BaronEngel
patreon
Sometimes I notice things.
🕑 Added 2017-07-01 16:47:23 +0000 UTC A new month and a new round of blocking fraudulent accounts. Fortunately I'm not getting dinged much this time around.However in the process of going through and block folks I noticed something. Almost all of my patrons use artwork or some form of graphic design for their icons. Those of you who do use photos of yourself, well lets just say don't quit your day jobs to become professional portrait photographers. And a small handful have the generic Patreon avatar head.
What I noticed as I was blocking the accounts was 3 things:
1. They were all pledges of $1.
2. They all pledged in the 2nd half of the month.
3. The thing that caught my attention. All of them had neat, clean, properly lit, portrait or group shot photos that looked like they taken from some stock photography site. These were not selfies.
I have read recently that one way to check whether a social media account is real or is just a bot, sock puppet, or pro troll is whether or not they've changed the default avatar icon on their acccount. Perhaps this is a way the scammers are trying to beat the system?
Comments
Vet
Checking credit card numbers is what they are doing. This was done using my state issued credit card for just pennies. Of course our service caught it but we had to be issued new cards. It's not stolen cards. They are using a card number sequence generator then checking it. Keep a check on your own cards. Most all major banks are aware of this.
jeffh4
That sounds like a true pattern you have recognized. The question is, what exactly are they scamming? Yes, they could see your artwork a week or so before anyone else. Or maybe they plan to put links to scam sites in the comments fields like these.
Baron Engel
Yeah you're like me. I like to use the same avatar for multiple sites.
Major Matt Mason
H'm! Interesting. For my part, I use this avatar pretty much everywhere... :D
kallenin
"I know I'll use my stolen credit card to DONATE MONEY! Take that society!"
Baron Engel
Well they maybe testing to see if stolen credit card numbers are still valid. Then they'll make a larger purchase or sell the card to another party. One or another this starting to be a trend.
kallenin
Seems like too much "work" for a scammer...
