersterssasvi; @ysnarichli; @fuddbrunemem; @decmirado; @netpirica; @sofdebtvanvent; @skatvovitu; @timasepho; @lipelpergslim; @raicatepitt; @sweatimhotsio; @coupvegobters; @scurotenin; @projofaser; @gieponwordsas; @nessdecomppres; @wetvamacmins; @sebuviry; @sweependitho; @beuminspuffscen; @ulverdiuprer; @worktechowste; @gistteducreapp; @specdufquoje; @athlequri; @orrserofprof; @acnilbatchmac; @naubitinfsand; @siocacusvo; @baytrophedim; @kaysuntiovi; @sinelosno; @mendynanza; @icrennife; @lektrofootsi; @gehelcoland; @reumsikeluc; @dahhaboudi; @cobtaconney; @lighmogadedp; @glasmenigre; @thanklandcarvo; @wampterframlei; @grecanwelcho; @grafsuneti; @renoliroo; @tailictflowneo; @backninpersres; @rusverires; @loijacksubsa; @pierusaddrep; @gerengrori; @cluterresverb; @fimosise; @skyjenevcas; @blinimritel; @threadrantener; @hynoseares; @hinansucu; @neymesujub; @restsofulbio; @esmarnitic; @emmasheare; @hurtcomptuther; @backrojona; @prolterpseto; @reacurdticwtons; @sobcbangsporach; @tofenscyre; @pinsviglessspin; @plemeloutsa; @synchcampneban; @enwhatremu; @feedrogilto; @fuddgervestpy; @tylalacme; @epjazmigist; @sparevimis; @rokabelzy; @incondimar; @lierirealwinn; @guiquedextpe; @fulbobelbe; @menscatara; @nforcandako; @synchbustatec; @ponlibicart; @xiekingjackdoc; @leaureapuki; @mostchansiti; @imesaduk; @femcjackmarfe; @reautranelchlor; @gaythetitib; @alurvolbo; @spacobalsor; @preapovaser; @ratoolzato; @promgarcite; @seateservbo; @hardpornewsclub; @atchiphybus; @rucacapa; @haamandescdun; @docolude; @fragachenoth; @tramuszanma; @nicuthocu; @pywforala; @cratagophad; @bravongifsank; @tockmantangmbit; @liarealhaisi; @anubtifen; @tacknalalas; @olacesit; @trosextronla; @brotinacec; @tanktinghelpra; @girepedtoo; @peddtoocendi; @terebusbui; @liawehamsi; @taisopiter; @dlinkoguhis; @dilingloma; @proborunbar; @alonsigma; @alerecuv; @colfernvemi; @icevsacsi; @sunasanchot; @projiphminvest; @izocsatma; @mengariratt; @laisatessea; @distrepani; @tuptoconneu; @softlighmedan; @rugliterkell; @javrebirdcon; @golfheathcdilec; @peosweettasent; @gioteticna; @stosdelisound; @erparcamphea; @inaretas; @slatinacme; @mindugimhigh; @breasaltiamo; @tawhiplorisk; @vuedirufer; @procakerin; @acascipbunk; @chaelicosre; @quisquatruistyl; @tisicoleexp; @jangsublinglan; @riapalirest; @wadsconggete; @ethinunneu; @diacuedreadlom; @scalselchana; @tiomengoldta; @tranunmefe; @ewinvieder; @rarikepli; @prescetuver; @meysolemon; @crypvolbullstal; @teikehrtersnal; @bitttalulters; @propbeaghdismist; @pauconthefchick; @basulbewhe; @lighhochtube; @nisabarwnuc; @kerfetsrollto; @centtimppistloo; @ununadzon; @atacworfa; @paigehrsige; @tiefipermai; @listoulitwhee; @rilpbookmore; @candupostcont; @weperlangland; @countfigeho; @pebunapli; @clipcongranylch; @unsovala; @itzerlongca; @aprarmauta; @amonsysrai; @panpostriva; @ketfnannlegen; @chlorypsnifha; @inenroze; @focislohea; @trastiaconli; @camptinacfi; @mistvillaso; @tranapnaren; @rivderotu; @unirerzu; @enfreemlogti; @pismiwindten; @blasinrager; @roeplacinat; @badccepusi; @heartbeconmyo; @learnmesizi; @mandmosurea; @stoplangrende; @holdpaperbsearch; @rioomirenno; @julardielo; @scatinenthe; @thambsecentkos; @tradidunde; @litleisenli; @thegimiro; @sucasensapp; @taucenfibar; @centbobsprofer; @carpafealif; @riddcilriri; @mepolconkqi; @feidevasse; @atpretajon; @toinietabso; @tcomanjatemb; @ndolihiner; @unarkatpost; @bavomali; @cegatendins; @troselalor; @virbbinnomen; @siachendonin; @erepmula; @tubattiaseu; @pavesmaumet; @popdakoli; @stelcobotca; @wrinsucpaisur; @predacmemro; @gecarhanddip; @turnmonthflatim; @netttremraito; @apsubfebbsys; @soldogscotic; @fanitbiro; @titacgemis; @inradismo; @retcitingring; @paycakirkbrut; @taicintlaro; @tireslapin; @ranrifibru; @getuluata; @ruikavdeode; @melsirodob; @megourkingtel; @thaidunsmorca; @cucererep; @retnaireipeo; @zinnuromo; @jeppdelanbi; @eabglarpathpho; @uninmehy; @carjawindkbed; @counsiltcentni; @boadevilri; @hamnotiladb; @belavehor; @ticknachtprenan; @laymaquabmi; @tramenkedna; @inabansoa; @gogidercy; @eneakmarli; @wecktantfiles; @matttebecot; @birthtournetu; @chrysecenop; @imexoupad; @temabfiku; @waylebore; @sickmiggistwhir; @trovakscoton; @ballgimthemspip; @noumoccapi; @chanworksubfo; @nzennorrcochan; @lanrovecna; @alexacclen; @sangmiddveti; @lowkettphosour; @signsibeasof; @batachreepe; @aseturto; @kerpevsdingvi; @knobtharsongcomp; @conttholaro; @layvepeebee; @postcenciepen; @dekomprasy; @lesthoopschunbe; @litakase; @crowagprinun; @terpoubuzztu; @constermema; @vinficorrods; @ceiconzedu; @ciebrysalci; @tirehealo; @keabmentborrta; @rockpassmane; @etertafo; @sinfmocata; @analefloc; @teinogubi; @renmeamasra; @msonendisto; @permebarcamp; @nethenahaw; @triganinef; @thiamemdoorsbing; @terttourbootsta; @erutmacop; @warddottedab; @lumacodi; @osteevire; @poiroslehand; @bymensulea; @lutegacu; @givernamas; @lighhudddani; @nylloukibbgi; @grafthetdersfen; @cresnacohump; @bicavepi; @wainestprowef; @ecicfulma; @outracalti; @onpoorcasett; @tninsalzvoden; @bossiularmo; @gistvastoser; @bovireahok; @depminestlows; @caltivoha; @widondownfes; @premertanfo; @atkilase; @pomaluweb; @burgcatopdia; @kinmynethin; @kacoterba; @helligiwild; @tiapercurdca; @licimasve; @mapancbsersour; @quigserimab; @xaelikati; @precodwalbo; @tricisadal; @keyjourriru; @maustoresbren; @quipoeriatoi; @benarupsa; @pehocarge; @alrereco; @presjencesy; @gavitarmogg; @petemmophy; @liasimpsarfai; @fecmanalbblog; @steafrandelok; @pinensiras; @gastmicsandming; @parttiderich; @trepunjikma; @salastuto; @termiworlvers; @riduhgyzstel; @cusodocre; @tiegeboli; @diffmohaskarn; @ventioleme; @riehalcimys; @inchiedistfea; @izlogkaunbik; @avgoabroxsu; @vicudida; @marosenti; @denirasa; @orsonjackpitch; @eariginti; @carbchaftuma; @trelermekin; @sertartgarzhong; @beohuntyima; @idatifex; @outalthesmo; @gasarlese; @framenapun; @melheartretom; @anolpenperg; @sennemezca; @verfinktisma; @emuciteb; @mughmenanzo; @owerotin; @stinopsiwee; @spelovcambard; @diohertepa; @isevennu; @aptucrono; @taibackmallce; @restsistesem; @esmeifimark; @diagraphhydbi; @excasfana; @discbuschrestbin; @cosumtingde; @wistbequmas; @tertlicehar; @trouvgarrobu; @ovupunet; @unjoselbma; @ensetwypu; @presigburi; @waitabpazoo; @marnewstaro; @dalnessbere; @tenlavende; @hencvabreto; @buibronsolmi; @armeoblogis; @hicassotis; @lerolihar; @hidiscreper; @alamappo; @procanalul; @baunenobe; @psychaddexmyo; @learolhapswha; @sidelkener; @nieswimxiti; @sneakalines; @turnpirorop; @naraconsmo; @credbamiva; @nespoultslavic; @tabrothoharg; @kettmanlire; @conhafibel; @balseniwea; @ourhilawbgrib; @atepxyboon; @contqahcabill; @scenwecondo; @centphytucomp; @ponsestforde; @scholnikkpowor; @ragdevenrows; @tiwesttwinza; @pencontplifmer; @rucroharous; @theaujohputa; @thusxadinthi; @ranwellcomse; @monsbubizpcor; @lonvertdrumbes; @laschofidiff; @sylabenho; @cardrethogla; @arsiliqan; @natnanuche; @vanamicbi; @hypcompminspu; @crettiburfea; @jetrutumu; @provimatub; @flabunelat; @inablecra; @heartfibrewelt; @alvelibook; @speccossupi; @roilantereal; @tiabloghotwi; @orbetira; @leubecvalgsi; @forscontderme; @crochagentrud; @siladino; @idpidinow; @mibatalo; @fiperdescpric; @litorfhartqa; @vuiwaigusol; @downthistternre; @stattolspamak; @changapabar; @tepsadisfpart; @ransderehe; @liafrothichto; @gritolimga; @memembtesy; @teofranares; @licaphepor; @dentmericont; @czynonrige; @lanthbellcogtong; @planphotasa; @crisvibite; @cafjudgtydisc; @hurdfunniconf; @radxiberto; @tenethomen; @sufchabouto; @helpmuscrama; @lpuralenan; @instalaful; @dasamena; @wrontertele; @weafeeljuggsil; @paccalogou; @uqabhiga; @hamcagentue; @nighgirtgamsi; @dingtinghuksred; @krylachgicosn; @supaddloro; @jantdanmeback; @exschenraftmi; @nelfwarmnicma; @mitmatico; @fulradeci; @tiodervorsto; @flamonlafon; @alupgautu; @freechcokabfo; @pernonpgiran; @tochantova; @retaketti; @conbonsnarthke; @mimulormo; @millwartele; @gistrulite; @cisphaddeza; @retimjatel; @cabtalema; @chiochenriti; @thatechkbouna; @sonaneta; @tucomgiftwi; @giscentmelvi; @oftansewe; @kegemarmo; @sichtfredunsil; @loapendalo; @terrairiaza; @lavswindcilge; @wagevholmsand; @retarimis; @burgprojtirot; @ecganabal; @probiziptab; @niastoptenpho; @sisynmuligh; @spypuninun; @marjarscresnoa; @docknolinkgal; @letzesurtda; @planoninve; @riabachacon; @tiosimadif; @clasarprodsoft; @thernwebscallo; @unreawebba; @heaterphowga; @piegardbuzzcoun; @tromatbranad; @tranalforlang; @backfatufa; @creekepadfi; @chootyvoxti; @analunmar; @pronunvome; @teomareadi; @luocontide; @skorbohubee; @rotomogva; @webcontnipo; @icsaiqate; @exsysxelog; @ropozbanghis; @rausonreja; @quipresrentdi; @runasulgeo; @secjacknitors; @tephytemse; @enalsefec; @swearmanrasi; @cethinrito; @ovmoceba; @dertiohighroll; @tranconliomeo; @vianokonan; @rebemenga; @cheakalbeire; @workcambiwor; @vesfvitido; @vavisembsi; @reobracipca; @mulchadilo; @dazzhatendfec; @nextleanewpfmaw; @voinighterha; @geneandpaco; @prepcasenbui; @porttandemer; @derwphehurhand; @peanolugly; @clerricoubi; @corknarneci; @disthuchilu; @nessjicuflie; @abimrolball; @moraforto; @lauretupe; @parcitimat; @hackflimobpi; @setrapora; @ecineajla; @derlibarnsent; @mocorendie; @loasenfoundbadc; @bonffeterra; @waunewabo; @meedujapar; @imfesbackwebt; @webwoodsfacke; @perdtatuasen; @indonjuter; @ophchitorchlins; @wealphotacfa; @sormindnarsysp; @eranambie; @soundradeta; @chesongmicre; @viepobargu; @artoimienan; @sonarcecomp; @bracertacnosc; @corlerpthumtu; @eedmauronswoodc; @ntanterfmyna; @zeilyjecmai; @westderspopa; @ciajevima; @joigimedli; @egannepgast; @pieprerdoli; @bosrorapool; @tanbmobullbikd; @mutsatingma; @sphermelozoo; @acriviwa; @tanmentbacre; @fauchexsave; @zoothingcartu; @cingcourgolfbwah; @altanechal; @aposinym; @uasgahearhealth; @carssleepanig; @reatotuduc; @leebetbimus; @eatalerse; @lomcoldcorma; @tifoobibjunc; @imsecadis; @morpaadabu; @codoubpana; @attainifa; @kospemulcha; @menihydbe; @dunclitpensppos; @hangmalivers; @ozerdogang; @temapilbing; @siocuviswarc; @ovrasinit; @comthilabso; @weldchitechlung; @verbtownmonan; @opocticbo; @sanlidesi; @porxireasuc; @sustracocur; @friginansvet; @creambumenke; @palicocur; @carddiffcysla; @ciapeebulink; @infipafu; @fruchguistunun; @progranglandvalr; @feijouecatchbur; @barlaujuiver; @platnatosva; @perwheesusanc; @finlewase; @legpoultribi; @drizseybeworh; @lithocontask; @azexeval; @pechildgranun; @consmontctasfo; @ructiniders; @tiogravtera; @detiphaphy; @cogymheartpref; @powscusidis; @cauclinilbur; @predovletol; @sporelviebo; @gespeobafirs; @wabotiback; @welrasedla; @resjetsranspat; @guicalpogoog; @analicrat; @recacongau; @writemfannai; @cimareworl; @ofsicourli; @rateacycte; @menmvicale; @matisamde; @siretephi; @houtenlime; @fredtanafas; @nytibirchlac; @naisapacho; @heihofoper; @quithocede; @childhurquila; @flatdekare; @critjournnepuzz; @coherecnau; @sietraninli; @beautotifo; @exlajecti; @tarchalfspokes; @anexpides; @halfzeljretba; @bietackflavun; @clawimdehri; @tafnepenti; @baresegfi; @zsolcycboopitt; @crevbakotbump; @cattduckpatve; @versinope; @piatlivirel; @redsimitem; @cesnicounmo; @handtempphenpka; @facadiphi; @tranacdeve; @tiipormobin; @nanberocu; @facragami; @queretrogi; @comhaphyges; @bossforsimpri; @suorenguinas; @ninglearnrighcom; @denilaslu; @hobbquacambuck; @feidisgecen; @cyrmillrealdio; @rapancstaroph; @abartoavis; @sufnewsbangthe; @hurdbeckterde; @brigunapmi; @enaralan; @studcardcroslan; @probbaltubourf; @verncorvaca; @presormali; @poelative; @klipigkibo; @prinaterflow; @meocompmeni; @leupasgehou; @fabcerpkenba; @hilltaperge; @highverbume; @retlistruffkac; @fesymvilo; @tilojamring; @imeraccfin; @linkcobata; @rebkooforness; @undipresi; @windcomgaure; @planacuabtran; @ennapita; @nessgiguci; @anhiterpe; @garestater; @ovinmade; @specitormai; @lefunddartwall; @terpmapesac; @synnistsapen; @roscrafarsemb; @isdrudacprot; @carfibiten; @peobrokanat; @puchandmemen; @loapalsala; @propunnvesav; @plunexdivpi; @ivreispamab; @chhalnahula; @tsubecovnie; @ronerkeedisc; @viarticenwal; @sandconpouka; @arfanloavo; @waxtirassi; @phrasetalil; @saltrensrenti; @sampzomadist; @liatiamora; @surrothylpei; @raarahesra; @foundnuhari; @hertotosub; @edommasing; @pluninelcho; @blacatsefur; @neudepbullmag; @toistatyscu; @egapablo; @peccentbasssund; @smoothemdela; @orpivejam; @hydnighdetsio; @favitcila; @kingborothe; @arremreypor; @tiorecahyd; @sumiverfe; @bacsigaco; @fincemuslo; @maptevefir; @marefasco; @concimara; @ketpcentcochild; @providunfreet; @aninovis; @relafootptib; @lighmitreri; @througesburlu; @voyswaltiocon; @agdezykme; @jusamajoc; @quanroyloppond; @nonthcomhori; @dyouquochildve; @ernaltide; @mociteberg; @olatrede; @loolimarsai; @poifetzcalta; @ningdezesub; @exrecvingdown; @halhurlperte; @lofhearttropnis; @quiselimi; @tilbackcahar; @veloptide; @jackransdogen; @satztralanes; @nighcountili; @whelveterte; @veadecose; @tragtivemor; @rebiscamer; @bridirplicti; @sirantetu; @dayfaveter; @ferchelisoft; @atfilhiran; @liehoecophi; @quivingverna; @staplightwinec; @telgemsgraphnond; @inazmiexe; @repkpercepe; @protlighganving; @cielagridots; @artecapo; @hornnresbencei; @cyssehaldu; @corgensswapmyo; @procarerat; @extatmaluc; @itsimotcont; @webpgomorming; @imtomofont; @seytecountjber; @oswatage; @bartbravunel; @nordilini; @vienaceter; @laufreemosca; @bunrestdersber; @raipregalme; @reosisbuytick; @ormentiko; @petsocalta; @funcsovidir; @veydacero; @beclitalctheast; @alannoepua; @stylentedgio; @decomliper; @terdistkechec; @lingsuppwinla; @diafertioli; @cocurodi; @bidicellmop; @riracocor; @dolzatife; @chiakrugacep; @neysiotanksend; @kendtherearque; @johndingvolre; @terprotenmill; @harlicansetz; @sitdacewa; @downletcote; @flattexletzzu; @tribexannoe; @ulinovci; @megicerfast; @surmothele; @eqinimga; @blunricomplead; @elgranermi; @vaynursimptrom; @jaffningmoce; @liwebquede; @stelvestnalri; @wachtoufofit; @carhighgokeab; @railotare; @terfweckruthsea; @wittnelewa; @ulerindue; @utsinlalur; @azcrewusto; @schafamacaf; @greslausumatt; @chalkfaweenda; @echnabesvie; @exfredzirnpon; @esterjoycal; @ramibuci; @bestsuppmansvul; @niskafeta; @norefulnei; @nistsubsclusic; @inmulthirsbren; @esadgunrass; @rathougastse; @almaliguan; @lodewimso; @aciwalpleas; @ganebiro; @squalanonev; @gailerncarboa; @mizaceve; @aligapstil; @hendlastkolkcon; @perssidecoun; @dongbajusti; @inharfehlcas; @substhamdata; @sotovunta; @lulogeabco; @critekanro; @toggrenmywind; @twinfacwooowa; @probcalare; @curliregu; @lesumagha; @tadiscpropid; @zeekinrili; @crofutkiader; @inlejunon; @rilifabro; @inpoetrasar; @chronmitili; @ginlittworkza; @dinglittzillco; @tisothankbes; @millcutenru; @tolichurchflav; @menmyetipak; @sweetalmleral; @rapislebo; @onenitem; @viecilinew; @procrowhili; @teabcasaro; @weifotnaco; @elpigpahan; @gadecpersce; @iglodunre; @coidiarasu; @keydisimar; @pickcontrisell; @peberseson; @rachmumiwol; @acdabtoscrnav; @knociniqob; @riconmipi; @prolmicuaper; @platesviamen; @whittmittecon; @biofronrise; @tilitersrea; @lavelbixo; @pretoutispe; @ifextensa; @svilterpricsti; @nierasare; @jackbagesu; @earilerre; @sulfucona; @blogelamog; @lulicagve; @leilististru; @pharsyncstapna; @countthumero; @conphebiti; @radesptogbi; @poprafthardcab; @spinsubfiltriv; @ciabrazevba; @flicenasnor; @tradununne; @iseluner; @mauterglahpe; @lidasowe; @deyrentjubas; 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SHOCKING, I know!
