# My private message box has been spammed **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 17, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472 "2010-10-17T19:43:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/1 "2010-10-17T19:43:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Donation From Mrs Helline Keith. > > * * * > > Donation From Mrs Helline Keith. > Dear in the Lord > > Greetings with peace of the Lord for you. I’m Mrs. Helline Keith of Kuwait. I am married to late Mr. James Keith, who worked with Kuwait embassy in Ivory Coast for twenty years before his death in 2007, after a brief illness that lasted only five days. We were married for eighteen years with a duaghter (Celine), who later died in a car accident. Before the untimely death of my husband, we were both born again Christians. > > Since after his death, I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against.When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of (U.S. $ 2, 500,000.00) (two million five hundred thousand United States dollars) in a general trust account with a bank of first in Abidjan, Cote d 'Ivoire. Presently, this money is still with the bank recently, after my health, my doctor told me it can not last the next eight months due to my ca ncer problem. > > The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a Christain organization that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein, according to the wish of my husband before his death. I want this fund that is used in Christian activities, such as orphanages, Christian organization, and widows, motherless home to spread the word of God and will seek to maintain the house of God. > > The Bible made us understand that “Blessed is the hand that gives.” I took this decision because I have no child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are not Christians and I do not want my husband efforts to be used by unbelievers. I do not want a situation where this money will be used in a diabolical way. > > That’s why I am taking this decision. I have no fear of death hence I know where I go. I know I will be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 v s 14: - says “the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace.” I do not need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health hence the presence of my husband’s relatives around me always. I do not want to know about this development. > > With God all things are possible. As soon as I receive your response, I will give you contact the bank in Abidjan. He also issue the documents that will prove you the present beneficiary of this fund. I want you and the organization to always pray for me because the Lord is my Shephard. My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and truth. > > Please always be prayerful throughout your life. Contact me in this my private email address [email deleted}any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing another organization for this same purpose. If I say that you will act accordingly as I have said here. > Hoping to receive your reply.Remain blessed in the Lord. > > Yours in Christ, > Mrs. Helline Keith FUCK! ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/2 "2010-10-17T20:48:56Z")
I got the same private message, and I forwarded it to one of the moderators. The spammer posted in the Bakers Dozen thread, giving a email address. I reported the post. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/3 "2010-10-17T20:53:45Z")
Who’s been sending these? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/4 "2010-10-17T20:57:34Z")
> [@Gukumatz](#): > > Who’s been sending these? new poster **Helline001**. I reported her? post in the Bakers Dozen thread, Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/5 "2010-10-17T21:04:53Z")
Man, someone is really unclear on the concept. As you might imagine their access to this board has been terminated with prejudice. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/6 "2010-10-17T22:11:23Z")
I got a couple a few days ago from **loveone** who promised to “get back to you with love” if I write to her “privet” email. (Maybe she lives in a hedge.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/7 "2010-10-17T22:24:05Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I got a couple a few days ago from **loveone** who promised to “get back to you with love” if I write to her “privet” email. (Maybe she lives in a hedge.) A quick check shows she was banned on the basis of a PM reported by another poster, apparently without ever having posted on the board. I would encourage people to report any suspicious PMs like this. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/8 "2010-10-18T00:53:37Z")
FYI, we had this problem a while back and there’s a pretty straightforward solution: make two usergroups for guests. The first one is identical to the current one, but lacks spam-friendly capabilities like PM, email, etc. Posters are automatically promoted from the first group to the second group (the one with full privileges) once they make some token number of posts, e.g. 10. Most spambots don’t know how to make those 10 posts in a non-obvious way, so you can catch and ban them before they ever PM anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/9 "2010-10-18T01:18:48Z")
> [@](#): > > I got a couple a few days ago from loveone who promised to “get back to you with love” if I write to her “privet” email. (Maybe she lives in a hedge.) I think I got that one too, but it had already been banned by the time I read it, so I just deleted it and moved on. **Girrafe** , I don’t think that would actually work completely. In the Game Room, for instance, we have a couple of new posters who joined the board specifically to play the current Mafia game. This means they had about one or two posts in the thread during the setup period, and then the game started and **Storyteller** was sending them PMs. Under your proposal, they’d be excluded from that functionality (which is pretty essential for the game), but they’re still legitimate, non-spam posters. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/10 "2010-10-18T01:36:00Z")
Very few people are going to fall into that trap and if they do, an adminstrator can manually move posters from one group to another. Alternatively, postpad like crazy night zero. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/11 "2010-10-18T01:52:58Z")
You have to post at least once to sign up for a mafia game, and usually there’s at least a 24 hour waiting period. Spam around here is usually caught within 24 hours, so perhaps we could try upgrading the guest 24 hours from their first post. At the very least, there’s no real reason for someone who has never posted and just signed up that day to be able to send PMs. Wait, that’s another idea. They can receive but not send PMs for a certain amount of time after signing up. This usually wouldn’t be a problem in Mafia, right? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-private-message-box-has-been-spammed/557472/12 "2010-10-18T02:59:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Wait, that’s another idea. They can receive but not send PMs for a certain amount of time after signing up. This usually wouldn’t be a problem in Mafia, right? I don’t think vB will let you partially restrict someone’s PM abilities, it’s pretty much all or nothing. But you could make the post requirement fairly minimal – most PM spammers don’t post at all, in my experience. So, if you’re worried about newbies needing immediate PM access, make the required number of posts two or three.