Yo Recently today, I just got 2 Deviant note about $700 Amazon card today, both were commenting my page and note me just like the other person talk about here. tho the 2 scammers were even watch me as well tho later they just suddenly deactivate :v
NOTICE
Hello,
Thank you guys for keeping up with this PSA. It really means a lot to me, and I'm glad that I had put this to light. However, because Eclipse is taking its toll on DA very soon, I will no longer update this thread, and personally back out. Another thing is that the pandemic is making me feel less and less motivated to continue updating the PSA.
However, the thread will remain open; therefore you are still free to post new scambot encounters here, but they will not be added to the PSA. I hope everyone continues to report future scambots, even after Eclipse launches.
Once again, thank you for keeping up with this thread. It really means a lot to me.
- Historia
UPDATE: AS OF 01/29/2020, THIS THREAD HAS SINCE BEEN RENAMED TO A MORE GENERAL TITLE, AS THE SOLPETS SCAM NOTES ARE NO LONGER THE ONLY MAIN FOCUS OF THIS PSA. ALL OLD INFO HAS SINCE BEEN HIDDEN UNDER SPOILER.
BEFORE YOU PROCEED TO READ THIS, PLEASE DO NOT BOTHER INTERACTING WITH THE BOTS INVOLVED. I'VE ONLY MADE THIS PSA TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE SAFE. IF YOU WERE SENT THIS NOTE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK. IT IS MALWARE/SPYWARE. FLAG THE NOTES AS SPAM.
SIGNALBOOSTING IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. PLEASE HELP SPREAD THIS.
THESE BOTS ARE CURRENTLY BEING DEALT WITH BY THE DA STAFF.
FINAL CALL
Hello, you may have noticed that there's no quick details at the start of this one, but this will be the last scambot warning to be posted here. Starting with this one, I will no longer update the thread (See notice above)
Back to the topic, there has been a recent scam just two weeks ago. It's another of those gift card scams from December, except it's sent to multiple people this time.
Another scam, which has popped up today, is now going on as of writing. Again, similar to the gift card scam.
There's nothing new about these ones in particular, but they are linked to the late 2019 gift card scam that was going on before, so please report these notes whenever you can.
OLD TEXT UNDER SPOILER
2020
NEW - NSFW DATING SITE SCAM 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
Known bots:
- rowersabab
- deopersadu
- oreragblan
- compecyge
- ovbethhoobudd
- nocongmsinpin
- jeepbipergu
- mitwaidingprim
- biogrupadib
- steerlilandsir
- prepasibet
- outfoneje
- urcormontca
Where: DeviantArt
When: April 11th, 2020-Present
Reason: Bots (Under the guise of Flickr support team members) are sending fishy "invitations" to another fake NSFW website.
This has gotten more annoying and problematic, as another scam has appeared on the site. Even though this one's different from the first dating site scam, it's written differently, now related to a new NSFW "dating" site that they developed. I have gotten at least 3 notes on my part, but they have since been deleted. I deeply apologize if I haven't explained more about this new scam, but as usual, never click on suspicious links. Mark the notes as spam.
NSFW DATING SITE SCAM
Known bots:
Ivy1788 and Crystal 9728(Noted by me)
Christy3779 (Noted by Garghoul)
Rachel7791 (Noted by TheLordSergei)
Monique2813 (Noted by uncannyfam)
Melanie7113 and Jane3860 (Noted by maple-galaxy)
Jenny2160 (Noted by polkadot)
Akane7183 (Noted by Orion_Overdrive)
Christina1566 (Noted by ToastGoblin)
Where: DeviantArt
When: March 15th, 2020-Present
Reason: These bots have been sending phishing notes that link to a very NSFW site. This is a major concern, since it's being sent to minors as well, and that includes me (At the time of writing this).
There's a new scam going around. I'm glad DA has been fighting against spam/malware, but this one's very urgent, especially to minors like me.
I've been sent this note recently, and I edited it a bit since it's... kinda sexual.
There has been a recent rise of bots who link to very suspicious yet NSFW notes. It's involving a fake adult-oriented 'dating site' which contains a lot of sexual content.
However, what's very concerning is that this note is being sent around to minors, which makes these notes also dangerous.
