Phishing/Scamming on AspieAffection and Wrongplanet?

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I've noticed phishing/scamming is taking place here on a rather wide scale. I've already had one come in through an actual message on this site, and another on AspieAffection. I actually was a bit worrisome about the AspieAffection one, but I realized what was going on when the number went to Nigeria and didn't match up at all with the location. (Country code charts ftw!)

Is there any way to keep this from happening? It seems we are regular targets of those idiots... Now I'm worried about who has access to my phone number, because I could get international calls coming in. Shouldn't be too much of an issue though, but this is just strange.

wait, you gave your phone number away? Thats a big mistake. You can't trust any site, if your gonna continue with aspie affection, you should be more careful in future, and if you start talking to someone, make sure you trust them before you give them your email address, let alone your phone number.

ok int know what we can do other than educating people about the scammers. It's an uphill battle

I generally give my email out by default, because I find the site a bit hard to use. As far as phone number, it wasn't given on the site, but on IM, so yeah, I should have been more careful, especially when the number she gave me was so absurd.


Isn't it possible to restrict certain areas notable for them from using the site? Nations with bad scammer problems, such as Nigeria and Russia come to mind. I would probably focus on allowing more 'well-off' areas into the site, while focusing on eliminating third world areas from access. Or, you could always focus on forcing a location match with the IP address. Zip codes would be good in the U.S., so if their IP address doesn't show them anywhere near where they live, then you hide their profile until somebody checks it out.

The big part is that in both cases they lied a bit about where they were, and probably who they are.

I accidentally gave my phone number to someone a few years ago, but nothing happened.

I got a mail from a lady wanting a relationship, and she possibly wanted me to send her money lol. too bad I'm taken!

I remember being so cautious of someone, I heard my step-brother ask for my details so he can accept a money transfer. I was so cautious, I "agreed" to do so. I asked the simple question of "OK, what details do they need?"
"uh, date you opened account, account number.... "
"whoa, stop. Why do they need to know WHEN I opened the account?"
"you're being set up, it's a scam"

lol

I remember I got an email from some aparent African girl claiming she had millions of pounds, and wanted to give me some. I was a little tempted, but soon deleted her post and reported it

On Aspie Affection, the inconsistant details in some of the profiles indicate to me that they're posted by scammers. I brought it up in another thread, but the other WP members didn't notice these detail inconsistancies.

Yeah, it's really quite a mess. Can't tell who is legit, although some people it should be more obvious.

Really, poor grammar should be a first sign, given how Aspies tend to do well in that area.

Lol! I actually put something like that in my profile! I said something like people shouldn't bother if they can't spell or write in txt speak!

Although, actually, some people are dyslexic and you can't hold it against them and discriminate if that's the case.

Ehm, isn't this a bit drastic? I know that Russia and some Eastern European countries are known for scams with lovely looking girls chatting up "western" men and then ask for their credit card to buy a flight and visa to visit their "dream guy" ... so yes, the problem exists.

But by restricting a site and cutting off certain areas, you also sort of punish the sincere people who live in these parts of the world. Do they need to be banned from a certain site they may consider helpful just because some other person in their country is spamming? I would not trust a Russian dating site myself but I would not be suspicious with every Russian girl I meet on a random international site... I mean, cutting off these countries means also punishing sincere people who just have the bad luck another person in their country has done some scams.

Also, most of those bans are easy to get around. Here in Turkey (where I am on holiday) the government banned YouTube because of political statements about the Turkish government. In less than 1 hour I already found a site that connects me to YouTube via proxy. IP bans usually only stop those with no knowledge how to get around those bans, while most spammers are technically gifted enough to know how to get around those bans.

PS. I would rather give my phone nr to a stranger than my email. Because per phone there is always the option of not answering a phone call when the number is unknown. Email is where private conversations are stored. And not all mail providers allow to block email adresses. So in the end I would rather have someone tracing my phone number than other details, I don't answer the phone anyway when I see a number that I don't recognise.

PS II. it is not because an IP and a location don't match that there is something dodgy. I registered at ocdtribe.com from my hotel's computer in Turkey (so using a Turkish IP) but in the location field I entered Germany because that is where I actually live at this point. Actually, my profile here says Berlin while now I am on a Turkish IP because I like to check internet now and then during a holiday as well. Am I dodgy now as well because the IP and location don't match? People may sign up to Aspie Affection while temporarily being away from home, prefering to mention the location they reside in normal circumstances...

I've encountered the same problems, and I notified Alex but he never got back to me.

Accidentally?