PSA: Be aware of shill accounts, and how to spot them

Just wanted to cover a few topics I've seen pop up in the last few days, hoping to shed a little bit of light on them.

SHILLING

I'm going to explain shilling like I'm writing this to someone who has no previous knowledge of shilling, as it's generally newer buyers who fall for shilling attempts, although the more expert shills have been known to trick a few veterans. If you already understand what shilling is, skip down to "How To Spot And Avoid A Shill".

Shilling is an attempt by a user or vendor to discredit another person, promote their own product by acting like a satisfied customer, or any other attempt to raise or destroy business by using alternate accounts to pretend to be someone else. Often these accounts are either brand new accounts with no post history, although it cannot automatically be assumed that all new accounts posting reviews are shills. Anonymity and OPSEC are integral aspects of DarkNet Markets and because of this, it is sometimes necessary for buyers to post from a throwaway account. I'll touch more on this later.

Here is a great example of a post with a high possibility of shill activity. In this thread, the vendor TurtleTime is the subject of the OP's review. The only post history that the OP has is all related to the vendor TurtleTime and a former marketplace that he vended on. A comment in this thread also raises a red flag; /u/arno462 is also a new account, also praising TurtleTime, and upon further inspection you'll see that his only post history is also about TurtleTime. The last red flag is the history of the vendor himself, who has been accused of multiple shill accounts since he first started vending. All of these red flags point to the possibility of a shill review, although there is no way to be 100% sure.

The other way in which shill accounts are regularly used is by competing vendors who will post fake negative reviews or comments in the hope of dissuading buyers from using their competitor. These shill posts are generally characterized by accusations with little to no evidence, accusations that are contrary to positive reports from other buyers, and of course new accounts with no post history making accusations. Vendor rivalries can get very nasty and some vendors are not above turning to such methods in attempts to gain the upper hand.

Now that we understand what "shilling" is and how it is used, we'll take a look at the red flags that, while not always indicative of a shill, should be taken into account when reading a review or comments. Some of this will repeat a few points I've already covered.

How To Spot And Avoid A Shill

  1. Is the OP a brand new account? While OPSEC and security requires some users to make a throwaway for a review, new accounts are often used as shills as well. It would be foolish to accuse a new account of being a shill solely for this reason, but if other red flags are present, this should be taken into account.

  2. Does the OP have a post history that is full of praising/bashing a vendor? We all have favorite vendors and we often suggest them to others, but shills will often use their account to only do this.

  3. Does the OP make accusations with absolutely no backing or proof? Shills will often accuse a vendor of weak/cut product, scamming, etc but will not provide any proof when asked. While sometimes it isn't possible to prove these things, this should still raise a red flag.

  4. Are the OP's accusations directly contrary to other reviews and feedback? A vendor's reputation is their most prized possession. Good vendors pride themselves on customer service and the quality of their product. Read up on the vendor's reviews and if the OP is making claims that don't seem to fit the others, there's a chance that the OP is shilling. Be aware, though, that vendors do change sometimes. There have been many cases of trusted vendors who scammed everyone in the end; however, one lone accusation should be taken with a grain of salt.

  5. Is there an odd number of upvotes or downvotes on the post or its comments? Examples of this are posts with very few comments but a large number of upvotes or downvotes. This is pretty easy to spot and usually one of the biggest indicators of shilling.

PLEASE NOTE: It will almost never, ever be possible to determine with 100% certainty that an account is a shill. The weapon of anonymity is a double edged sword, and ensures that we can never know who is truly behind an account. Please don't take my advice as "if an account or review has any of these things it must be a shill"; that's not at all what I am saying. However, if multiple flags pop up while reading a review, you have to take these into account.

In the end, it's up to you to do diligent research. Keep your eyes open, and take suspicious posts with a grain of salt.


Comments


[9 Points] JerrySanduskysFather:

IGDS = H4D = HH = DOD = RCI = HOS = TE = OOTP = PFM ...... = DPR


[6 Points] whothehoe:

How do I know your not a shill /u/hugsfordrugs..?


[4 Points] None:

At least its getting better. Jesus, remember when DOD was still active and had an army of like 30 shill accounts? Every other post on /r/silkroad was either a shill or drama. Good thing IGDS is so good at spotting him.


[2 Points] PM_ME_ALL_YOUR_DRUGS:

Nice PSA. It's a good reminder to take everything we hear with a grain of salt and to do your best to research.

Thanks for the great post as always HUGS!

Edit: And do your research effectively*


[2 Points] IGetDankShit:

Great post hugs. I'll see if I can dig up more examples of shilling I've seen around here sometime later this week.


[1 Points] Blonde_guy666:

I got duped by southerncomarijuana.com before I saw the post about it... Oh well I'm not too upset about it.


[1 Points] andyripper:

i've seen TurtleTime around the markets.... or maybe on reviews, Idk but that goes to show that you can't always assume since you recognize the handle, don't always trust its legit. (NOT SAYING if legit/not legit) just saying.... I can go post items under the same name on 15 different sites. there are many with established reputations that are known for long-serving reliability. go with that over name recognition


[1 Points] totric:

dang why cant everyone just be cool


[1 Points] ijusthavetoegon:

Haha, here's one for you. (tripping a bit so bear with me)

I know I'm not a shill in the direct definition, i.e I'm not the same person as RCI, I can personally verify that at least on my end. But, from anyone else's view, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference, as I created this account essentially for this subreddit and RCI's products, since I don't have any interaction with the darknets otherwise. So I guess the definition definitely becomes blurry/grey area as far as the end user is concerned,