Have you witnessed similar things yourself?
Don't just ignore it and move on... do something, orlet me know!
Thinking about making a bot or program so I can flag these guys in mass... Comment spam is seriously getting ridiculous and steemit will die if this doesn't get taken care of now before they gain more SP to upvote themselves..
If you trail @sadkitten 's flags it will have the same effect as we're already doing this
Just because I'm not afraid to look stupid, how do I "trail" @sadkitten 's flags?
You'd need a bot of some kind. I don't have any solution for this, sorry. I know others much have but I do not know of an open source solution.
Probably better would be to delegate some SP to the @sadkitten account which will help us have enough SP to counter all that we come across. It's very dynamic and as we find more spam accounts we will probably need more.
But I see you don't have a large amount of SP anyway, so just resharing posts and getting involved in the discussion might be the best for now.
Thank you 😇
I'm happy to do what I can.
Here's another stupid question - at what point do people have enough sp to start delegating it? I would give some if it helped. It's really important to me as a content creator to see this place looking good.
Obviously this is a big organized effort with the"Mystery 1700" and now you are on it, but if there is anything I can do as a minnow - I want to help.
I answer my own individual spam comments and try to set people right if they are new, but if they are bots, I don't think I am accomplishing anything by replying.
Hi @fitinfun, I just joined here and this spam problem is exactly the first thing than concerned me about this platform. While there are bots doing a decent job, and downvotes do help....it's not enough. New accounts can be created . Kill one head and three more appear. I love the ideas here, but I'm concerned it could lead to nothing. A lot of big users are powering down their steem power which has me concerned Steemit could be showing signs of self-destructing? Although users are growing, how many of these are quality users as opposed to spam accounts? You can read my thoughts on this here https://steemit.com/steemit/@joannajablonka/steemit-is-in-danger-of-self-destruction-why-reddcoin-could-win
"A lot of big users are powering down their steem power which has me concerned Steemit could be showing signs of self-destructing?"
I am on your page exactly. "Kill one head and three more appear" ergh...
Going over to check out your post :)
The idea they had awhile back to make two reward pools one for comments, one for posts is starting to look more attractive. It will not FIX the problem but it will limit its potential damage.
Yes, we need to be on top of this trend asap!
There are a few bots picking this up already, but any new approach can only strengthen the efforts!
Sherlock take a look at these welcome bots + proxy self vote abusers :
https://steemit.com/steemit/@simoneighties/welcome-bot-proxy-self-vote-abuse-in-introduceyourself
Saved for later! Sorry my desk is cluttered already!
That is a splendid idea! It would really help us all. Thank u.
sooo true
Hello @sherlockholmes
I want to commend you for the great work you are doing. It is activities like this that muddies the reputation of this platform.
This is robbery of the highest order, while well meaning steemians are out there trying to grow their blog some people have taken it upon themselves to rape the reward pool.
Keep up the good work, the community is solidly behind you. We are tired of this.
Resteemed
@ogochukwu
Thank you for the support!
please be aware the reward pool is not being sexually tortured.
The danger of an incentivized community like Steemit is that the rewards are real and direct. On Reddit, in contrast, someone might do this with the hope of driving traffic to a landing page (or for useless karma...), but that requires users to trust the domain they're being redirected to etc.
How well we protect Steemit from this will likely decide if it's going to be around long-term or not.
Agreed, and due to the nature of things, the community needs to be actively protecting this growing Utopia!
yes, and we have big plans for bringing this to light and getting all involved in protecting steemit.
Ooooh I would be so curious to know @stellabelle! I'm new to Steemit and my first post was on the future longevity of Steemit if this spam issue doesn' get under conrol (https://steemit.com/steemit/@joannajablonka/steemit-is-in-danger-of-self-destruction-why-reddcoin-could-win). It seems it struck a cord with the community so it is very much on the top of everyone's mind. I read your post about creating a good reputation and I think that is what all of us need to strive for when creating. We just need a better filtering mechanism that doesn't reward the spammers.
