ATTENTION! BOUNTY CAMPAIGN MODUS OPERANDI SPOTTED!

[0t3p0t]

To whom it may concern,

Someone is using your account for money! Upon checking my bounty's spreadsheet I found something annoying and it makes me think why this people still exist in this forum. I can see a lot of people using other member's Bitcointalk account in some bounty campaigns and my account is one of them used multiple times I already reported this to the manager and this post will serve as a warning or awareness to anybody on this forum. I encountered this kind of modus not only once but a lot of times with my friends in our local telegram group since their accounts were also used by unknown applicants with different payment adress and told them to report to the manager but now I am so disappointed because it is getting worst. I wonder who's fault is this, is it the manager? The applicant? Or these bastards who keep on copying our accounts details with different payment addresses. I  am concerned with this modus operandi because legit accounts  and applicants might be tagged with red trust as they might think it is our Alt accounts. For me to counter this I highly recommend to post your original usernames and addressess you will be using on bounties on this thread or on your own Bitcointalk profile and I also suggest bounty managers to double check thousands of aplications on their spreadsheets because some people will take advantage of this opportunity to make something illegal by copying anyone's credentials just to earn money from bounty campaigns. It would be much better if managers will accept applications based on applicants Bitcointalk profile where informations like usernames and addresses can be found. For me as a legit bounty hunter this would be a serious issue and  I do hope that this can be resolved immediately.

From now onwards, I hereby confirm that all the information posted on my Bitcointalk profile is true, correct and the only details I will be using anywhere on this forum.

These are the bastards addresses who used my account for bounty:

0x78e6e36b820f9a070fd167f2d3913d60144a653a
0x49290Bc753e354A1860cEc39B32e577187BBC4cF

You can check it here in "Signature" tab for referrence and kindly pay attention to other applications too and you will see magic : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a-cO_-ys_dNvUU-NqlGtrPPEXSM8Uv9gdOvakiQ5PWE/htmlview#

Bitpenta Bounty Campaign link: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3221684.0
("If you don't want people to know you're a scumbag then don't be a scumbag." -- margaritahuyan)

[1713997653]

1713997653

[Jet Cash]

I would like to state that I am not part of any bounty programme, and I do not promote any alts or ICOs.
Talk Merit tells me that he isn't either.

Thank you for drawing this scam to our attention.

[0t3p0t]

I would like to state that I am not part of any bounty programme, and I do not promote any alts or ICOs.
Talk Merit tells me that he isn't either.

Thank you for drawing this scam to our attention.

You're welcome. I hope that this kind of cheating is not tolerated on this forum. Managers would face consequences for not paying attention of their job as this is unfair for legit participants.

[Barcode_]

Thanks to 0t3p0t for informing me about someone who is trying to pose as my account in order to cheat the BitPenta campaign for rewards, the scammer input the username Barcode & Barc0de_ into the spreadsheet and used the Etheruem address below:

0x450447c8665F0F1698a8f7a4017388a6Cb14210A
0x7b5552156b981b3C96822C0Fdd12b9722833c350

[cryptothief]

One way to quickly(ish) check if some one is using your account for a bounty campaign (at least on the same bounty as you anyway, it's a lot tougher if they are using your details in a bounty you are not even enrolled in!) is to go to the bounty spreadsheet and click on the column heading with your bitcointalk name in (I have just used a random bounty to use to illustrate).



As you can see, I have highlighted column B with the username, but can highlight whichever column has your details e.g. Facebook name, Telegram name etc.

Then click on data at the top of the spreadsheet and select 'sort by column B'.



This will then arrange that column in alphabetical order, keeping the rest of the columns linked to the correct participant's name. Makes it easy for you to spot if someone is using your details (especially in campaigns with a large number of participants), as their details will now be either directly above (or below) yours. All you need to do now is scroll down to where your name is on the spreadsheet and check for any doppelgangers.



