Spam Eruption: Hi Dear - Sir, Madam.

[sunboatrecords]

In the past few days, I have been getting numerous spam messages from a certain country, which I will not mention to avoid hurting anybody's feelings.

They usually start with “Hi Dear”, “Hi” or “Hi Sir”.

I even tried to engage with some before I marked them as spam.

The conversation usually goes like this: 

- HI SIR

- Hello! How can I help you?

- SIR GIVE ME JOB PLEASE NO JOB

- If you are interested in working here, please go to the Fiverr forums for more information.

- NO FORUMS SIR NO SHOW PLEASE JOB

.

To add insult to injury, I just saw a drop in my Inbox Response Rate.

Have you guys experienced the same?

Edited April 4, 2023 by sunboatrecords

[leannelrivers]

i've had more spam links sent to me recently disguised as voice-over scripts. It's obvious the files spam so luckily I haven't opened anything. Irritating.  

[miiila]

Yes, but not just the past few days. I've set up 3 different Quick Responses for the the roughly 3 types of spam I consistently get.

You can hit the Spam button without replying, but if you use the Flag function (which also has "Spam" in the drop-down for the reasons) or the Block button in the app, make sure you reply first, if per QR or just a short "Sorry" (or "Huh?", which often would be the only correct reply to the nonsense messages I often get) or whatever, to not see your response rate drop.

For typical spam, I typically use the Spam button; if it's one of those obnoxious Telegram etc. wannabe scammers, the Flag function and report for wanting contact off-Fiverr; if it's someone asking me for a translation job, starting with "hy", "hellow", "hlo", etc., I often also use the Flag function with Spam as reason (those people really have no business wanting to work here as translators, trust me, I regularly see their output, when their customers show up in my inbox and want me to fix the mess).

If it's someone who seems to at least have the basicest of basic social skills and might actually do solid work here, I might just send a fitting QR (best for that is the app, as you can then use the block feature if you might want to avoid spending your entire Sunday afternoon on potential forth and back with potentially very entitled people who take your time and patience for granted, and are too egocentric to even imagine that they might not be the only one).

My spam replies include one with links to ToS and Seller Help Center, also a humoristic one for Telegram scammers (although I doubt that they understand or even can read, many seem only able to copy and paste, and even that very badly), so I can vary, according to the occasion.

Again, if you want to use the flag or block function, do reply first, or it will affect your response rate.

Yes, I do get loads of spam, since years. "Responding" to spam in order to keep my response rate and level intact, is kind of a side job in itself, only that nobody wants to pay me for it, and even if correctly and unfalteringly done, it will still affect my response time and conversion rate.

Again, we can't have nice things, like no response rate, and simply ignore all the spam, because some people wouldn't respond to actual potential customers, then.

Maybe, if Fiverr can't keep all the spammers away, it's time to at least think about lengthening the window to respond without penalty (a penalty for not responding to *spam* is ... anyway, y'know), maybe even just over the weekend, so that hard-working sellers could "collect" spam messages over the weekend, and do the responding in one fell swoop on Monday mornings...

Fact, I've activated unavailable mode sometimes just to be rid of the annoying spam for a bit. 

Edited April 4, 2023 by miiila

[sunboatrecords]

2 minutes ago, miiila said:

You can hit the Spam button without replying, but if you use the Flag function (which also has "Spam" in the drop-down for the reasons) or the Block button in the app, make sure you reply first, if per QR or just a short "Sorry" (or "Huh?", which often would be the only correct reply to the nonsense messages I often get) or whatever, to not see your response rate drop.

It seems that this is why my response rate decreased.

I've never had any problems with this approach until now.

That was because, I was fortunate enough to get hit by spam that was also detected by Fiverr's AI.

I am going to be sending them a 'Thanks for the inquiry, but I am currently overbooked' before reporting and blocking them.

[mahmuda0]

If someone is sending me messages saying that I should message someone else about a potential job, is this spam?

