Caroline > Status Update

Romance scammers? You mean those women wanting my phone number for texting didn't want to discuss books?

As for the ignore option, I haven't had a chance to use it since I reported it as broken 11 days ago.

For me it was accepting a friend request but being sent the same request over and over.

Rod wrote: "Romance scammers? You mean those women wanting my phone number for texting didn't want to discuss books?

As for the ignore option, I haven't had a chance to use it since I reported it as broken 11..."

Ah, so they create some fake female accounts targeting men too. All I see are the bearded older men with brand-new accounts and an all-female friends targets list. Every day there are more and more. Do they PM you a "hi" and then, after chatting for a bit, try to get you to move to Whatsapp, where they can't be regulated? These are romance scammers from Nigeria; they often work together in a ring and are all over social media (Facebook especially) and even apps that have chat features. I'm infuriated that they've discovered GR. Look up "Yahoo Boys" for specifics.

I'm letting FR sit until I know for sure when the bug is resolved. This sucks!

Blackberrystew wrote: "For me it was accepting a friend request but being sent the same request over and over."

:[

It took me three tries to delete the scum from my friends list, and even then, the block didn't work and he stayed on my followers list (where rejected friends go automatically). I had to get in touch with staff directly to ask them to block him for me, which they fortunately did prompty. This was many days ago. This nightmare of a bug should have been fixed immediately.

Whoa that does sounds stressful. :/

Blackberrystew wrote: "Whoa that does sounds stressful. :/"

It was totally stressful.

I haven't checked my friend requests in awhile and I won't be now till they fix it

TL wrote: " . . . till they fix it"

Which, fingers crossed, will be today.

Thanks for posting this, Caroline. I have been affected but at the time thought I might have made a mistake. I turned down a friend request and then the person thanked me for friending them. I checked and they were my friend. I did delete them (and explained to them it was a mistake) and that seems to have done the trick. Everyone seems to experience this bug in different ways though.

That's also true of the daily digest update emails with friends' reviews. The last time I got any email at all was 2021/01/06. Some people have had that bug for even longer and some have had it for less time. Some get emails but not always and/or they're incomplete.

This site is experiencing more and more and more bugs and bugs Goodreads cant seem to fix and there is less and less and less useful customer service

It's been driving me nuts, but I don't *think* it's happened to me now for two days. And by "romance scammer scum" do you mean men of a certain age who have 0 books, 0 reviews, and are following all women? If so, yes, I understand how annoying that problem is! I can't block them quickly enough.

Caroline wrote: "TL wrote: " . . . till they fix it"

Which, fingers crossed, will be today."

Hopefully

I think I'm fine, but I probably don't get as many friend requests as you do. Hope it will get sorted soon for the people that suffer from it though!

This has been happening to me too.

Caroline, I haven't had that particular problem, thank goodness. Yuk!! However, my page is private so that probably cuts back on catfish (I hope!). My latest GR glitch has to do with GR not answering my requests for help and when they do reply all they do is send a link to the Help page several months after my request for help. Also, I am still not receiving email updates for some of my friends. This has gone on for almost a year and is happening to more than one person. I don't get why that problem isn't a top priority since GR is all about sharing book reviews with friends.

Margie wrote: "Also, I am still not receiving email updates for some of my friends. This has gone on for almost a year and is happening to more than one person. I don't get why that problem isn't a top priority since GR is all about sharing book reviews with friends."

Margie, I don’t get it either and it scares me that they don’t care enough to fix this (and other bugs) because it’s one of the crucial parts of the site. I really am afraid for the site’s future. I have been afraid since 2013 but there are more and more bugs and less and less good customer service as the years have gone by and I am getting extremely nervous again.

Yep, still happening Caroline! These romance scammers are shit. I’m tired of dealing with them. If all your friends are female or that’s all you’re following, go the hell away.

Lisa wrote: "Thanks for posting this, Caroline. I have been affected but at the time thought I might have made a mistake. I turned down a friend request and then the person thanked me for friending them. I chec..."

