***NOTICE TO MEMBERSHIP*** Possible batch of fraudulent accounts attempting to run scams.

[Sean]

Hi All,

We have detected an unusual spike in logins and already one fraudulent ad. Please keep your wits about you as we investigate and lock these accounts down.

What this usually means:

-an older, inactive member from years ago has a compromised password
-scammers get hold of these passwords in bulk and use them to get into old photrio accounts
-pose as the old member using past reputation to engineer fraudulent sales

We're still investigating, but do report anything to us regarding any member that feels off.

Thanks!
Sean

 

[Sean]

*update

Hi All, thanks to the heroic efforts of @koraks, we seem to have caught this early and mitigated most of it.

I advise all members to remain vigilant and report any suspicious "deals" people are offering out of the blue. Another major red flag to watch out for is an old account that used to be active, dropped off for several years, and has suddenly reappeared with a sales pitch.

To protect the community, we have proactively forced a security measure on any accounts that have been inactive for an extended period of time.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[koraks]

Hi All, thanks to the heroic efforts of @koraks, we seem to have caught this early and mitigated most of it.

Too much honor; @MattKing actually highlighted a potential issue; from there on it was just legwork. But...in all honesty, this shows how it's really a team effort and how we're complementary. Honestly pretty chuffed with this, even though I would have preferred that didn't even get as far as it did (which really wasn't very far).

To protect the community, we have proactively forced a security measure on any accounts that have been inactive for an extended period of time.

I'd like to add that if someone wants to conduct a trade and they would like us to do a quick review on their Photrio account, please don't hesitate to do so. Just hit 'report', briefly explain which ad/item offer you're referring to and we'll do a brief check. Note that we will not share personal information as a result of this check; we will simply feed back an advisory assessment. Note also that we cannot be held liable for any decisions based on our assessment.

 

[Sean]

Ah yes, apologies to Matt, he made the initial catch

We're still mopping up some potential scam accounts, so far so good, it looks like they were unable to get up to much.

 

[Sean]

Also, thank you @mshchem for the initial report

It does not take long for these scammers to hit and run multiple scams.

 

[Carnie Bob]

Thank you so much for your efforts, as I get older I get more feeble minded, but I can tell you when I buy that bridge in Brooklyn I am going to really be well off. I am putting
a deposit on it tomorrow when my bank opens.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Thank you so much for your efforts, as I get older I get more feeble minded, but I can tell you when I buy that bridge in Brooklyn I am going to really be well off. I am putting
a deposit on it tomorrow when my bank opens.

Save your money. I already sent a check.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Also, thank you @mshchem for the initial report

It does not take long for these scammers to hit and run multiple scams.

Thanks for your team's effort.

 

[loccdor]

Last month, somebody broke into my long-deactivated Facebook account (for which I had a weak password) and changed my name to Allison! They didn't bother changing the password so it was easy to get back control and add a stronger password, but they make you wait 60 days to change the name again. The password was no doubt exposed in a data breach.

 

[mshchem]

Also, thank you @mshchem for the initial report

It does not take long for these scammers to hit and run multiple scams.

We are very fortunate to have this little spot of civility. Thanks to our moderators, everyone for the extra effort!

 

[Jessxi]

Thank you for the effort! It's wonderful too know that admin and mods are actively working to keep everyone informed and safe!

 

[Graham06]

somebody broke into my long-deactivated Facebook account

One of the things I am most smugly happy about is never getting a Facebook account. I was somewhat of an early adopter of many things and I took one look at the signup page and went "Nope!"

Wouldn't be surprised if they made an account anyway from correlated tracking pixels and other spyware data.

Thank-you Photrio admins for all your work

 

[loccdor]

Wouldn't be surprised if they made an account anyway from correlated tracking pixels and other spyware data.

Oh yes, no doubt, just about every big tech firm has a profile on you - account or not - at this point.

 

[gbroadbridge]

It was rather clever to call cookies, cookies wasn't it.

 

[retina_restoration]

Let this be a reminder: if you are no longer using a service but have not yet deleted the account, do so asap!

 

[koraks]

Note that we generally do not permit or encourage deletion of Photrio accounts esp. if they have posts associated with them from a viewpoint of the continuity of discussions. However, if someone intends to cease participating on the forum, we can disable their account, which renders it inaccessible. This has the advantage of being reversible.

 

[mshchem]

Note that we generally do not permit or encourage deletion of Photrio accounts esp. if they have posts associated with them from a viewpoint of the continuity of discussions. However, if someone intends to cease participating on the forum, we can disable their account, which renders it inaccessible. This has the advantage of being reversible.

 

[MattKing]

It should go without saying - careful use of passwords and regular updating of same is always prudent.
If you intend to stop using Photrio, first change the password to something you haven't used and won't use elsewhere.