[miiila]

"It seems that this is why my response rate decreased."

Yes, I had that problem several times, and just recently, a kind support person told me that it's just the "Spam button" that will lead to not affecting your response rate.

Still makes no sense to me, because when you use the "Flag function" (and "Spam" as reason within it), there is a pop-up that says "Moved to spam folder. No need to reply", so... But at least, now I know that not replying before using the Report button will still decrease my response rate. I'll probably only use the Report button for "severe cases" now (after using my QR), and else just directly the Spam button, to save at least a little time.

What's really annoying is that the app only has a Block button, so you forcibly need to reply first, then use the Block button - what exactly does the block button do, is it the same as Spam or Report button on desktop; does it even have a negative impact on our accounts if you use it a lot, as sellers might and do also block actual potential customers that they don't want to work with and who might feel insulted and sulk off to a different platform?

The whole Spam/Report (>Spam)/Block button thing and its effects isn't very intuitive. It should at least be consistent between desktop and app.

Edited April 4, 2023 by miiila

[rafinhossain00]

Hello , I am new on Fiverr . I want to learn more .

How do I know that the user is spam?

[donnovan86]

1 hour ago, rafinhossain00 said:

How do I know that the user is spam?

Intuition. There are clear signs that a message is spam. Normally a serious buyer will contact you to talk about a potential order and stuff they need. If someone sends random links or files not related to an order, don't open them. It's common sense. And even then, make sure that you have antivirus or anti-malware installed to detect any potential viruses.

[filusaad]

2 hours ago, donnovan86 said:

Intuition. There are clear signs that a message is spam. Normally a serious buyer will contact you to talk about a potential order and stuff they need. If someone sends random links or files not related to an order, don't open them. It's common sense. And even then, make sure that you have antivirus or anti-malware installed to detect any potential viruses.

Yes, also watch out for hackers. if you're not too sure about the link but still want to view the file I suggest using https://www.ezyzip.com/ for zip files. Keep in mind that most real clients will not give you a zip file on the first message, but if you need to examine it then view it through the website without unzipping it on your device. NEVER click on any .exe files or any other file extensions that you may not recognize or aren't related to your work.

[visualstudios]

I'm on a Mac, I always have a good laugh when they send me .exe os .scr files. 

[zeus777]

23 hours ago, sunboatrecords said:

Have you guys experienced the same?

WAY too often, sadly.

Like yours, the messages starts with a 

Hi
Hi sir (I ain't a dude...)
Hi dear ( this makes me cringe each time)

I know it's a typo but I also had a "Ho."
The sender must be Santa or watched too much of Thunder Cats episodes back in the 80's.

They say they need work/money and shocking they say they can do a great job with it.
When I ask them if they can speak Japanese at a native level, they will say stuff like
"No." "Not yet."

Usually around here I slip into a short coma. 

[sunboatrecords]

Here's an update on the situation.

Support got back to me and informed me that I do have to take the hit to my inbox response rate as it was "a buyer that was messaging me in another language".

#lessonlearned

 

Here is the script for your enjoyment:

 

Original:

 

Hallow
Bahi ma ap ki video ma sa remove Kar du ga
Ap order da do
Hallow
Ap mara client ban jao
Hallwo

 

Google Translate:

 

hello married mother

please remove your video mother

you order

hello you become

my client Halvo

...

 

As you all know, I am definitely not a married mother.

[uk1000]

8 minutes ago, sunboatrecords said:

Here is the script for your enjoyment:

Here's the bing translate version which is a bit better in some places but it couldn't auto-detect the language properly so I set it to Hindi manually (it might sometimes be worth trying the big translate to see if that can translate something a bit better than the google translate/Fiverr's translate one can) - but this translation shows it was spam as it was asking you to become their client:

Quote

hello
I will remove it from your video.
AP order data
hello
You become my client
hallu

Edited April 5, 2023 by uk1000

[sunboatrecords]

1 minute ago, uk1000 said:

Here's the bing translate version

Trash translation.