What's going on? The missing Daily Digest is upsetting enough, and now this. I'm so sorry you've been missing that since Jan. 6th, Lisa. We're totally helpless in the face of this stuff. The best thing anyone can do is report the problems they experience. The more people complaining about a specific problem, the more likely it is to get resolved, it seems.

Contact Us form for those who need it: https://www.goodreads.com/about/conta...

Julie wrote: "And by "romance scammer scum" do you mean men of a certain age who have 0 books, 0 reviews, and are following all women? If so, yes, I understand how annoying that problem is! I can't block them quickly enough."

Pretty much (stolen photos of either military men or older ones almost always bearded [WHY?]), but their goal is money, not romance, and they add books (all over the place in genre) to bulk up their fake profiles and make them look legitimate. They play the long game, grooming targets before hinting at financial problems or asking outright for money (such as for a plane ticket to come visit them). It's enraging, and it kills me to see that they've discovered GR. I see more and more every day popping up in my feed as members accept their FR.

The NYT published an expose a few years ago that I read then, and there are plenty of articles about "Yahoo Boys." They follow a predictable script, and once you know it you can spot them from a mile away. Apparently, FB plays a video (not sure where on the site; I don't have an account) educating users about tip-offs? GR needs to do the same now. In the meantime, fixing this bug so we can block them as they deserve instead of adding them to our friends list would be appreciated!

Jillian ❀‿❀ wrote: "I've got that going, & I can't save any reviews. Bleh."

I saw in Help that there's also a reviews bug. :*[ I guess it's new...?

Caroline,
I appreciate this information. I often think of them as "lonely pains in the asses" who are trying to get lucky, but I see there is another angle.
Yes--I'm seeing a pattern, they are often either claiming to be "retired military" (just how many Colonels can there be in the world??) or doctors or "successful business men."
If I could, I would barf on all of them collectively.

Morphing_kashi wrote: "I think I'm fine, but I probably don't get as many friend requests as you do. Hope it will get sorted soon for the people that suffer from it though!"

Hilary wrote: "This has been happening to me too."

Margie wrote: "My latest GR glitch has to do with GR not answering my requests for help and when they do reply all they do is send a link to the Help page several months after my request for help. Also, I am still not receiving email updates for some of my friends. This has gone on for almost a year and is happening to more than one person. I don't get why that problem isn't a top priority since GR is all about sharing book reviews with friends."

Directing users to the Help page isn't a solution, especially when it's months after the complaint. Did you check out Help? There's information there but not enough from staff to reassure us.

I think my DD also is missing reviews from some friends, and I now get reviews from people I follow. That's new. So some friends missing but some of those I follow added. :/ :/

Lisa wrote: "I really am afraid for the site’s future. I have been afraid since 2013 but there are more and more bugs and less and less good customer service as the years have gone by and I am getting extremely nervous again."

I feel like the first few years after 2013 things were ok enough that we may have felt like our infuriated reaction in Feedback was unwarranted. Now we're seeing it wasn't. I'm very worried that GR is going the way of Shelfari.

Ginger wrote: "Yep, still happening Caroline! These romance scammers are shit. I’m tired of dealing with them. If all your friends are female or that’s all you’re following, go the hell away."

They are shit and should be driven off the site. It's total whack-a-mole, though. Making people aware is the only solution. :|

Julie wrote: "Yes--I'm seeing a pattern, they are often either claiming to be "retired military" (just how many Colonels can there be in the world??) or doctors or "successful business men.""

And apparently there are an endless number of military men working on oil rigs far, far away, with sick daughters and dead wives. They want money. It's the "Nigerian prince" e-mail scam for the social media age.

ETA: I flag the profiles (flagging the avatar photo is the only way) whenever I see them, but so far I know for a fact that GR deleted only one. Until they get complaints from lots of other people, they won't delete more, I believe. I have suggested in the contact form that GR place some limits on new users for a set period, but I'd be shocked if they did that.

GR has been doing some things to protect us from spammers--not allowing us to add external links (although that seems to not work consistently [or maybe it's now gone]) and CAPTCHA (inconsistently), but they could add a two-factor authentication option, and as I said, some limits on new users. Two-factor authentication is basic, and I'm not sure why GR doesn't have it as an option.