Even then, the link to this so-called 'site' is still a scam. Please flag this note (If you got it), and block the bot who sent it to you. Please be careful.
Edit: Welp. I got another one.
UPDATE 03/16/2020
Oh yeah. I want to add that these bots aren't linking porn to minors (Although it's just a side effect), but the REAL issue is that it's asking people to click on the link.
Therefore, if you click on that link, your security will be compromised. Even if you're curious, DON'T do it.
(Ty mozaik for letting me know)
IPHONE 11 RAFFLE SCAM
Where: DeviantArt
When: March 18th, 2020-Present
Reason: Phishing people into yet another fake raffle.
Another scam has recently shown up on Deviantart. It's another fake raffle, except it's for an iPhone 11. At the time of writing this, I have yet to receive such a note, but it's really suspicious.
(Screenshot by Abaddon)
Despite what the note says, it DOES NOT let you enter for a free raffle, but instead hacks your device with malware. As usual, flag and report!
Edit: Wow.
UPDATE 03/21/2020
(Thank you NejiShadow for the input!)
Oh, I'll have to remind everyone that if you were sent a note that is either titled "Admin" or a variation of it, DON'T bother clicking on it! These are sent by scambots. The staff will never send notes like this. Please flag it.
Known bots (ALL PLACED UNDER SPOILER):
All of the bots mentioned here seem to be following a username pattern of adjective + noun + 1-2 numbers at the end, so if you were sent this note by a bot whose UN follows this pattern or not, please block/report it to helpdesk when possible. (Thanks Trash-Oracle for pointing this out!)
You do not have to specify what date the bot had watched and sent the note to you. If you want to, feel free.
- AbjectSheep0 (Noted from Tessarium Discord Server, Fate unknown)
- WornOutBuck3 and AbroadCaribou68 (Both noted from Ethoria Discord Server, WornOutBuck3 is Deactivated, AbroadCaribou68's fate is unknown)
- AffectedCurlew99 (Noted by me, Deactivated)
- CulturedEagle3 (Noted by Ailixa, Deactivated)
- AnnoyedTermite06 and AlertPie49 (Both noted by TiredOldSoldiers, AnnoyedTermite06's fate is unknown, AlertPie49 is Deactivated)
- MadJerky92 (Noted by Slow)
- JubilantChough6 and BetrayedPaella98 (Both noted by ToastGoblin, both bots Deactivated)
- EmpathicSnipe29 (Noted by Ace-Of-Shadow)
- AmazedLeopard7 (23 Jan 2020)(Noted by JBKirsch, Deactivated)
- BrainyWhiting0 (Around Jan 2020)(Noted by hen-tie, Deactivated)
- ferventUnicorn4 (Noted by mozaik, Deactivated)
- EmpathicOwl43 (Noted by Milim, Deactivated)
- SolemnCracker55 (Noted by SOUNDBBABE, Deactivated)
- FerventApples44 (Noted by pax)
- pitifulmacaw47 (Noted by heyojinko)
- FinickyFish69 and TautBasmati4 (Both noted by tokariya, both bots Deactivated)
- BubblyMallard33 (Noted by MisoHungry)
- ThrilledCordial48, AmusedChoweder4, and ForsakenTomatoe52 (all noted by Sriho-san, all bots Deactivated)
- JubilantFlamingo8 and grumpySwift19 (Both noted by Bronze_Coffee, both bots Deactivated)
- YearningSeafowl13 (Noted by Hound3)
- EcstaticMacaw91 (Noted by gremlinish)
- MorbidKitten25 (Noted by @Linxiu)
- Pitifulcow16 (Noted by Pixel-Latte)
- PanickJerky9 (Noted by RustyOldGrill, Fate unknown)
- SelfishPorpoise6 (Noted by AlleycatIrony, Deactivated)
MORE ON THIS JOURNAL HERE (By HearseGurl @ DA)
Where: DeviantArt
When:
Gift Card Raffle Scam: December 2019 - Present (January 29th, 2020 when I got the scam note myself)
Prize Giveaway Scam: February 2nd(?), 2020 - Present
Reason: Phishing people into joining a fake raffle/giveaway by sending strangely-worded notes with a link that will lead to malware/spyware, and generating multiple bot accounts that deactivate themselves to avoid getting banned.