Didn't detect the married mother part that was so endearing and spot-on.

😆

[miiila]

18 hours ago, visualstudios said:

I'm on a Mac, I always have a good laugh when they send me .exe os .scr files. 

I'm not on a Mac and have a laugh when actual customers send a Mac file, as an afterthought ask if I'm on a Mac, and I say, no, but I still can open, edit, and send it back as a Mac file, no problem, some seem to think that's not possible. 

But yeah, I'm selective in which files to open or even scan, and which not, especially if they are from new people. Luckily, most of the wannabe scammers here are stupid enough for donnovan's intuition tactic to work well. So far, I've never had issues, and I'm pretty certain that I always clicked "Report" instead of "Download" rightfully, too.

[miiila]

17 minutes ago, sunboatrecords said:

Here's an update on the situation.

Support got back to me and informed me that I do have to take the hit to my inbox response rate as it was "a buyer that was messaging me in another language".

#lessonlearned

Sad, but interesting, thanks for sharing!

Not just seeing that one isn't even allowed to post on the forum in another language than English, unless when adding an English translation (at least that was a rule when I last read them), it makes me wonder if it shouldn't be a sellers' right to treat a message in a different language from the ones that the sellers themselves list in their profile as spam. Without a penalty for that person if they are an actual buyer, of course, but also without penalty for the seller.

That's a little difficult due to Fiverr also having several "local language versions" and people who start using Fiverr in one of those, might be under the impression that their language will work throughout the platform, and for anyone selling via Fiverr, but, still, if a seller feels uncomfortable having to work or talk to someone speaking a language they don't, for all intents and purposes, such messages are spam to them.

It also theoretically would mean to yet spend more time on Spam, if we always first reply to each and every "hy" or "ho", and wait for the reply that proves that we were right with clicking the Spam button right away, because, even if we know it's Spam with 111% certainty, ... but if the problem would only occur if that person was an actual buyer, I'm also pretty sure that my response rate could stomach it if I was wrong in one in a million cases... 

If people, however, stop treating the "hy"s as spam right away, in fear of it, maybe, perhaps, being a theoretical buyer (not theirs anyway, because "you're too expensive", but maybe, perhaps someone else's $5 buyer) and counting against their response rate, it would also mean more spam, because those people will have more time to spam more people, before they'll finally come out with a little more than "hy" and get reported as spammer, after all...

🤔

In any case, the amount of spam, and the time I've already had to spend on dealing with it is beyond ridiculous. I know what @newsmike would say now, the 7-letter word 😉

[sunboatrecords]

Another update:

I provided the translation to a very kind support lady and she removed it from my stats.

From now on, I will be following @miiila advice as I do not want to bother support about this issue again.

I will be sending an auto response, just to make sure.

Some people are just desperate.

I had a guy asking me if I was a buyer or seller and if I would be interested in buying his services. Crazy stuff.

[filusaad]

I know a bit of Hindi but I believe I'm better at Hindi as my 3rd language than he is at his 1st 😂

Here's a close translation (Not sure what he wants to say but one thing is for sure he is bad at writing)

Quote

Hallow
Bahi ma ap ki video ma sa remove Kar du ga
Ap order da do
Hallow
Ap mara client ban jao
Hallwo

Hello

Bro, I will remove it from your video

You give the order

Hello

Become my client

Hello

[miiila]

On 4/5/2023 at 4:20 PM, sunboatrecords said:

I had a guy asking me if I was a buyer or seller and if I would be interested in buying his services. Crazy stuff.

Not really. I've had people send me a custom offer for their Gig right away, out of the blue, without even a preliminary "hy" or "helloe". I even had a guy send me one of my own Gig images, "improved"... and wanted me to buy their design services, of course. Trust me, while I'm no designer, I can confidently say that "improved" Gig image was absolute 🗑️ and I'd rather have paid for it not to show on my Gig... Compared to what that person did to my poor Gig image, my original image was pure art.