As a funny aside, a friend of mine on here was recently wondering why so many of these creepy men have their children featured in the profile pictures. She was like, "I hate kids, why would anyone think that was a selling point?" (Sorry, inappropriate I know, but I laugh every time I think of her saying that).

Thanks for the inspiration--I just went to my friend list and blocked 10 more!

Let me see. . . it must have been Colonel Mustard, on an oil rig, with a wrench. . .

Julie wrote: "I just went to my friend list and blocked 10 more!"

OMG

"As a funny aside, a friend of mine on here was recently wondering why so many of these creepy men have their children featured in the profile pictures. She was like, "I hate kids, why would anyone think that was a selling point?" (Sorry, inappropriate I know, but I laugh every time I think of her saying that)."

:D :D They want to seem as innocuous as possible. Was their "lovely wife" also dead?

ETA: Make sure the block stuck. It didn't for me last time I used it.

Julie wrote: "Let me see. . . it must have been Colonel Mustard, on an oil rig, with a wrench. . ."

:D :D

Jillian ❀‿❀ wrote: "I've got that going, & I can't save any reviews. Bleh."

That is another "worst" bug, given the nature of this site.

Julie wrote: "I'm seeing a pattern, they are often either claiming to be "retired military" (just how many Colonels can there be in the world??) or doctors or "successful business men."
If I could, I would barf on all of them collectively"

Julie, you made me laugh, but I sure hope they'll keep staying away from me, especially since GR has become less responsive. They do seem to try to get rid of these profile pages but they have to be reported. They don't seem to try to hunt for them.

Caroline wrote: "I feel like the first few years after 2013 things were ok enough that we may have felt like our infuriated reaction in Feedback was unwarranted. Now we're seeing it wasn't. I'm very worried that GR is going the way of Shelfari. "

Yes, they waited. I figured they'd wait until Otis left and that happened in 2019.

Lisa wrote: "Jillian ❀‿❀ wrote: "I've got that going, & I can't save any reviews. Bleh."

That is another "worst" bug, given the nature of this site."

Yes, it is.

Caroline wrote: "JAnd apparently there are an endless number of military men working on oil rigs far, far away, with sick daughters and dead wives. They want money. It's the "Nigerian prince" e-mail scam for the social media age.."

I laughed again but it can really ruin this site if GR doesn't do more and if most members don't become aware so that they can flag/report.

Lisa wrote: "I figured they'd wait until Otis left and that happened in 2019."

Ah. That makes sense.

Julie wrote: "Let me see. . . it must have been Colonel Mustard, on an oil rig, with a wrench. . ."

Thanks for the laughs, everybody, but this is a serious issue and I do think the less GR does and the fewer bugs that get fixed, and there are a lot of longstanding one, the more likely it is that GR/Amazon is looking at the long game of letting the site fail and then eventually deleting it. There are still no good alternatives. For cataloging books LibraryThing is great but there is no other social site that comes close. A few have tried but not succeeded as far as I am concerned.

Caroline wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I figured they'd wait until Otis left and that happened in 2019."

Ah. That makes sense."

Yes. I'd given him 5 years but he stayed for 6.

Lisa wrote: "I laughed again but it can really ruin this site if GR doesn't do more and if most members don't become aware so that they can flag/report."

I really think that the romance scammers could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. If it just gets worse and worse, people will feel uneasy enough that they leave. If targets fall for the scam, they'll talk about it and GR will get a reputation for not doing enough, or anything, to protect users. There are some really young users on this site too. In some cases this isn't about money but sex trafficking. That isn't hyperbole.

Caroline, I'm not sure. That sort of thing is all over the internet. People not being able to post reviews or having the rest of the social or cataloging parts of the site greatly deteriorate I think is what will do it. The underage problem should be a major thing but it's also all over the internet. Kids under 13 and under 18 know how to lie about their ages. *sigh*

Lisa wrote: "People not being able to post reviews or having the rest of the social or cataloging parts of the site greatly deteriorate I think is what will do it."

