Spam PMs: sorry!

[Helen Brown]

Four of you have reported a Spam personal message purporting to offer a lot of money. The sender has now been banned from the forums. We do try to filter the forum member applications, but obviously one bad apple slipped through.

[Helen Brown]

I have deleted 864 private messages sent by this spammer!

[C Layton]

Thank you for your diligence, Helen. This forum is great because of efforts like these: on-topic conversations, truly helpful people, and very prompt responses from Accordance folks. Because of your work I had nearly forgotten the spammy comments that plague other forums.

[Helen Brown]

We had a glitch in emails this weekend, and many were sent by the website only now. That includes most of the 864 private messages sent by the spammer.

 

Account verifications and receipts were also queued, and have now been sent, as were all Forum messages.

[Fr. Rusty Matheny]

Dear Helen: Apparently they have hacked in or something. I am now getting these emails through your server at my listed e-mail with Accordance and with a "do not reply" footer and a link to use for reply instead of Accordance .

 

I am concerned they have my e-mail through Accordance servers.

 

Thought you should know, could not contact you earlier today- just been hammered with work.

 

Know you folks are trying to stop this, but it is still ongoing.

 

Blessings of Grace and Peace,

 

Rusty+

[Helen Brown]

I don't think you need to worry. You cannot see a person's email when you send a PM. The server sends it. We had a Perfect Storm this weekend that the emails from the server were termporarily suspended, so it took a while before I was notified of the spammer, and he/she had already sent 864 PMs. We blocked the spammer and deleted all the PMs, but didn't even realize, nor could we have helped, that the email notifications of the PMs were in the email queue and would go out a day later.

 

If anyone does get further spam through the Forums, please notify us immediately. We try to keep them clean.

[Fr. Rusty Matheny]

Dear Helen: These are not private messages on the web-site anymore.

They are coming directly to my e-mail account "through" your servers.

Thus: They have access to my personal account info on your servers.

 

They are using Accordance as the "front end" for their work.

[Michael J. Bolesta]

Dear Helen: These are not private messages on the web-site anymore.

They are coming directly to my e-mail account "through" your servers.

Thus: They have access to my personal account info on your servers.

 

They are using Accordance as the "front end" for their work.

 

Rusty

 

Check the email in question. I did not receive spam, but when I have received a personal message via the forum, I was also sent an email notification the the address of record. I suspect Helen is correct; the spammer does not have your personal email address.

 

As I test of this, I just sent you a PM via Accordance Forum. I do not have your personal address, nor should you be able to see mine on the test message.

 

Shalom,

Michael

[Fr. Rusty Matheny]

ok.

[Fr. Rusty Matheny]

You were correct Fr. Michael, Your Pm came to my e-mail as well.

Sorry for the panic.

Just had my bank account hacked recently- so really sensitive.

To all: Please accept my apology.

 

Blessings

Rusty+

[Joel Brown]

We're very sorry about your bank account being hacked, that can be devastating to anyone. We do try our absolute best to keep this forum clean of both spammers and hackers, and we will never compromise your personal information. I, too, have been getting the spurious personal email messages just now coming in, but they should all stop soon as the offending account has been banned.

[Fr. Rusty Matheny]

No problem, I understand. Thanks again.

[A. Smith]

Ya'll are awesome! I got the spam and didn't even think of mentioning it on here because I knew you would have it resolved. And you do. Thanks so much. You are seriously one of the most responsive groups I've worked with. Thanks again.