I keep getting notices in my email that people with outlook.com accounts have started following my blog. These are fake accounts and do not show up on the list of followers on my blog. I’ve written about this before, but it is still going on, and it is VERY annoying. Does anyone have a friggin’ clue as to what the f**k is going on?
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In my experience, these spam follows are annoying but harmless. They pop up on a daily basis for me but WP removes them for me. I don’t worry too much, but if the motive is to crash WP, as some have suggested, then it’s a different story.
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I’m just glad to find out I’m not the only one who gets them.
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Nope! Not by a longshot. I get them too.
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Ugh!
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Ugh indeed.
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A while ago, I notified WP about the issue. They let me know that it’s widespread across many blogs. They figured out a way to deal with fake outlook.com follows. They’re automatically deleted. The major concern with thousands of fake followers is the millions of emails WP would be sending out every time anyone of the thousands of blogs with scores of fake followers posted. It would crash WP.
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Awesome. Thanks so much!
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So we might construe a possible motive of these folks: crashing wp…
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I think you may be right.
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I turned the “email me when someone follows me” button off. This should stop me getting the outlook.com follower notifications. At least I hope so.
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It’s certainly possible. It would be an effective way to destroy an important medium for global communication.
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A few weeks ago there was a spate of spam likes to peoples comments on various blogs I follow, they all linked to russian porn sites (no I didn’t look, honest) loads of bloggers complained to wp, it stopped after a couple of days, though I’m not sure wp stopped them.
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This may be something like that. My guess is they’re trying to get me, and others, to click on the email address or addresses and reply to them. I’m not biting on that bait.
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Good idea you could end up with a computer virus.
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Yep. Whatever is going on, it sure ain’t kosher.
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The world of internet spamming and trolls is virtually infinite. It could be anything from corporate shenanigans to foreign mischief to lone-wolf hackers or to U.S. surveillance operations. I’m sure you know not to click on those links.
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Oh, yes. I’ve never tried to click on one of them or send a return email to one.
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Me too, every day a few more.
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I was thinking maybe it’s because we’re heathenish bastards and foolishly worship no deity, read JESUS. But, others have been getting them, too, who aren’t quite as nasty and no-good-nicky toward da lawd as you and I are.
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Russians
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I’m pretty sure one or twp of those fuckers tried leaving replies to an older post I wrote on the Russian dossier on Trump. The replies went basically like this: “MAGA! MAGA!!! You libtards are all going to prison–not Trump. MAGA!” I think it was Russian troll bait to start a long drawn out name-calling argument. I didn’t bite.
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Just reply in Russian 😉
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Good idea.
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The ones I’m getting are starting to mimic my friends’ last names. And I’m freaked out. For example: My friend Sally Greahame (fake first name) doesn’t have a outlook account. But I’m getting “subscribers” with outlook emails that start with “greahamevxfhskflu@outlook.”
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Damn. That is weird. Something not right is going on here. At least I’m not the only person it’s happening to. I’m going to write WP an email and see if they have any answers. I really do not like this.
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In my experiences, WordPress has been pretty good about getting back to me. Hope the same for you.
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I’ll let you know what they say. Thanks.
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Jeff … I’ve sent two comments (pretty much identical since I thought I’d messed up in my “send) but neither has shown up. It may be because I included outlook dot com in my remarks. Anyway … can you solve the mystery?
Or have I been forever banned???????!!!!!!?????
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They should show up now. I keep the moderate-thingy on but approve everything anyway. A few religious nutters said they were bothered by that, so, me being me, I doubled down on doing comments that way. 😀
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You do have Akismet activated, yes?
I regularly get nonsensical comments in my Spam folder from linux.ca.
Perhaps you could try blocking anything from outlook.com?
P.S. I thought I ‘sent’ this comment a minute or so ago but it never showed up. Sorry if this is a duplicate.
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Comment should be showing now. I have Akismet activated. The comments do not show up anywhere on the blog or in my followers list. I get a notice in my personal email that someone with an outlook.com account has signed up to follow me. When I go to my site, they are not listed there anywhere. It is very odd.
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In my Spam folder, most of them have linux.ca identifiers. And of course the comments are totally nonsense.
You do have Akismet activated, yes?
Also … you might think about blacklisting or moderating anything that has the outlook.com identifier.
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I could have outlook accounts go to my gmail spam folder, but that doesn’t clear up why I’m getting them telling me someone’s following me on the blog. I guess it could be a way to trick me to click onto the email account and then get spammed that way somehow, but I think it has something to do with WP sending these notices out. I don’t know, but, I’m praying on the matter, and I’m SURE that will help. 😀
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Why? Why would someone want to fake follow? Do people really have that much free time?
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I’m not sure WTF it because, like I mentioned, the fake accounts do not show up on my email followers list. I get a notice in my email that thfyujf@outlook.com has just started following me, but the fake address is not listed as a follower on my blog. I be BAFFLED! What be up, man?! What be up?!
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Someone killing time so you will waste yours I guess?
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Comments should be showing now. I prayed for God to let them show, and, now they’re showing. $Amen$
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Yeah, I got those too…
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I’m assuming it must have something to do with something or other WP is doing. But I’m finding it rather unnerving and aggravating.
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well, of my three wp sites – i got these pseudo-followers on only one… That’s surprises me the most.
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That’s very interesting.
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Indeed, it’s. I am wondering whether outlook.com addresses won’t be depleted if they continue to spam follow people at this rate…
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I wonder, too.
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