I would like to think that most bounty campaign managers do this to check for any imposters, but always good to check yourself and you can then inform them if necessary. I had it happen to me last week and messaged the campaign manager directly. They sorted it straight away for me. Frustrating, but that's the world we're living in right

[Cobalt9317]

I don't know what would be the possible action admin would take.

But to evade the same occurrence, you can hide your email address from the public in profile.

I think if they use your email address it would be possible to claim the airdrop they get involve in.
However it is more time consuming to evaluate the verification rather that to just ignore it.
Also I doubt you would go for it 

As far as I am concerned it has been answered a long time ago also particularly this kind of issue is utterly not a problem of bitcointalk community dishonest bounty campaign was the birth of shitposters/scammers.

[0t3p0t]

One way to quickly(ish) check if some one is using your account for a bounty campaign (at least on the same bounty as you anyway, it's a lot tougher if they are using your details in a bounty you are not even enrolled in!) is to go to the bounty spreadsheet and click on the column heading with your bitcointalk name in (I have just used a random bounty to use to illustrate).



As you can see, I have highlighted column B with the username, but can highlight whichever column has your details e.g. Facebook name, Telegram name etc.

Then click on data at the top of the spreadsheet and select 'sort by column B'.



This will then arrange that column in alphabetical order, keeping the rest of the columns linked to the correct participant's name. Makes it easy for you to spot if someone is using your details (especially in campaigns with a large number of participants), as their details will now be either directly above (or below) yours. All you need to do now is scroll down to where your name is on the spreadsheet and check for any doppelgangers.



I would like to think that most bounty campaign managers do this to check for any imposters, but always good to check yourself and you can then inform them if necessary. I had it happen to me last week and messaged the campaign manager directly. They sorted it straight away for me. Frustrating, but that's the world we're living in right

Thank you for that idea mate I do hope it will work on my mobile phone.

Edit: Not working on my mobile phone but my big eyes can still spot these cheaters and I will hunt them.

[Lauda]

I've had a similar case where someone tried to enroll as someone else who had already been enrolled, but they had entered their own ETH address this time. This is one of the cons to using Google Forms; it's not possible to know who exactly attempted to cheat. I've promptly fixed it and contacted the user in question to confirm.
It is weird that this manager isn't responding to this, and handling it at all. It seems likely that he is somehow 'involved' in it.
Commented here as a substitute for a reply to a PM. I've sent the manager a PM asking them to fix this and respond here. Let's see whether anything changes.

[0t3p0t]

I've had a similar case where someone tried to enroll as someone else who had already been enrolled, but they had entered their own ETH address this time. This is one of the cons to using Google Forms; it's not possible to know who exactly attempted to cheat. I've promptly fixed it and contacted the user in question to confirm.
It is weird that this manager isn't responding to this, and handling it at all. It seems likely that he is somehow 'involved' in it.
Commented here as a substitute for a reply to a PM. I've sent the manager a PM asking them to fix this and respond here. Let's see whether anything changes.

Yeah, I can also say that the manager is "involved" in this cheating issue since he is not paying attention to the applicants where cheaters clearly modify usernames to make it differrent. This is actually my first time having a cheating issue with a campaign and what's the most disgusting part is that the manager is a trusted and legendary member on this forum. How come he become a trusted manager if he has that kind of management service. Anyways, thank you so much for a quick response I highly appreciate it. I didn't expect you replied that quick.
In cat's I trust.

[NathanJB]

I was a part of Nousplatform signature bounty campaign, managed by Mirkic7 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=245426

The same modus operandi is running in the signature campaign. This is the link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kqiiN2ZwG9XpSLhKZInVPljlrOBbV-S3VAOGdArWgcs/edit#gid=1040397988

I posted the same concern in their bounty thread, PMed the campaign manager, and even brought the concern in their official bounty telegram channel in the hope that this fraudulent activity will catch the attention of the manager. I did this more than once. Unfortunately, there was neither a response nor an action against it.

