How to stop spamming?

How to stop spamming?

by Perry Way -
Number of replies: 9

I discovered that the Moodle messaging system doesn't work as intended and it allows spammers to continually spam even though you have blocked them. Here on moodle.org site, I have blocked this user because in the past I felt the user was exhibiting signs of being a scammer catfish using this site to find people romantically. Since I could not find any way to report the user, I blocked the user. Now, the user has messaged me again and I went to block the user and was presented with a message "you have blocked this user in the past". 

Attachment screenshot.jpg
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In reply to Perry Way

Re: How to stop spamming?

by Mary Cooch -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers Picture of Translators

Hello Perry - just noting that the user in your screenshot has been removed as a spammer so you shouldn't be getting any more problems from her.

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In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: How to stop spamming?

by Perry Way -

Thanks Mary. What are we supposed to do in the future? I do get funky requests somewhat regularly. Just blocked another one this morning. Something I'd like to add to a wishlist is a "report this user" feature. smile Have a great day!

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In reply to Perry Way

Re: How to stop spamming?

by Melanie Scott -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers

I also got a message from that user Monday afternoon and reported it to the Moodle security email.  Not sure that is the right way to report it but she/he is blocked now.  Incidentally, that account was just created on Monday (I looked, 'cuz I'm a nosey creature), so the turnaround time for dealing with this kind of behavior is quite quick.  And the last time it happened to me, it was resolved quite quickly as well.

surprised it happens so often to you.  I've been on here since 2005 and I think I've only gotten 3.

In reply to Melanie Scott

Re: How to stop spamming?

by Howard Miller -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers

I've been here since the dinosaurs were running about and I've never had one. 

A rare instance of good fortune, possibly!

...although, I do get a lot of people messaging me directly for help. Which are ignored evil

In reply to Howard Miller

Re: How to stop spamming?

by Melanie Scott -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers

I will sometimes help, if it is someone I've already talked to on the forums...but, yeah, sometime I ignore them.

In reply to Perry Way

Re: How to stop spamming?

by Mary Cooch -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers Picture of Translators

Perry- if you get private message spam you can report it via support@moodle.org

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In reply to Perry Way

Re: How to stop spamming?

by David M -

Yes, it would definitely be useful if there was a "Report as spam" function built in to the messaging system directly. I have also received a couple of spam messages recently (one from the spammer noted in this thread), and, although it is good to know that admins can respond quickly, if this starts to become a much more frequent problem, perhaps a more automated way to do it might be better?

(In the meantime, I have switched my messaging settings to "Allow contacts only", as it's probably very unlikely that anyone else (other than a site admin, who can presumably override this) would need to message me directly.)

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In reply to David M

Re: How to stop spamming?

by Perry Way -

Ahh, good idea David. I just did that. Hopefully I will receive no more spam! smile