The spammers are getting more sophisticated - Please report any spam accounts that make it past the AvCan goalies.

[Sulako]

The spam accounts have started to leverage AI in the past few months, and it's likely that some will end up making it past the initial look-see. I wanted to bring it to your attention and to ask your help in reporting any spam accounts that appear normal at first and then go sideways.

Right now, any new account has to have their first post approved by a real-life mod or admin before anything the account posts is made visible on the forums.

I've seen a whole lot of spam posts in the fullness of time on these forums. We get maybe a hundred new account post requests a day. Of those, maybe 10 are legit. Lately the level of sophistication of the bad guys has improved a whole lot - now we see spam posts that are using AI to scan the actual subject matter of the posts and come up with a generic reply that fits the overall topic, and sometimes they don't even appear 'off' in any way - like the grammar is perfect. They then might get approved and then post links to the various spam sites, which sucks so if you happen to see any of that, please report it pronto. I have declined some new posts that don't even have spam links in them, but they look 'off' - I hope I'm correct.

Another variation on this that I just saw the other day for the first time was a spam account posted a 'normal' post to get approved, then they started spamming the forums - but the way the bot spammed the forums was interesting - it quoted previous posts and then inserted the spam hyperlinks into the quoted posts, so that initially it looked like the person being quoted was the spammer. Soon we will have to conduct in-person interviews before approving new accounts. I keed, I keed - there's no way I'd want to meet any of you in person

Anyways, just posting this to raise awareness because I can see it coming and we want to be proactive and let you know about this new development.

[canadian_aviator_4]

Good luck. Av Canada moderators still have not enforced job ads to show actual pay. I don’t think they are going to help you. However, any mods reading this please prove me wrong.

[albertdesalvo]

The Sulako input to these forums in the last five years is exactly what?

[tsgarp]

The Sulako input to these forums in the last five years is exactly what?

Sorting out the spam accounts and keeping things running in the background…

[Col. Panic]

The Sulako input to these forums in the last five years is exactly what?

You spelled twenty wrong!

[7ECA]

Yeah, I noticed the quote with a link embedded thing the other day. Reported it, and am glad there's been action taken.

It's interesting that this forum, of all places, is such a target for spamming to the point of sophisticated AI attacks.

[TG]

How about not being able to post link or send PM when the account is under 10 posts?

That’s the policy of some forums.

[albertdesalvo]

I'm always open to Sulako's edicts. After all, he's a valuable contributor to these forums.

[Sulako]

I'm always open to Sulako's edicts. After all, he's a valuable contributor to these forums.

I asked for help; not sure what your issue is, nor does it matter. Personal attacks aren't cool though, so you might want to consider your course of action going forward.

If anyone sees a smart spammer, please report it.

[NotDirty!]

I'm always open to Sulako's edicts. After all, he's a valuable contributor to these forums.

I asked for help; not sure what your issue is, nor does it matter. Personal attacks aren't cool though, so you might want to consider your course of action going forward.

If anyone sees a smart spammer, please report it.

I read it as him criticizing the first response in this thread complaining about moderators/lack thereof… pointing out that you are in fact a moderator, and have been doing so for 5 (probably closer to 25) years!

[Sulako]

"As I bask in the serene beauty of Nova Scotia, my heart beats with an insatiable desire to soar through the skies. That's why I'm eager to join MFC and connect with like-minded individuals who share my passion for aviation. Though I'm a newcomer to the world of flight, I'm confident that the ICPC program will be the perfect fit for me."

Here's an example of one that got past us initially. Thanks to the AvCanada member who reported this - after I banned the bot, the post report autodeleted and I forgot to get the name of member to thank them personally. My bad - Thanks eh! It's much appreciated.

I went back and looked at the account that made this post - they had made 3 posts before, adopting the persona of an aviation student. What is really interesting on top of that - and really nasty - is that the bot had gone back to their previous posts at some point afterwards and then inserted spam links. I have deleted all this bot's posts and now I kind of wish I hadn't so that I could show you some more examples of it, except I'm sure we will see more of this going forward - not just on this forum though. I can only imagine how this sort of subtle deepfake AI thing is going to affect all our elderly relatives on Facebook.

[co-joe]

It's good to see you're still around Sully, keep up the good work.

[nohojob]

Ok, a stupid question :
This MFC bot was initiated by the MFC then ?
If it is the case, would it be worth it to contact the college and ask them to stop?

[digits_]

Ok, a stupid question :
This MFC bot was initiated by the MFC then ?
If it is the case, would it be worth it to contact the college and ask them to stop?

Not necessarily. It might just be spammers trying to build a posting record to look genuine, and then suddenly they'll start sending spam messages. Or possibly start sending PMs as well, that could be another long term goal.

[nohojob]

Ok, a stupid question :
This MFC bot was initiated by the MFC then ?
If it is the case, would it be worth it to contact the college and ask them to stop?

Not necessarily. It might just be spammers trying to build a posting record to look genuine, and then suddenly they'll start sending spam messages. Or possibly start sending PMs as well, that could be another long term goal.

Wow ! This is getting very sophisticated !

[digits_]

Ok, a stupid question :
This MFC bot was initiated by the MFC then ?
If it is the case, would it be worth it to contact the college and ask them to stop?

