Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: mito on November 18, 2011, 12:06 am

Title: Shills in Silk Road
Post by: mito on November 18, 2011, 12:06 am
Do mods trim or check the user database in Silk Road?

For example, if sellers/scammers create accounts just to give 5/5 feedbacks, can't mods check stats to see a trend?

A scammer who has a lot of 5/5 feedbacks created by users who logged in only once and placed a single order, never returning to SR.

This could be easy to check, right?


Title: Re: Shills in Silk Road
Post by: phubaiblues on November 18, 2011, 06:16 am
Do mods trim or check the user database in Silk Road?

For example, if sellers/scammers create accounts just to give 5/5 feedbacks, can't mods check stats to see a trend?

A scammer who has a lot of 5/5 feedbacks created by users who logged in only once and placed a single order, never returning to SR.

This could be easy to check, right?

I think it's good thinking to be aware of this, but not a whole lot one can do.  The trouble is, you can be wrong.  I've suspected a couple people,and and mentioned it, but there's no way to be totally sure, until it's too late, so you either take the risk of insulting somebody who's *not* a shill, or letting some possible scammer get support, and impersonate himself as a buyer.  And this shill, of course, has wonderful things to say about the rip, especially in that crucial time frame, first few weeks, when people haven't yet decided.

Mostly I just try to pay attention: whenever there's some new vendor, making a lot of noise, offering some really exceptional deal, and mandating 'no escrow', I start watching the threads, and often, you'll see a new buyer pop up.  But the scammers are getting better, and their shills more elusive.  I have some other things, you know, the vendor's 'stories' also have some similarities.  I also watch for the stories--on main forum--to change, in reaction to 'outing' over here, which just confirms it for me.

I hate to say it, but a couple of the scammers who came over here, and gloated a bit, actually helped me spot them the next time...but again, I like getting along over here, and when I'm wrong, I feel like a total ass, so I try to only say something if I'm pretty sure. 

I'm  trying to give more slack to new vendors, even of bitcoins and such.  I'd gotten a bit hard after that last major btc rip, and then this next clown came on trying to hustle opiate pills, and he had some female shill here, saying how she got all these btc and how nice he was, blah blah blah, and sadly, a lot of people saw the shill as confirming the scammer's reliability.

Can be a thankless job, exposing these guys too.  Especially when they are just 'selective' scammers, kind of like IP.  People getting the goods were--naturally--a bit hard on those of us who didn't, saying we should chill...  I don't know...live and learn I guess...good thread, good to be aware...
Title: Re: Shills in Silk Road
Post by: Sugar Mama on November 22, 2011, 09:55 pm
There already is an exclusive SR technology implemented to do this, it's called phubaiblues.  ;)