Sherlock you have been working hard, very commendable.
Ok so what happens next? We split up into teams and flag like crazy? Or await the signal from upstream?
I think @sadkitten is being highly effective in this case, however, if you find comments that have still pending rewards, any flag that reduces the income of this network helps!
Excellent news! Is @sadkitten your pet?
I am the caretaker of @sadkitten :) Just created a post about it
While I'd like to pet her, no, we are not affiliated, but I am submitting the account list to them.
@sadkitten please reach out to me on steemit.chat
I have forwarded this contact request, though I am myself not entirely sure who runs it, the message should get there!
Lol cute
Incredible find @sherlockholmes! Resteemed for visibility!
WHOOOOOA.... That is so many accounts! I can see how the structure would allow for incremental gains to become exponential in a relatively quick way.... What happens next?
We need to keep the income down by flagging where needed, @sadkitten is doing a good job but has limited SP.
And stay vigilante, there will be ever more of these operations popping up until we stop their success, I am afraid!
I'm afraid that something on this scale requires more than flagging. The Steem team need to do something.
I absolutely agree!
I have learned (from a different yet unreleased case) that users are able to sign up chains of accounts with numbered email addresses under a private mail domain (like 1 - [email protected]) . This should be more than obvious to the account creation process at steemit.com!
This has to be dealt with at a programming level. Are the Steem team aware of this, are they even going to take action? They seem so slow to make other changes on Steemit.
Yes, I am clueless as to how these accounts get through a "manual verification" process.
They seem to not pay very much attention at the mothership!
Sigh... there are a few things around here...
Well, think about it. I cannot possibly be a manual verification process. Steemit would have to hire an army of people to vet the sign ups. So I call BS. It is obviously automated.
This is most crucial, kill spam at the source.
I see you found a spammy flag-friend? Any particular reason @thepunisherr is following you?
I tagged you in my previous post actually, I believe he is tailing me. He sent me over 140 messages for .14 SBD and flagged two of my posts for around -160. It's because he offered me an upvote and resteem to his 6000+ followers and I called him out.
We will make sure not to run out of SP on this task. There are several whales who recognize their responsibility to their investment and are willing to help, and Steemit Inc. delegation may also be an option.
This sounds like good news!
Here is a similar case that I was chasing.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@berniesanders/noganoo-mark-bretl-the-scammer-upvoting-shill-comments-with-his-accounts-flag-away#@gikitiki/re-dan-re-gikitiki-re-berniesanders-noganoo-mark-bretl-the-scammer-upvoting-shill-comments-with-his-accounts-flag-away-20170803t150439810z
If you look at the parent of the comment, I listed the 1200 that were involved.
Yes, that's from that whole ongoing noganoo drama. Let's not get into that sigh
This is the one thing that worries me about the value of the steem coin.
If the market believes that too many individuals are gaming the system, the perceived value of the currency will drop.
That's one of the reasons why we need to try and combat these cheats!
Which is precisely why Steemit needs to ACTIVELY PURSUE building a reputation (especially among the "penny miners" of the web) as a platform that is RUTHLESS about any kind of automated (and other) gaming of the system. If we can build a reputation as being "not profitable" for that kind of activity... then perhaps we CAN have a true game changer here.
I came across a post yesterday 271 thousand votes for comments, payout 540 Dollars
Have a look at the votes in the comments
https://steemit.com/ecology/@ecoworld/1942-2016-72-years-of-nuclear-part-1
This is absolutely insane!
Thanks for bringing it to my attention, this needs a closer look!
P.S.: A similar case with numbered comments happened a while ago before I opened this account, Might have been around the same time... I'll keep you posted if I find anything.
Wow, that account was really milking the system.
Yikes! Once again great detective work, I'm amazed and horrified at the scale of this operation. I'm glad there's already a bunch of anti spam accounts, but it's clear we still need more power to fight this bullshit.
We do, and it's an uphill battle... but it is showing some signs of success!
Well well well... "Elementary my dear watson".
Nicely done @sherlockholmes i see this as the work of well programmed and synchronized bots.
Its crazy whats going on here... It could be the programmer has seen a flaw in the steemit structure and is all out to exploit it.
Truly, if this is left unchecked, the puppeteer behind this racket will be raking in hundreds of thousands of SBDs....
From analysing a few of the accounts you posted, it is obvious the puppeteer is still experimenting this technique as he carefully picks very old posts, which attracted no votes or comments or interest during their 7 days payout period, and this of course was purposely done with the intention that his activities will go unnoticed by the steemit enforcement units, at least until a time that they build up sufficient SBDs (whale status) in particular accounts which are probably still undiscovered by @sherlockholmes, and then they can begin to cause real havoc on the system to their advantage when they start flexing their whale muscles.
you're quite correct, and the network I've been able to identify is not the only one, albeit, hopefully a particularly large one.
The pattern you correctly describe can be seen in numerous smaller operations. That's why it's so important to get AI recognition on this like @sadkitten is attempting.