GIFT CARD RAFFLE SCAM
So yes. I know this PSA is old, and I know it's long overdue for this one, but since earlier this year, I've noticed that many DA users are getting scam messages regarding a $100 gift card raffle that are claimed to be sent by the DA team themselves. This has been going on since Christmas, but I was not made aware of this until the first time I heard about the issue was in the Tessarium Discord on January 11th 2020, and the second time I heard about it was in the Ethoria Discord just 3 days later. Judging by the (Unclickable?) link, I'm very certain that they are actually not sent by the DA team, and instead they were sent by various scambots that I can't list (Except for one of them).
Just today, I got this note from one of the scambots. Strangely, this one watched me just shortly after it sent me this. Since I suspected that this is a scam, I flagged it as spam, and blocked the bot afterwards.
Unlike the other scam notes/posts, this one may or may not have a clickable link, but do NOT visit the site provided by any of these notes, or join this so-called "monthly raffle". It is a scam. Flag it as spam.
It appears these bots are also known to watch people when they send this note, which is really suspicious behavior.
Please stay safe DA users, and have a good day.
Update 01/29/2020
If you're one of the people being sent the scam note just recently, feel free to request any scambots to be added to the known bots list above. Thanks.
Update 01/30/2020
I'll have to inform everyone that this issue is NOT concerning Pacapillars only, but this is also a problem with other things. That includes people who recently spent money, and those who either faved a raffle or joined in one. Please note that this isn't limited to people who are in the CS community either, as people outside of the community might've been sent this note too.
+ Updated the PSA with some new info collected from the Tessarium and Ethoria discord servers, as well as adding links to journals addressing this.
In addition, I've also noticed that these bots don't get banned, but they deactivate themselves some hours after sending these kinds of notes. It's potentially a tactic being done to avoid IP bans, which sounds like really suspicious behaviour.
Update 02/01/2020
So, it seems adoptable groups and those who trade llama badges are being targeted as well. Yikes.
Update 02/04/2020
Welp these notes are back at it again, though this time with different wording:
(Screenshot by gremlinish)
So now, these notes are asking for you to collect your "unclaimed" giftcard from this monthly raffle. Apparently, there's also like 67 of those, and claims that they're going away quickly. So yeah, I don't trust this raffle, at all.
EDIT: It appears that the number of fake gift cards are steadily declining.
Another update on my part 01/30/2020
Just recently, the DA staff has banned AffectedCurlew99 (The bot that sent me the note), since I have already filed a ticket to get it banned.
This comes off as a surprise to me, because this is the first time I filed a helpdesk ticket on DA, and the staff actually responded to it. I'm glad they were made aware of the whole gift card scam issue. However, this does not mean that these scambots are done for, as there could be more of them watching random users and sending them these notes. Please be sure to report a scambot before they self-deactivate!
PRIZE GIVEAWAY SCAM
So, um yikes. Turns out there's another scam going on.
Both Sriho-san and MoonLotus-Hime have confronted me about the prize giveaway scam notes going on. (Thanks Sriho-san for the screenshot!)
This one, like the gift card raffle scam notes, does follow the same outline, except it has strange wording, and it's posted by a bot whose username has the same adj. + noun + 1-2 random numbers formula as stated above.
This scam isn't very widespread compared to the 'gift card raffle', but if you were sent something like this, DON'T click on the link. Always remember to flag notes like this as spam.
Update for both issues 02/07/2020
It appears that DA is now trying to deal with the scambots that have been going around on the site now. This is good news.
Considering that AffectedCurlew99 got banned by staff just a few days prior to this note, it appears that DA is now banning a lot of the bots from the site. This problem has been going on for a while, so I'm curious as to how it will end, probably not for long, though time will probably tell. It's still good that it's being dealt with now.
If you spot an outstanding scambot, please report it to helpdesk!
