What's the scam here? Weird PSN message spam(?)
February 6, 2018 12:42 AM
What are PSN message spammers trying to achieve?
I have a playstation4, which I mostly use to play World of Tanks.
I’ve received a number of messages from randoms which just say “Hey”, and I’ve ignored them, presuming that if I reply I’ll end up with porn spam or similar (and even if not, I have nothing to say to a random who sends such a message).
Today I received one saying “Reported. Enjoy your ban”. I’m quite sure I’ve done nothing reportable. I don’t use voice chat, so it can’t be that someone’s taken offence to something I’ve said. Team-killing isn’t possible in the game. I’m guessing that this is to goad me into responding. The sender has WoT installed.
So my questions are:
1) Are there known scams run over console messaging systems? I’m not bothered by this, but I am quite curious about the motivation.
2) If someone has got the hump and reported me to someone (PSN? WoT? IDK), how would I know?
I have a playstation4, which I mostly use to play World of Tanks.
I’ve received a number of messages from randoms which just say “Hey”, and I’ve ignored them, presuming that if I reply I’ll end up with porn spam or similar (and even if not, I have nothing to say to a random who sends such a message).
Today I received one saying “Reported. Enjoy your ban”. I’m quite sure I’ve done nothing reportable. I don’t use voice chat, so it can’t be that someone’s taken offence to something I’ve said. Team-killing isn’t possible in the game. I’m guessing that this is to goad me into responding. The sender has WoT installed.
So my questions are:
1) Are there known scams run over console messaging systems? I’m not bothered by this, but I am quite curious about the motivation.
2) If someone has got the hump and reported me to someone (PSN? WoT? IDK), how would I know?
I've also had a number of "hey" e-mails from new accounts who want me to look at their porn website. Possibly phishing bots, but some people occasionally say they get real messages.
Mr. Moonlight hasn't received any "hey" spam, but I've had five or six and he's online every day for 4+ hours and has many more trophies/games.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 8:15 AM on February 6, 2018
Mr. Moonlight hasn't received any "hey" spam, but I've had five or six and he's online every day for 4+ hours and has many more trophies/games.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 8:15 AM on February 6, 2018
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I got a PSN message a few days ago from someone using a variation of my username ("kuanes_DOXX_START) berating me for having the same username across multiple platforms. They had my real name (easy enough with a Google search) and where I worked (also easy enough). But pretended as if they had my SSN, etc. It's the second one I've received in the last 2-3 years. Nothing happens.
There are plenty of scams, but usually asking you to click a link to get "points" or "credits" for a particular game. That's just spam...and reportable.
I'd still report this person. I'm not sure how much Sony is actually doing, but on the off-chance that it helps...it can't hurt to report.
posted by kuanes at 3:52 AM on February 6, 2018