In the end, the duplicate accounts were paid.

[0t3p0t]

I was a part of Nousplatform signature bounty campaign, managed by Mirkic7 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=245426

The same modus operandi is running in the signature campaign. This is the link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kqiiN2ZwG9XpSLhKZInVPljlrOBbV-S3VAOGdArWgcs/edit#gid=1040397988

I posted the same concern in their bounty thread, PMed the campaign manager, and even brought the concern in their official bounty telegram channel in the hope that this fraudulent activity will catch the attention of the manager. I did this more than once. Unfortunately, there was neither a response nor an action against it.

In the end, the duplicate accounts were paid.

I think mods has something to do against these cheaters. Maybe this issue was already been here in this forum but nobody make an action regarding this matter. As Lauda had said that using google docs form to fill up applications from applicants is one of the reason why cheaters can play this modus. I think admin will only allow managers like yahoo62278, Lauda, Lutpin and any other that can handle campaigns without hassle or even pay attention on what is going on with the campaign. It would be much better if admin will put something like "certified manager" on the managers profile where participants and project owners can clearly see that the manager they are working with can do the right job for them and of course for us participants.

[nc50lc]

-snip-

Thank you for that idea mate I do hope it will work on my mobile phone.

Edit: Not working on my mobile phone but my big eyes can still spot these cheaters and I will hunt them.

That's troublesome and an eyesore. Just hit Ctrl+F type your username, enter.
@0t3p0t Try to look for "Find in Page" or similar option in the browser's menu.

[Lauda]

Yeah, I can also say that the manager is "involved" in this cheating issue since he is not paying attention to the applicants where cheaters clearly modify usernames to make it differrent. This is actually my first time having a cheating issue with a campaign and what's the most disgusting part is that the manager is a trusted and legendary member on this forum. How come he become a trusted manager if he has that kind of management service. Anyways, thank you so much for a quick response I highly appreciate it. I didn't expect you replied that quick.
In cat's I trust.

You're welcome, although I've been more than unusually slow recently as people try to distract me with nonsense in order to delay their shadiness getting busted.

I was a part of Nousplatform signature bounty campaign, managed by Mirkic7 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=245426

The same modus operandi is running in the signature campaign. This is the link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kqiiN2ZwG9XpSLhKZInVPljlrOBbV-S3VAOGdArWgcs/edit#gid=1040397988

I posted the same concern in their bounty thread, PMed the campaign manager, and even brought the concern in their official bounty telegram channel in the hope that this fraudulent activity will catch the attention of the manager. I did this more than once. Unfortunately, there was neither a response nor an action against it.
In the end, the duplicate accounts were paid.

You should create a separate thread in the reputation section (or scam accusations) about that guy.
I'll give the manager in question a few more days to respond. IMO if he refuses to even acknowledge this at all, he should be tagged(?).

[Dingdongjl]

I'm confused I don't really get whats the reason for doing that thing, because if they don't wear the right signature they cant get the point or the stakes. Is there any occasions that they get the stakes of the bounty without wearing the right signature?

[LoyceV]

I can see a lot of people using other member's Bitcointalk account in some bounty campaigns

As a campaign manager, it's a terrible dilemma: by using an external site, the spam on the forum is limited, but indeed, I can't verify if the application really came from the Bitcointalk account owner.

I wonder who's fault is this, is it the manager? The applicant? Or these bastards who keep on copying our accounts details with different payment addresses.

Obviously the (fake) applicant is at fault. Maybe the manager, I can imagine many managers don't check much, so applicants are used to get away with almost anything.

I  am concerned with this modus operandi because legit accounts  and applicants might be tagged with red trust as they might think it is our Alt accounts.

I don't tag plagiarism entered into the campaign, because I can't confirm with absolute certainty the account owner was the one joining.

