One reason not to use Plex On September 15, I asked to be removed from Plex’s email list, using the link in the message I received. I received a confirmation. On September 20, I received a spam from them. I used the unsubscribe link again and took the top screen shot. On September 26, again, and I Tweeted them. Both were ignored. On October 19, again (the above screen shot), and a Tweet. This time they did respond on Twitter.

Well, I didn’t imply. I stated. And I gave them the dates above and the names of the newsletters (not relevant, considering I never signed up to multiple ones—two were from Plex and two from Plex News, which means that even if I was on two lists, the first unsub requests were ignored; plus notice the first screen shot says I have been removed from ‘all future emails’).     I’m not happy with this. When Ziff–Davis screwed up years ago with their email lists, I got a reply instantly when I raised the bug with their staff. Plex took four removal attempts and two Tweets. Not to mention the program was absolutely hopeless with my home set-up, wasting time installing and removing. And it looks like I’m still removing, over one month after I removed their program.

Twice hit When automated spammers are so dumb they hit one photo twice. Of course, Instagram does nothing about these spammers.

Idiots galore on Instagram Idiot spammer hits one post thrice … idiot users go and like obvious spam. No wonder spammers are drawn to Instagram.

Éclat continues to spam You’d think after I wrote to Éclat PR LA to complain about its spam (in a comment on its latest photo), they would stop. Not so. Further confirmation that if you want PR in Los Angeles, this is one firm to avoid. They know nothing about social media, or the terms and conditions of the services they use.

Éclat PR spams Would you hire a spammer to be your PR agency? Probably not. Yet that’s exactly what Éclat PR in Los Angeles does. I first came across them a few weeks ago when they started spamming my Instagram with positive comments. I knew it was spam because (a) while complimentary, they didn’t always relate to the image; and (b) a simple search reveals plenty of the same from eclatprla on other Instagram accounts.    Tonight, they upped their ante: not only are they commenting way more than any spammer ever has with their automated methods, they even managed to hit one photo twice with the same comment.    I could block them, but I want to see how long they go for. Instagram doesn’t care about spam—you can report all you like—even though I would have thought such techniques were against their terms and conditions.    Last year, I had to complain to one firm, run by a friend of mine, who did the same thing, but at nowhere near this frequency. To their credit, they ceased doing that.    I found it completely laughable that this mob claims to represent luxury brands: all I can see is them damaging the goodwill of any client if this is what they do for them. Spam is done by the lowest of the low on the internet, and if that’s what I can expect from Éclat based on how they market themselves, then I’d stay the hell away from them.   

Love notes from around the world, globe, etc. Between March 9 and 11 I was inundated with these. There are some I deleted before I realized it was part of a spamming campaign. Think it’s possible that a whole bunch of people all arrived at the same idea of doing this project? Hardly. The one offering money for notes suggests to me that it is a scam, though admittedly it is better than saying you work for a bank and your late Nigerian client has absconded, leaving you with millions of dollars.    The last of these five came on the 15th.    If you’re going to spam, then try not to write pretty much the same message. I’m not convinced by the multiple accounts. Instagram really needs to set up better spam detection.

Beware these spammers At first I wondered if ‘Samantha’ was real, till her automated comments came repeatedly. Sorry, you’re getting marked as spam, Samantha Byrne. As to those folks using the autoliker-app, you’re hardly convincing, especially when you spam en masse.

Not model behaviour If you’re going to comment-spam someone on Instagram, try thinking of something more original. (Incidentally, why doesn’t Instagram deal with these spammers?)

The early days of Instagram It’s true, 46 years ago, before I was born, I reported someone for spamming me on Instagram. They’ve finally dealt with it after all these years.

Instaspam attacked Thirty-odd spammers in quick succession—the worst I’ve seen when it comes to an Instagram spam attack. I know once Instagram blocks accounts with such a name format, the spammers will change again, but I wonder if there’s a way they can identify a flurry of accounts all being set up with similar names in a short space of time and suspend the lot. Anyone unfortunate enough to be caught up in that could always appeal, but I doubt they will come across anyone.

Facebook says spam is OK Matus spams my group. I report Matus. Facebook says there is nothing wrong with Matus.    Fabienne is a spammer. Fabienne provides a sample of the spam she posts on her own wall. I report Fabienne. Facebook says there is nothing wrong with Fabienne.    Conclusion: if you are a spambot, you will be fine.    If you have a real Facebook account, Facebook will force malware on you.

Adds up Ever get the feeling three accounts liked my Instagram video thanks to some automated script? (The four I know.)

Do not click When you know it’s clickbait: they can’t be bothered selecting a different photograph.

Planet Key These fake Facebook accounts are getting weirder and weirder. Two days after I reported it, Facebook still regards this as legit.

Instaspam Ever get the feeling Instagram might have a problem with spam?

Not your usual Instagram bot Anyone notice all these odd bots on Instagram lately? In the first shot, Calipso159 is not a bot; in the second shot, Hautjapan is not, as far as I know. In the last shot, only Elnorellywellyn and Bellweimer are the bots. These are unlike the usual ones which are expressly there to sell followers or other things; their accounts are just full of photos. However, once you begin looking through, you realize they have a lot in common that mark them out as being bots. I won’t say what they are, as I don’t want them wising up, but you can draw your own conclusions if you investigate them. I imagine in the future they will begin to spam others. Some are 26 weeks old, all set up around the same time.