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  • Are You Getting Unwanted Messages from Visitors to the Forum

    Hi folks:

    This past week we have had a Forum member contacted by a Forum guest in regard to a want ad the Forum member posted in search of an item. It is not clear what the guest intended to do but it appeared to be they were phishing by trying to offer a bogus antique motorcycle. They sent an image of an antique bike that apparently has been used in scams in the past. Our member checked it out with other members and they all concluded it was a scam. Unfortunately the guest contacted the member by private message and has continued to send messages. I had never dealt with this type of invasion so I needed to look through some details to figure out what could be done to prevent this from happening. When sending a PM as a guest you still need to enter a username, their's was mcppy. The good news here is that I have found that on your personal setting control panel you can set up your private message so you can limit who sends you a message. Generally I don't think any of us need to limit this unless there is a pest problem. I have mine set up so "Everyone" can send me a message. But if I did have a problem I can limit it to "Registered Members" and this should take care of the problem. Here is my best shot at directions to find this setting.

    It is under My Settings > My Profile > Profile Privacy. You will get a drop down menu under the third line down “Visitor Messages” it gives you choices of who can send you a message.

    The rest of the story is this. With the helpful info I got from our fellow member I was able to track down this guest by using his IP Address. The guest is located in South East United Kingdom. The guest also tried to register for the forum using a false AMCA member number and zip code and that's how I got the IP address. Obviously this pest was denied membership and banned for life. But they can just change their approach and try again with other fake stuff.

    So why do we allow guests? Well for one when someone is doing a browser search on the internet and their key word search hits the jack pot and directs them to one of our posts off the Forum, as a guest they still get to see our vast wisdom. They may even figure out that they are on the AMCA Member Forum and want to join, of course to be a Forum member they must first join the AMCA, so this can be another way for people to find the club. We don't have scammers bothering members since we adopted a more manual process for member approvals (thanks to one of our Forum members who is an admin on another forum and his excellent advice).

    If you have had someone unwanted contact you as a private message would you please let me know? If you do have a problem with a pest remember that you can change your privacy settings. As always don't hesitate to contact me if you need help solving a problem.

    Thanks All

    Mike Love
    AMCA Forum
    Moderator
    Last edited by ihrescue; 10-13-2019, 02:24 PM.

  • #2
    I just got one, it was about mcppy but not from mcppy, here it is:

    Default MCPPPY Suspended
    Hello,

    I would like to know if you can tell me if I should be cautious doing business with the listed member. I see recently that this person was suspended, though do not know why. That member said they might have a vertical fender I need for a rebuild and to contact them at classicrider002@gmail.com.
    I sent an email and received no response. That member then contacted me again via private message and said the same thing as before. I contacted them again via internal messaging through AMCA and have not heard from them yet.

    I just want to be cautious.

    Thank you,
    AMCA member JTR249
    36450
    -John Robinson
    Mason County, WV
    Pisten Bully is Harry Roberts in Vermont.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks for your comment Pisten-Bully that's what I was concerned about. He has been suspended because he tried to join the Forum using false identity information. However he has exploited the fact that he can send a private message as a visitor. I would use caution buying anything from a visitor that sends you an unsolicited private message. This guest has figured out a little wrinkle we have. We have not tried it yet but I am hoping the change in privacy setting that I described in my post will exclude visitors from private messaging members. If you look at any private message you receive you will notice in the upper left of the message it will show a username and below it what their Forum Member status is. It will say if the message is from a guest and will look like this. Here you can see this:

      Screen Shot 2019-10-13 at 3.12.58 PM.jpg

      Also note that the guest tries to get the target off to email maybe the guest has more freedom and may also just want to get your email address as the intended purpose.

      Mike Love
      AMCA Forum
      Moderator

      Comment


      • #4
        I personally feel only members should be able to send PM's. I thought it was that way. I understand a guest viewing the forum, but in my opinion only members should be allowed to comment or send any message at all. This isn't a Facebook free for all. You do a great job Mike, Thanks.
        Bob Rice #6738

        Comment


        • #5
          Mike is one of the unsung hero volunteers for the club. Thanks for what you do and keeping us informed. Many thanks...I know you don't hear it often enough....
          Ross

          Comment


          • #6
            And his work is endless, Folks!

            Somehow ChiefTwoKicks's 'visitor' PM to Jim Groves just showed up on the activity stream..

            Funny if I log out, I cannot PM or view profiles. Can a non-member log in? As a vendor, I can accept that.

            Many more thanks, Mike!

            ...Cotten
            PS: Christian Timmerman (sortasubject of CTK's PM) will be missed.
            I still have one of his indexable, hermetically-sealed, magnetically-driven Indian fuel gauges.
            It is kept under a glass bell-jar, because it is that amazing.
            Attached Files
            Last edited by T. Cotten; 10-15-2019, 04:59 PM.
            AMCA #776
            Dumpster Diver's Motto: Seek,... and Ye Shall Find!

            Comment


            • #7
              ChiefTwoKicks here... I think I hit the wrong tab for sending out a response to a private message post I made in regard to an electric starter I am trying to sell. My mistake.
              I am a member of this forum, I have very limited 'caveman' computer skills. So far, I have not heard back from Jim Grove.

              Timmerman's contributions to the antique community were way ahead of their time... and yes, I saw one of those fuel guages too. It looked really amazing.

              C2K

              Comment


              • #8
                Thank you all for the kind words. Sometimes praise is even better than money.

                Mike Love

                Comment


                • #9
                  ChiefTwoKicks - sounds like your PM didn't go direct so a resend would be in order to Jim Grove. Sometimes depending on when people get on the forum they may not see it for a while.

                  Mike Love
                  AMCA Forum
                  Moderator

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by T. Cotten View Post

                    Funny if I log out, I cannot PM or view profiles. Can a non-member log in? As a vendor, I can accept that.


                    PS: Christian Timmerman (sortasubject of CTK's PM) will be missed.
                    I still have one of his indexable, hermetically-sealed, magnetically-driven Indian fuel gauges.
                    It is kept under a glass bell-jar, because it is that amazing.
                    Regarding guest log-in, it does not appear a guest can log in. I wouldn't have a problem if there were different levels of member and a registration process. The thing that AMCA membership does is somewhat weed out someone that wants to wreak havoc because would need to pay to join. However we did have a guy that wanted to promote a faux cycle for sale, by the way, using a Forum member's bike images. This cat actually joined AMCA but our quick to smell a rat members pointed out the scam and we shut it down. But he was super quick and was able to rescind his AMCA member purchase and got refunded.

                    Regarding the fuel gauge - wow you can readily see the quality craftsmanship. I love the fact that members are able to find niches like that and offer products to fill the need.

                    Mike Love
                    AMCA Forum
                    Moderator

                    Comment

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