Not necessarily. It might just be spammers trying to build a posting record to look genuine, and then suddenly they'll start sending spam messages. Or possibly start sending PMs as well, that could be another long term goal.

Wow ! This is getting very sophisticated !

Yeah. And for what... Only to send you a super suspicious link you likely won't click on anyway. I'm surprised the low yield is still worth all their effort.

[7ECA]

I'm surprised the low yield is still worth all their effort.

It probably ends up being a higher yield than you'd imagine. The risk versus reward equation is also likely significantly higher than the average person would believe.

I would assume it costs very little to operate this sort of a scam, but the potential reward is extremely high - assuming it's a phishing type scam where if "you" clicked on the link and some sort of virus/malware is downloaded to your device then you would ultimately end up giving away the proverbial keys to the kingdom with almost no effort on the part of the attacker. These days people live so much of their lives online, be it on a computer or cellphone, and with online banking, credit cards, digital IDs, etc., an attack like this with even a small percentage of viewers taking the bait could result in massive profit for whomever is on the other end. The other thing to consider is how likely are "they" to get caught, when investigations take a great deal of time and these people are likely hiding behind myriad layers of redirects, VPNs, etc., masking their location(s)... and that's if the victim is even willing to come forward. Many victims of cyber crime or identity theft never report it to the police, due to embarrassment.

[goldeneagle]

I'm surprised the low yield is still worth all their effort.

It probably ends up being a higher yield than you'd imagine. The risk versus reward equation is also likely significantly higher than the average person would believe.

A lot more to it than that. A lot of the sophisticated AI bot farms are run by state level institutions. The goal is not to sell boner pills like much regular spam. The goal is to end up with thousands of accounts on 'local' sites that have passed any 'sniff tests' to sniff out unsophisticated spammers. Those accounts then become availalble to plant disinformation and sow discord amongst a population, often in subtle ways. A good example can be found on many forums, this one being no exception. New accounts dredge up old threads and post some semi coherent but on topic posts. Do that a few times, now past the gatekeepers, then a human takes over when it's time to start planting the target posts. Over the last couple years those posts are often somewhat on topic but make snide remarks about subjects such as vaccinations etc, or post disinformation around politicians.

As folks start responding, or cross posting, the disinformation gets amplified across various platforms. The ultimate goal is not just one single hit case, but rather having thousands of such accounts across many platforms, make it appear like there is a groundswell of folks pushing a theme.

Thousands of accounts across hundreds of platforms, a fantastic tool for planting the seeds of discord amongst the locals. they wont all germinate, but, if you plant enough seeds, then the goals can be achieved.

[7ECA]

I don't disagree at all, but those state sponsored troll farms are much more likely to operate in domains in which there is a significantly wider viewing audience like Twitter or Facebook. While there may be a sizeable audience on AvCanada from time to time, it's not exactly the kind of forum which is going to have millions of page views and people sharing, forwarding, linking, to controversial discussions or viewpoints.

The television series The Undeclared War showed the exact scenario you've described in detail, from the standpoint of the UK undergoing a hybrid/asymmetrical warfare cyber attack by Russia. It goes into great detail as to how the internet can be weaponized and social media more broadly, to sway opinions and cast doubt upon the foundational institutions that underpin democracies.

But, AvCanada as the basis to launch an attack of that sort of magnitude? Seems hard to fathom; that or any other aviation forum really... Although there was definitely an influx of pro-Russian trolls back when MH17 was a daily news item.

[pelmet]

"As I bask in the serene beauty of Nova Scotia, my heart beats with an insatiable desire to soar through the skies. That's why I'm eager to join MFC and connect with like-minded individuals who share my passion for aviation. Though I'm a newcomer to the world of flight, I'm confident that the ICPC program will be the perfect fit for me."

Here's an example of one that got past us initially. Thanks to the AvCanada member who reported this - after I banned the bot, the post report autodeleted and I forgot to get the name of member to thank them personally. My bad - Thanks eh! It's much appreciated.

I went back and looked at the account that made this post - they had made 3 posts before, adopting the persona of an aviation student. What is really interesting on top of that - and really nasty - is that the bot had gone back to their previous posts at some point afterwards and then inserted spam links. I have deleted all this bot's posts and now I kind of wish I hadn't so that I could show you some more examples of it, except I'm sure we will see more of this going forward - not just on this forum though. I can only imagine how this sort of subtle deepfake AI thing is going to affect all our elderly relatives on Facebook.

Shouldn't be difficult to spot a legitimate newcomer. If they are complaining about the pay and work conditions and getting into fights....it is probably legit.

Basking in the serene beauty of Nova Scotia and heart beating to soar through the serene skies? Sounds like a professional writer.

[goldeneagle]

Shouldn't be difficult to spot a legitimate newcomer. If they are complaining about the pay and work conditions and getting into fights....it is probably legit.

Could just as easily be an AI that's pulled a bunch of threads and figured out the way to 'fit in' is to bitch about pay and working conditions.

[pelmet]

Imagine if it it turned out that AvCanada doesn’t have any actual humans posting for the last several years. We all died off or left and the AI is just copying our posting styles.

[7ECA]

Maybe AI can finally make PDW and his variable tailwinds fiasco, into something coherent...