I always knew SPAMmers were annoying. Now I'm convinced that some of them are just stupid.
Comments are moderated. I didn't want to do that, but we can't have nice things because SPAMmers think it is their right to dump a bunch of ridiculous ads - or offensive ads - in any random blog post they stumble across.
I went from multiple SPAM comments everyday before moderation, to a handful per day, to a few per week to none. It took a surprising amount of time for them to get it through their thick skulls that I was serious when I said:
Your comment will be visible as soon as I can get to it. Unless it is SPAM, and then it will never see the light of day.
Now it seems to be starting up again, so let me reiterate:
Your SPAM comments are NOT welcome. Not even if you are selling something you are SURE I am going to love. Not ads for your firearm-related crap, or firearm-related good stuff. SPAM. Is. Not. Welcome.
[End of Rant]
And actually, even though Blogger does and incredibly POOR job of deciding that something is SPAM - they just put in a queue for me to read, and say this might be SPAM - even Blogger/Blogspot is catching some of it, because it is SO bad, just incredibly stupid.
I'm old and still have a land line (cell for emergencies only) through my internet provider. They have a spam detection program that is pretty good and announces spam on the screen of the phone while it is ringing. I find it hard to believe how many spam calls I get daily, I never answer or respond, thus giving them no encouragement. As with you I find it very irritating. It must be the low cost per call to give them a positive return, though I find it hard to believe that anyone falls for this crap. I suppose who gets elected to political office should disabuse me of that belief.
ReplyDeleteThere is a YouTube channel - Scammer Payback who deals primarily with the phone-scammers. They steal millions of dollars, mostly from non-tech-savy elderly, with stories about Amazon or Verizon or whatever needing to get refunds. While their on the phone with the scammer, the elderly - who want to be helpful, and don't want trouble - click on all kinds of links that load all kinds of malware on their PCs, allowing them to get passwords to things like bank accounts.
DeleteThe channel actually works with authorities in India to get the call centers shut down. But given the amount of money involved they are usually back in short order. (Lots of money for bribe, though most folks in India hate these guys!)
Enabling Comment Moderation is the ONLY way to go, I agree.
ReplyDelete