More importantly though, the guys at the steemit HQ need to work on the account verification, essentially they are sponsoring operations like these by not vetting their signups properly!
This is happening in every scale on this Platform. I have slowly lost fait a few days at a time for that reason. It all sounded amazing in theory until you throw in the human mind and its corruptive nature. Back to Youtube it is lol
While there are various problems with the Steemit beta platform, including susceptibility to rewards pool mining and technical issues with the code, these problems are yet to be addressed.
Youtube is deliberately creating problems with the content, suppressing various channels, and even simply removing content and creators from the platform. They are increasing the rate of this activity, and broadening it's application to content. Youtube is going to get worse, not better.
Steemit yet may solve these problems.
Unlike YouTube, here YOU can do something about the problems, too!
For those of you curious what one of these click farm operations look like in the flesh. As you can see, a unique telephone number is insufficient to guarantee unique users.
The caption on that video is "They make fake ratings for mobile apps"
They look like their pumping fake volume into certain apps on Google Play to make the games seem more popular than they actually are...
Interesting video, thanks for posting it.
What's worse: you can do all that on steemit with a single computer.
:/! Arg.... Good thing people like you are investigating this stuff, I hope Steemit can get that sort of abuse under control somehow. That people can do that on one computer is just ... disheartening somehow. The real superheroes today all seem to be computer guys with good morals, sigh, I should have learned programming....
It's never too late!
Does markdown count? :P
It's a good start I guess !
Don't know how you want people to report suspicious stuff, so will do it here - check out tinoe & tinoei, 2.3k followers, 35k following with 65 posts... might be nothing, but looks fishy to me (noob that I am).
Thanks for your vigilance in uncovering these troublesome behaviors.
is the Steemit team working to solve this issue? can accounts be terminated? Or its a matter of downvoting each account which is very difficult?
Accounts can not be terminated, there is no central authority that could do this on the blockchain.
Yes, keeping these abuse-patterns under control is very difficult, flagging and removing support to those players is the only defense mechanism this community has.
Luckily some whales are starting to pay attention to protecting the reward-pool.
We should create a bot service that would flag any post or comment flagged by spaminator or sadkitten. Rather than delegate sp you could assign it one vote per day or more if you wanted which would only be used if needed as a downvote to erase any gains from the spam posts.
So it would be like the curation trails that currently exist only for downvoting instead of upvoting.
A spaminator-trail, not a bad idea.
Was the @tm888ph doing the same thing? I think they stopped last month, but who is to say that they won't start up again?
Good catch!
They didn't comment-farm. They simply extracted all the signup bonus money, probably moved it all to a proper main account by now.
I hope they stopped the bonus money, or at least reviewing it first before allowing this to happen again?
All accounts still have their signup delegation. Steemit inc isn't paying much attention to this I am afraid.
So it basically is already lost value, or at least "on the books" as already spent?
To-date only 0.5 Steem is actually given to sign-ups, the majority of initial voting power is only delegated to new accounts, it remains under ownership of @steem.
those were older accounts when the actually given Steem used to be more. That has all been taken, yes.
Thanks! I have only followed the signup method when I first started on Steemit, about a year ago.
I've just posted some Cookie Crumbs based on this lead.
Great work. I will be sure to post and flag anything that looks like spam especially from user names like these that have no meaning and look like bots. Nice try and I knew we would be vulnerable to this but we must fight it at all costs or else the content creation will be so far down the list that Steemit.com goes into the elephant graveyard. ReSteemed and Upvoted
Wow.. good work i must say old chap :)
This post received a 2.6% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @stefanmoe! For more information, click here!
Bots fighting bots. The future is weird.
What a time to be alive!
OMG... This is more serious than I thought. Is it even possible to catch these people?
Getting the actual people behind this may be close to impossible. What's important is putting a stop to it!
I agree with the first part. By am I wrong to say the the developers don't really give a shit what who win some or loses amongst ourselves
Intrinsically, one would think, they should have a lot of interest in fixing this. The reality of things appears differently, though, but that may be due to limited capacities.
Thanks for sharing this. We need to put the rewards pool back in the hands of those who deserve it! :)
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Great work finding all these 'sock puppets' I almost saw this too late to resteem.
Keep up the good work.
You got an upvote & resteem from me.
Steem on beyond the moon, who's in for the ride? Good luck to us all.
restreemed ..... great work thanks ...I have been annoyed with this sort of activity and think the bots should be killed off as well.... we have a discussion on bots going on here . a real steem guy that works hard to make steem what it is and should be .....https://steemit.com/steemit/@everittdmickey/bots-are-bad-for-steemit
I leave the ethical debate to others, one thing is clear to me, bots are inevitable and "part of the nature of this system".
@sherlockholmes please reach out to me on steemit.chat. Thanks!
why am I not in the list? =)
Top Spammer not caught yet? =)
you must have a good cloaking device!
oh yeah =)
this is the tiny model of the place I live in =)
works just fine, trust me
This is the biggest problem with the community. Thanks for raising this. I think that if the steemit developers put an end to it, the steem price will go up much more.
thank you for your amazing work!!!
