You are not logged in.
As much as I hate prefacing my posts this way: I've just started moderating a forum for the first time, and, additionally, I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place.
Is it worth it to bother reporting spammers who use gmail accounts to Google? If so, does anyone know how to do it? I've been running around their Gmail site for the better part of an hour now and I cant seem to find a place for it.
Thanks :¬}
[Edit]A bit later, I found the answer: gmail-abuse@google.com [/Edit]
Last edited by Captain Red (2008-01-04 6:01 am)
Offline
Doesn't that address just return an automated response sending you to a webform?
Google has links for reporting various types of abuse here:
http://www.google.com/support/a/users/b … opic=10246
unfortunately the "abuse-other" page goes back to a generic help menu.
I have reported forum spam at the link about "violates the Gmail Terms of Use" and just put "it was forum spam not an email" in the headers section. They send an auto-ack but I have no idea what happens next, if anything.
I wish that page would offer a link to a webform specifically for forum spam instead of just "other".
Offline
susato wrote:
Doesn't that address just return an automated response sending you to a webform?
Pretty much...
I'm not sure it does anything... and I'm quickly coming around to the idea that it isn't worth the time and energy to send in the reports.
Google has links for reporting various types of abuse here:
http://www.google.com/support/a/users/b … opic=10246
unfortunately the "abuse-other" page goes back to a generic help menu.
I have reported forum spam at the link about "violates the Gmail Terms of Use" and just put "it was forum spam not an email" in the headers section. They send an auto-ack but I have no idea what happens next, if anything.
Any idea if the auto-ack for the form is any different from the one they send out for emails?(I mean, besides the line encouraging you to use their forms)
I wish that page would offer a link to a webform specifically for forum spam instead of just "other".
Seconded.
Thanks, though. Next time I'll try that form. (Eh, I'll try it now on the one I tried reporting through email)
Offline
new question: do you receive the auto-ack every time you send in a report? I've used the form several times, and only got one the first time, so I'm wondering....
Offline
I don't know, but google has become the number one spam email
domain where I moderate.
Offline
Father Luke wrote:
I don't know, but google has become the number one spam email
domain where I moderate.
Same here. My cousin has several friends that work at Google. I will see if I can find out if they do anything special about spam. I looked around there site as well. You would think they would have a bbs or something to report spam.
Offline
I also have a heavy load of spammers that use gmail and it makes them almost unbannable! HELP!
Offline
Just a note folks (and TeMerc will confirm this), reporting stuff to Google is a complete waste of time. Unless it's plastered all over the well known tech news site's, they don't take the blindest bit of notice.
I've been trying to get abuse related stuff shut off for ages without success, and TeMerc has been trying with little success, to get Blogspot rubbish taken offline.
... a much better option for you guys, is to simply blog Gmail accounts ...... I know it's overkill and will complicate things for legit members, but its the only way you are going to block spammers using Gmail accounts.
Offline
Yeah, trying to get Google to do anything without all-over-the-Net coverage on it is a waste of time. If it ever so slightly affects the bottom line, either thru stats or $$, it will lie as is.
I've said it before, since installing the latest phpBB software I don't get any bots at all....ever. I've had 3 registrants that got thru and I was able to discern what they were and deleted them.
I swear it's that 'noise' level of the CAPTCHA. Mind you, I'm getting near a million hits per month and I have really expected to get hit hard and I don't get any.
Offline
wolverinespedia wrote:
Father Luke wrote:
I don't know, but google has become the number one spam email
domain where I moderate.Same here. My cousin has several friends that work at Google. I will see if I can find out if they do anything special about spam. I looked around there site as well. You would think they would have a bbs or something to report spam.
Well my cousin came through with her Friend at Google. This is what he said:
The short answer is: They don't need to contact Google because Google already knows about it.
The longer answer is: spammers are creative, evil people, and they spam from everywhere -- from GMail, from hotmail, from yahoo-mail, and everywhere else. Google is always trying to prevent spammers from getting GMail accounts, but no defense system is perfect, and sometimes they manage to do it. Typically what will happen is that a spammer will get a GMail account, then send a ton of emails from the account, then Google recognizes what they're doing, then Google will delete that email account. But then the spammer just does it all over again...
There you go. I guess blocking IPs and adding spammers to a list like this is the way to do go. Along with having email verification, once I turned that on I only had about ten spammers get through a day. That is still a lot but it was a lot better then 100 a day.
Offline
It would still be nice if they had a "report a suspicious account" thing like they do for Blogger. There's a lot of Gmail spammers signing up for forums: http://www.stopforumspam.com/search?q=%40gmail.com
Offline
I'd say that reporting to Google is fruitless on another level too, they use bots to make the accounts and send out a gazillion emails in just a few minutes prolly, by the time Google finds out, damage has been done.
I'd be willing to bet the spammers don't even bother logging into an acct once they've created it. Matter of fact as I think about it, I'd be willing to bet they have a good idea how long it takes for them to get 'found out' by Google.
The scum have a lot invested and I'm sure they know everything about how Google handles this stuff.
Offline
wolverinespedia wrote:
The short answer is: They don't need to contact Google because Google already knows about it.
And doing what about it exactly?
Will you ask that for all of us?
Or just me, whatever.
wolverinespedia wrote:
The longer answer is: spammers are creative, evil people, and they spam from everywhere -- from GMail, from hotmail, from yahoo-mail, and everywhere else.
The truth of the matter is that I, personally, get more spammers from gmail than from all of the rest combined. And it is rising.
I'm not alone in this observation.
Here: Click
This is interesting, here: click
- -
Okay,
Father Luke
Last edited by Father Luke (2008-03-31 2:48 pm)
Offline
I guess the question is if Google is more concerned with people using Gmail to send email spam, or use Gmail accounts to register spambots on forums...I'd guess the former, and that's likely where they devote most of their resources.
Offline
It occurred to me it might be useful if forum software allowed you to create "classes" of email domains for registration. Instead of a black list (disallowed emails) and a white list (everything else) you could make a grey list of email domains that are legit, but frequently used by spammers, like gmail, yahoo, etc. That way instead of banning them outright you could maybe present them with some additional hurtles, like a second captcha, security question, etc. That might help cut down on the spam without inconveniencing innocent users.
Offline
