As some of you have noticed, we are getting a lot of dodgy accounts being set up posting links to the likes of trainers and casinos and all stops in between. It's become a particular problem in the last couple of weeks with rogue posters appearing almost on a daily basis.

I think I can force registrations to require moderator confirmation before they are able to post but that would prevent any genuine people getting on immediately and it is a last resort. If anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate it.

Can you please though:

1. Not reply to the posts, it makes it more difficult.
2. Report them when you see them. That immediately visibly flags it up for the mods and we'll act as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Tony

Are they people people or robot people? Would a captcha on sign up or log in not work?

There is a captcha but if they are robot people they are getting through it

is it possible to delegate the sign up moderator confirmation process to some other users if you decide to activate it? - I would be happy to assist checking new accounts before allowing access

Perhaps implement a system where new members can't post links to websites for the first week of their registration? Not sure how easy the coding would be to implement though.

whiffa wrote:Perhaps implement a system where new members can't post links to websites for the first week of their registration? Not sure how easy the coding would be to implement though.

That seems a good idea.

Install the Auto Mod extension for the forum.
https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/exte ... to_groups/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Then you can set the minimum posts a new member must have before posting a thread and other controls.

Job done.

Are their IP addresses all from a specific country?

When we set up and were testing the board, new users went into a 'New User Group' before passing through into the general group. I'm not sure what the reason was now but we had to scrap it and push everyone straight into the general group.

I think that needs to be re-examined to see if there is a group that new users can go into to try and prevent this.

I don't think anyone genuine would mind a small delay in being able to post in the long term if it prevented these spammers posting on threads with there dodgy links.

Rather that than someone clicking on one of their links

Not sure whether you have the option of custom captchas on here. If so, a simple Burnley related question (Who is the manager, who is the goalkeeper, where do they play, etc).

If you're batch registering accounts you won't have time to look that up but pretty much everyone else will know or find that out easily.

I quite enjoy that one whereby you have to 'click on the boxes' that include a shop front or road sign!

I thought with the title being "Dodgy Accounts", we were back talking about BRFC!

What version of PHPbb are you using?

You can get Q&A CAPTCHA plugins for phpBB version 3+. You can also have User Groups in the Control Panel.

There's also custom profile fields, which seem to work well, too:
https://www.phpbb.com/support/docs/en/3 ... mmer-tool/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The problem with Captchas is that there are Captcha services, such as 'DeathbyCaptcha', which spammers subscribe to, to bypass these whenever a registration page asks for it.

Another link which may help, but it involves editing some php files:
https://www.michel-kraemer.com/5-anti-s ... or-phpbb3/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nope, didn't understand a word of that Frank !

But you keep on impressing, my son.

Alanstevensonsgloves wrote:I quite enjoy that one whereby you have to 'click on the boxes' that include a shop front or road sign!

I enjoy them too but always get the answer wrong

Seasideclaret wrote:I thought with the title being "Dodgy Accounts", we were back talking about BRFC!

Same here.

I was expecting a link to one of Tony's write ups about it, and was looking forward to reading it. Alas, not to be.

aggi wrote:Not sure whether you have the option of custom captchas on here. If so, a simple Burnley related question (Who is the manager, who is the goalkeeper, where do they play, etc).

If you're batch registering accounts you won't have time to look that up but pretty much everyone else will know or find that out easily.

This is a great idea. I'd like to spice it up by adding a bit of multiple-choice jeopardy. For example, "Which dirty Leeds b*stard ended Frank Casper's career?" or "How many times did Jordan Rhodes end up on the winning side in East Lancs derbies?" or "In which year were Blackburn Rovers forced to replace the Darwen End roof?"

That way you'd be forced to learn a bit about your club's history and it might get under the skin of perpetual bellends like Saxo.

I think you need a pay box along the lines of "Submit your £20 joining fee to ClaretTony's Holiday Fund and we will approve your forum membership"

Easy!

I don't see what the problem is. I've bagged myself loads of cool new pumps that i'd never have known about otherwise.

Sausage wrote:This is a great idea. I'd like to spice it up by adding a bit of multiple-choice jeopardy. For example, "Which dirty Leeds b*stard ended Frank Casper's career?" or "How many times did Jordan Rhodes end up on the winning side in East Lancs derbies?" or "In which year were Blackburn Rovers forced to replace the Darwen End roof?"

That way you'd be forced to learn a bit about your club's history and it might get under the skin of perpetual bellends like Saxo.

I tried to register on BRFCS for a bit of light Mickey taking. Their question was 'What year did Blackburn win the Premiership?' I couldn't bring myself to answer so didn't join.

A highly effective ploy.