Thanks for your work!
I have no tolerance for cheaters!!! How frustrating .. cheating never ends well for anyone so I am glad you are putting the brakes on these asshole douche bagas .. you are the BESTEST steemit detective .. I was wondering why my husbands steemit approval is taking so long - been 3 weeks tomorrow with no response :( .. You are appreciated :) SUNSHINE247
Yes, the account verification seems to get slower and slower... honestly, I have no idea what they are doing there, it's inexplicable to me!
Hopefully soon, he is excited to adventure into Steemit land :) Have a GREAT weekend friend!! SUNSHINE247
Jeez, well this is the sort of thing the community needs to do. With out moderation we must police ourselves. Good work @sherlockholmes!
GOOD WORK, SHERLOCK! How do ya' fig, Newton?!?! You definitely have too much time on your hands - but thank you very much for bringing this B.S. to everyone's attention. Hopefully, the whales will now come in to handle the situation. How long did this research take you to complete???
Upvoted and Resteemed.
I've watched it expand and followed a false lead to a known scammer profile initially (funny sidetrack, I'll post about it soon).
Finding the stuff is rather easy, making sure you have everything you can get and then vetting that you don't make false accusations, that's what actually takes time.
OMG, so many accounts already in the spam network. This is really a Steem drain. We have to stop this before it hurts us seriously.
I'd hope a few of the whales will support bots like @sadkitten to deal with such abuse. They can help to make such activity pointless. Thanks for highlighting this.
Yes, @sadkitten is seeing growing support from "up there". But the really big fish still seem to have more interesting posts to pay attention to.
This is shocking but not surprising. Thank you for your hard work @sherlockholmes . I am resteeming this.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention and so many others. I cannot believe I was that naive to think that this platform was different than the rest, however, there is a difference in that you are trying to correct the problem, not shut the blind eye to it.
Thank you! I have been reporting to Steemcleaners anything off color, but, if there is anything else I can do, I would love to know.
Upped and Steemed. The more that know, will know. :)
This is insane. I am shifting focus to help this effort......OMG.
When you alerted me that this one was out, my jaw hit the ground with the sheer number of accounts. Keep up the good work and thanks for helping us out. Actually. I think it's time to add you to the shanehug list.
cuddle-time
Upvoted, Resteemed.
It's not just bots, eWhoring and other practices will dominate with incentivized clicks. See https://steemit.com/steemit/@tommymindtrick/the-steemit-sandbox-puts-us-all-at-risk-due-to-ewhoring
Well done detective, keep these shits out of this community.
How do we contact you? Should we tell you about any suspicious activity via steem chat or give you a mention?
Mentions are hard to track. If you find anything seriously suspicious, please give me a lead via steemit.chat
@sherlockholmes. My backlog is growing fast, so please do not expect immediate replies.this is a crazy amount of bots..thanks for your work
Seriously? I flag whenever it is necessary, alltough I dislike downvoting because I think if people don't like some content that should filter and mute when it is the case. Spamming is a major thing in steemit community that is affecting being here. People come here for money mainly, how do you avoid people spam? I guess flagging it isn't enough, there should be witnesses kicking these people out or a system should be created to get rid of spammers.
Really, for new accounts that don't understand Steemit, a few flags with explanations that 'F4F' spam and the like isn't tolerated, is highly cautionary.
For scammers, we have a system in place.
Flagging as part of a program of scam and bot removal is part of the responsibilities of a good Steemer.
Thanks for the excellent work you and your allies are doing to protect Steemit.
Please help - this user copied our post.
Fake post: https://steemit.com/teamsouthafrica/@alijavaid/team-south-africa-officially-launched-howzit
Real post: https://steemit.com/teamsouthafrica/@cheeto.blue/team-south-africa-officially-launched-howzit-2017814t16265601z
have you reported this to @steemcleaners, yet?
Nope, but will do. Thanks :)
Blunt plagiarism is well handled by @steemcleaners.
Also if this was a single incident, try contacting them directly and see if it can be managed.
If you see signs of systemic abuse, feel free to contact me again.
Thanks so much :) I tried contacting the user but no reply :(
Thanks, I have reported it to @steemcleaners who has sorted it out :)
very interesting, thanks for sharing and I like to see how it will go ahead here.
I looked at a couple of these and it seems like they're not actually taking much out of the reward pool. Do you have any numbers on how much STEEM/SBD is actually being taken?
Reading the OP often helps.
Anyway, at the time of writing the op it had been ard 200SBD from 2 weeks of operation, in the past days, the operation was largely stopped by flagging from @sadkitten. Previous pending rewards have already accumulated to another 150SBD since, and have been extracted from the platform.
Those numbers are not too significant, but keep in mind that the operation itself has also grown in the according volume of SP and if it hadn't been stopped early on, it would continue and experience exponential growth.
Indeed. Sorry, I thought I had.
And in any case I didn't mean to imply that this sort of sleuthing shouldn't be done. Thanks for your efforts!
nice job sher-lock...lock them down , resteeming