More info on this:
https://www.deviantart.com/xenocreations/journal/Some-useful-information-on-the-Spam-spree-826889005
https://www.deviantart.com/dipperclassic/journal/SCAM-GOING-AROUND-827590932
https://www.deviantart.com/xptzstudio/journal/Potential-scam-going-on-Update-827869637
https://www.deviantart.com/xenocreations/journal/Some-shitty-late-night-spam-in-notes-826271136
2019
Known Bots (So far they're banned):
support2771160774
support849347177
support8676310417
Victims: xentrias, cutielou, and just about anyone who were sent the scam message from at least one of these bots (Myself included) on DeviantArt
When: August 8th, 2019 - Unknown
This is my first time writing a PSA here. I've known about some things regarding the Solpets scam message issue, but let me know if there's either more messages like it, or other things I've missed.
Okay. So, to start this thread off, this is an issue that had begun on August 8th, 2019. This and other related bots have been known to mass-send notes with stolen images, emojis (Most commonly 😜 and 😋), and worse, a suspicious link that leads to an ad website that downloads malware/spyware into your computers. I'll say this again, if you were sent notes like this, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK contained in them.
THE SOLPETS SCAM MESSAGE ISSUE EXPLAINED
Around 7-8 AM in the morning, I got this odd message, and I thought it was a legit Open Beta for a website called "Solpets".
But then, I clicked on the Solpets image, and something feels off...
The images being used on the note itself are stolen from xentrias and cutielou respectively, with the latter image being the most noticeable of the two. The Solpets image has garnered a lot of attention, with people accusing cutielou for sending the note, but cutielou is not the one who sent it herself.
Much to a lot of people's surprise, many started to accuse the bot for the scam note. cutielou (The person who uploaded the Solpets image on DA) even became aware of this.
NOTE: The site Solpets is a real site. The link is https://solpets.com/index.php, so try it out.
After a long day, the bot involved has been banned, but, looks like it's not over.
DATING SITE SCAM MESSAGE
It turns out more spambots who are doing the same thing are being created, and here's one of them.
On August 9th, 2019, just before I started writing this PSA, user Elysian has provided me this message about a "dating site" made for DA users, but like the Solpets scam message, the link provided is also a virus.
(One of the images in the note had to be censored as it contains sexual content)
(Ty Elysian for providing this image for me!)
Update 08/12/19 - The bot who sent the Dating Site scam message seemed to be banned as well. I haven't been caught up with this issue since I created the PSA, but I'm surprised that the bot met the same fate.
Update 08/13/19 - Damn, this situation is already getting out of hand. There's still a lot of spambots spreading the Solpets scam message like wildfire. I hope DA handles this sort of thing more seriously, considering that they've already terminated at least two of these bots... :'^)
DATING SCAM COMMENTS
Known Bots: See here
Victims: NotDamien (If you're also one of the people who got these comments from this bot or other related ones, lmk)
When: August 15th, 2019 - August 19th(?), 2019
*This issue might've been around for quite a long time though
The scam messages are really bad, but these are just as bad.
On August 15th, NotDamien provided me a screenshot of a comment regarding a dating site, but it also contains a suspicious link like the scam messages, although it doesn't follow the same layout. The comment states that the bot "loves to flirt", followed by what appears to be broken English.
(Screenshot was edited as it contains sexual content)
(Ty NotDamien for the screenshot!)
The bot claimed that they have a "profile" on this "awesome website", but the website itself is just another virus. Again, do not click on the link. Flag it as spam.
Update 8/19/19 - Turns out these bots have been banned.
FURTHER UPDATES
8/25/19 - I've been informed that there's a new account under the UN "supportagent44504", whose DA ID uses art by Namygaga (Although the artist did state that her works are for public use, thank god). I'm not sure if it also does the similar shady stuff that the previous support bots had done with the Solpets scam messages, but let me know.
I'll provide more info on the way if the problem still continues to grow. Just lmk.
Anyway, please stay safe y'all. Messages like this are common on DA.
More info explaining the issue (Feel free to ask for more journals to be added):
https://www.deviantart.com/theempatheticcat/journal/SPAM-WARNING-808995342
https://solpets.com/news/view/news_0158(Must have a Solpets account to view this)
Oml I just received the amazon $700 gift card scam. They're also commenting on my profile along with the notes. Wish they would stop
Oof ya i got one the other day the person even has it set up to comment on your profile... gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....
Annoying i only go on da once every few days and going on to find this was not annoying since it am still learing how to use the new garbage site.. i have no clue how to spam the damn notes or comments...