But what I actually wanted to say...

On 4/5/2023 at 4:20 PM, sunboatrecords said:

I will be sending an auto response, just to make sure.

You probably mean *quick response*, those canned messages that you can save and then just need to click the ⚡ symbol to use, but just in case, the *auto reply* feature, where you set up an auto-reply which is automatically sent to any new person messaging you, without you doing anything, doesn't save you from typing up a message yourself or using the quick responde subsequently, as the *auto reply* doesn't help to keep up your response time.

Oh dear, this whole response rate business needs its own Fiverr video course...

 

ETA:

I just saw that my response rate dropped, yet again, this is the 3rd time within two weeks. And I'm very sure I either used the "Spam" button directly, or first one of my quick responses and only then the "Flag" function or "Block" in the app. It's crazy, we need to waste so much time on the awful amount of spam that Fiverr lets through, and get penalised if a spam message somehow slips through a crack. 

I don't feel like writing to support again, but I also want to know what exactly caused the drop this time, in case there's no relying on support's claim that directly using the Spam button will not affect your rate, after all. 

I also really think that with that absurd amount of Spam Fiverr should make some amends to their system.

Most probably, if, for example, before a new user may send their message to a seller, there was a pop-up window that let them know they are about to message a SELLER, not a BUYER, and that this is considered spam and could result in a report and warning or losing their account, 50% wouldn't send their message, after all. The other 50% probably wouldn't even get the most foolproof explanation of seller/-/buyer, and yet send their message to the perceived buyer, but 50% less would already be awesome.

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by miiila

[dentongillen]

Has anyone seen this before? I was asked to “help with a business”. Then when I asked what the project was they sent a link. It looks like a Google doc link, but I thought it was odd for them to ask me to click a link without any info about the job. And this request doesn’t seem related to the scope of work for the gig I posted.

[miiila]

Yes. By now, I really feel like I've seen any possible kind of spam and scam attempt under the green sun... They are often vague "a business", nothing showing they're even aware what you're offering (some are smarter, though, and mention your service in some way). I wouldn't click or download anything if the person doesn't answer perfectly reasonable questions, any really interested buyer would, and even on the off chance that it might be a potential buyer after all, you might not have much fun with a buyer who won't answer questions.

[mash_raju]

Please stay away from this type buyer..

[catwriter]

5 hours ago, miiila said:

Most probably, if, for example, before a new user may send their message to a seller, there was a pop-up window that let them know they are about to message a SELLER, not a BUYER, and that this is considered spam and could result in a report and warning or losing their account, 50% wouldn't send their message, after all. The other 50% probably wouldn't even get the most foolproof explanation of seller/-/buyer, and yet send their message to the perceived buyer, but 50% less would already be awesome.

Plenty of wannabe sellers don't even have gigs, nor do they have any idea how Fiverr works. I'm not sure that Fiverr would want to send someone without gigs (so, possibly a buyer) such a discouraging message.

3 hours ago, dentongillen said:

Has anyone seen this before? I was asked to “help with a business”.

It looked different the last time I saw it, but it's still recognizable. They used to pretend that they were from China so they couldn't work on Upwork, and they wanted to use your Upwork account for it (or so they said), plus they wanted you to let them control your computer. They called it a "business proposal".

[miiila]

4 minutes ago, catwriter said:

I'm not sure that Fiverr would want to send someone without gigs (so, possibly a buyer) such a discouraging message.

Certainly not, but people choose between registering as a buyer or seller, or not? I think it was like that, at least, but it's been a few days since I registered... 

Of course, it's perfectly possible that some or even many of the spammers who can't tell a Gig from a Buyer Request, would incorrectly register as a buyer, but, again, even if it would reduce the spam by 50 %, I'd be grateful.

[webcut]

Today Spammer are more active. They are trying to connect in Telegram platform by giving lucrative opportunity.

All are SPAM. Be aware !