I agree, but I see the romance-scammer membership happening faster right now. If that's added to deteriorating cataloging and social interaction, the site will be dead.

"The underage problem should be a major thing but it's also all over the internet. Kids under 13 and under 18 know how to lie about their ages. *sigh*"

I'll say that GR has been good about deleting underage profiles very quickly, so they seem to take the underage thing seriously. Of course, that may have changed since 2019. As for the lying, well, nothing can be done about that. :*[

Caroline wrote: "I'll say that GR has been good about deleting underage profiles very quickly, so they seem to take the underage thing seriously. Of course, that may have changed since 2019. As for the lying, well, nothing can be done about that. :*[ "

Yes, GR is still good about taking action for underage profiles (making private profiles for members 13-17 and deleting the under 13s) but they have to be reported by members. GR does not do searches for them.

Lisa,
I think that many of us on here take these issues seriously. I’ve just being dealing with the “Colonels” for a while now, and I must have a sense of humor about it, or I’ll crumble every time I see the new batch.
I think Caroline’s suggestion above of using the link to report specific issues, is a good one that we can use, but I think a lot of us (including me) don’t know how to help. I am certainly open to suggestions, and I’m happy to use my profile as a place to promote such information as well.

Julie, I flag everything and every profile I see. Not all members don't know to do this and I know some people that don't want to leave up posts, etc. so they delete them asap and don't ever notify GR.

Oh, wow. Another shitbag romance scammer just sent me a FR. Clearly, they don't even examine profiles; they just look for female users willy-nilly!

Now waiting on staff to block him for me. :| :|

Caroline wrote: "Oh, wow. Another shitbag romance scammer just sent me a FR. Clearly, they don't even examine profiles; they just look for female users willy-nilly!

Now waiting on staff to block him for me. :| :|"

Caroline, Wow. Please keep us posted. Let us know how long it takes them. I think it’s like winning giveaways here. This happens to the same people over and over again and entirely skips other people.

I want to know how you're handling it, Caroline. Are you flagging the person but not blocking them?

Julie wrote: "I want to know how you're handling it, Caroline. Are you flagging the person but not blocking them?"

Caroline, You're doing both, aren't you? Flagging and blocking but letting the communication stay so that GR can see it and delete it themselves? (That's what I do anyway, though so far it's happened very infrequently for me.)

I had to log on to GR from my laptop and unfriend one someone more than a few times, which for some reason crashed the app on my phone each time. Then when I logged back on after the third or so round of this it stopped. Not sure if the account was a scam account, but it had some markers of that.

All such problems that seem to have become more prevalent since the turn of the year are further evidence that Amazon is not committing enough maintenance resources to the site. This may also be why outside links are prohibited on comment threads. They cannot check promptly to see if they're spam. Every spare nickel has to go to the space program, you know.

Lisa wrote: "Caroline, Wow. Please keep us posted. Let us know how long it takes them. I think it’s like winning giveaways here. This happens to the same people over and over again and entirely skips other people."

I'm beyond frustrated at this point. I set up the FR challenge question to have a REQUIRED answer earlier today, thinking this could work to keep them away, and now I see that it gets bypassed when the FR is sent via the app. (I knew the challenge question doesn't show up in the app, but I thought if it were one that had a required answer, the FR wouldn't go through.) This is one of our only recourses, and it doesn't work. Romance scammers access the site exclusively via the app. If GR could just get "block" and "ignore" working ASAP, that'd be something. I had to ask staff AGAIN a few minutes ago to remove a FR for me (not necessarily a scammer this time, but not a FR I want to accept). This is tiring.

To answer your question, Lisa, they took care of my request (post 44) quickly, to my surprise. (I figured it wouldn't happen till Monday.)

Julie wrote: "I want to know how you're handling it, Caroline. Are you flagging the person but not blocking them?"

I first flag the profile by clicking on the avatar image and then the "flag" link below that picture; after that, I block them. Since block isn't working, I now contact staff directly via the Contact Us form and ask them to block these people for me.

FYI: If there's no avatar image, there's no way to flag. In that case, you need to copy and paste the profile URL into the form and provide an explanation.