Why does this platform find itself incapable of shutting off scam interlopers? How secure is user credit card information?
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Bogus Scams
- Thread starter KenD
- Start date
Spamming a site simply requires creating an account and posting.
I won't presume this site is invulnerable to attempts to exfiltrate personal information but that requires a far, far different skillset than spamming. The presence of spam here is not an indication of how secure the site is.
I won't presume this site is invulnerable to attempts to exfiltrate personal information but that requires a far, far different skillset than spamming. The presence of spam here is not an indication of how secure the site is.
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Not regular scams, then. What will they think of next.
(And what ardgedee said.)
(And what ardgedee said.)
If they can create a bogus Commercial User account with apparently no verification, as some have in the past, the site is not secure. If the site lets them do that, I will assume the bad actor can get to the personal information if they wish to.
Adding a Commercial User flag to your account requires checking a box in your Account Details Settings page. As far as I can tell it doesn't require mod intervention.
Additionally being a commercial user gives you no increased security level or access to other users information. OP's concern is simply misled and utterly bogus.
KenD, you need to read up on computer security before you start posting fear-based nonsense on things you don't understand.
You are connecting things that are definitely not related. That is not how it works. Registering for an account does not give you access to anyone else's information. Not sure why you would think it does.
I never argue with the converted; they are impenetrable
What people are saying is correct. No users, commercial or otherwise have access to other users' information other than what they publicly share. If you check the box on your profile to indicate that you are a commercial user, you are required to disclose your affiliation and adhere to the Commercial User Policy (CUP). It doesn't give you any extra power.
We see a few recurring scams and it's important to know what they are:
1) straight up spam. I've deleted/banned/scrubbed two users this week who registered and posted some cryptocurrency opportunity B.S.. They got reported and I wacked them and banned access from their IP address. Annoying and I wish they would stop, but I'm not aware of any TB users falling for it. It's just annoying clutter and we clean it as fast as it gets reported.
2) Far more serious are people registering using a stolen credit card and "Selling" something they don't own and convincing the buyer to pay friends and family (in violation of ours and PayPal's rules) and then disappearing with the money.
We see a few recurring scams and it's important to know what they are:
1) straight up spam. I've deleted/banned/scrubbed two users this week who registered and posted some cryptocurrency opportunity B.S.. They got reported and I wacked them and banned access from their IP address. Annoying and I wish they would stop, but I'm not aware of any TB users falling for it. It's just annoying clutter and we clean it as fast as it gets reported.
2) Far more serious are people registering using a stolen credit card and "Selling" something they don't own and convincing the buyer to pay friends and family (in violation of ours and PayPal's rules) and then disappearing with the money.
Turnaround
Commercial User
- May 6, 2004
- 10,889
- 22,427
- 6,476
- Disclosures
- Independent Instrument Technician - Retired
I hate bogus scams. I make it a rule to only fall for the real ones.
Perhaps, but we are correct; you are not. Now be quiet before you get reported for aggravated fear-mongering ignorance.I never argue with the converted; they are impenetrable
Same here...couldn't tell you how many times I've run across fake replicas on eBay, really hope we don't start seeing those here too.
I don't think it's beneficial to go hard on people who have legitimate concerns. Treat it as an opportunity to share knowledge.
In this case, @KenD has a legitimate concern about data theft and security. What he doesn't understand is how users are managed in a web forum as opposed to an ecommerce site. It's a good teaching moment.
That seems just a little excessive and could cause unintended problems. In many cases, home computers don't have fixed public IP addresses (some ISPs actually force them to change periodically). The IP address that gets banned could get reassigned to some innocent third party who then is locked out.
But thank you for your diligence against the scammers and ongoing efforts to maintain TalkBass!
Scammers either create new accounts or gain access to vulnerable accounts with weak passwords. No one is hacking into TB to get personal information. Besides, when dealing with classified ads, TB doesn’t collect or save any credit card information. Transactions aren’t done through TB itself.
It's a constant arms race back and forth between cyber security minded folks and those that would look to exploit systemic weaknesses online. One thing that is helpful is that our purchases of memberships with TB go through paypal. So sensitive financial information never passes through TB directly. Same thing with purchases through classifieds. The actual financials are not hosted through TB as Beagle mentioned.
So as much as Paypal is also a target for exploitation and there are scams related to that, in order to gank your CC information they'd instead be going up against the much more robust security of platforms like Paypal. In which case, if they were sophisticated enough to breach that platform, then it'd be muuuuuuuuuuuch more than TB that is at risk. YMMV but I'd argue at least the CC information is as secure as it can be using any other online platform that transacts through third party vendors.
So as much as Paypal is also a target for exploitation and there are scams related to that, in order to gank your CC information they'd instead be going up against the much more robust security of platforms like Paypal. In which case, if they were sophisticated enough to breach that platform, then it'd be muuuuuuuuuuuch more than TB that is at risk. YMMV but I'd argue at least the CC information is as secure as it can be using any other online platform that transacts through third party vendors.
The "this guy recovered my crypto" postings seem to be the same rant, posted by many different usernames, all "new".
TroyK seems to kill them off fairly quickly. Annoying, but I don't even peek at them anymore.
I appreciate the efforts to keep things "clean".
You can feel free to assume that but it doesn't make you right. Just overreacting.