For me to counter this I highly recommend to post your original usernames and addressess you will be using on bounties on this thread or on your own Bitcointalk profile and I also suggest bounty managers to double check thousands of aplications on their spreadsheets because some people will take advantage of this opportunity to make something illegal by copying anyone's credentials just to earn money from bounty campaigns.

As a bounty manager, I'm not going to check thousands of addresses on Bitcointalk. That adds hours to my work load, I only check those things when I have reasonable doubt already.

It would be much better if managers will accept applications based on applicants Bitcointalk profile where informations like usernames and addresses can be found.

Although I do like this suggestion, it still adds to the work load. Checking a few thousands profiles takes a lot of time, even if I'd automate it, I can still only download one profile per second.

I think it be possible to let Google Docs grep the address from the profile directly, but Google runs into the "one per second" limit too:

Be warned: You will get rate limited eventually. My original plan was to grab 1000 users worth of data, but it was getting really slow.

I'd love to have bounty content participants confirm their entry on Bitcointalk, so I can tag the 95% of cheaters, but most of them use "disposable" Newbie accounts anyway.

I'm confused I don't really get whats the reason for doing that thing, because if they don't wear the right signature they cant get the point or the stakes. Is there any occasions that they get the stakes of the bounty without wearing the right signature?

Bounties are more than just siganture campaigns.

[NathanJB]

I was a part of Nousplatform signature bounty campaign, managed by Mirkic7 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=245426

The same modus operandi is running in the signature campaign. This is the link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kqiiN2ZwG9XpSLhKZInVPljlrOBbV-S3VAOGdArWgcs/edit#gid=1040397988

I posted the same concern in their bounty thread, PMed the campaign manager, and even brought the concern in their official bounty telegram channel in the hope that this fraudulent activity will catch the attention of the manager. I did this more than once. Unfortunately, there was neither a response nor an action against it.

In the end, the duplicate accounts were paid.

I think mods has something to do against these cheaters. Maybe this issue was already been here in this forum but nobody make an action regarding this matter. As Lauda had said that using google docs form to fill up applications from applicants is one of the reason why cheaters can play this modus. I think admin will only allow managers like yahoo62278, Lauda, Lutpin and any other that can handle campaigns without hassle or even pay attention on what is going on with the campaign. It would be much better if admin will put something like "certified manager" on the managers profile where participants and project owners can clearly see that the manager they are working with can do the right job for them and of course for us participants.

Isn't there a specific way or something in the settings of the spreadsheet that would somehow give an alert or a notice if a duplicate is present? If I am not mistaken, there is a feature like that in MS Excel.

I was a part of Nousplatform signature bounty campaign, managed by Mirkic7 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=245426

The same modus operandi is running in the signature campaign. This is the link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kqiiN2ZwG9XpSLhKZInVPljlrOBbV-S3VAOGdArWgcs/edit#gid=1040397988

I posted the same concern in their bounty thread, PMed the campaign manager, and even brought the concern in their official bounty telegram channel in the hope that this fraudulent activity will catch the attention of the manager. I did this more than once. Unfortunately, there was neither a response nor an action against it.
In the end, the duplicate accounts were paid.

You should create a separate thread in the reputation section (or scam accusations) about that guy.
I'll give the manager in question a few more days to respond. IMO if he refuses to even acknowledge this at all, he should be tagged(?).

I'll do as advised.

Thanks!

[DarkStar_]

I think it be possible to let Google Docs grep the address from the profile directly, but Google runs into the "one per second" limit too:

Be warned: You will get rate limited eventually. My original plan was to grab 1000 users worth of data, but it was getting really slow.

It's not a 1 per second limit thing AFAIK, I could pull 10 or more a second. I assume it's because Google has multiple servers they use. The limitation is in Google Sheets. I assume Google intentionally limits it to prevent too much server load or abuse. The less ImportXML functions I had, the faster they would fill the field.

[LoyceV]

It's not a 1 per second limit thing AFAIK, I could pull 10 or more a second. I assume it's because Google has multiple servers they use. The limitation is in Google Sheets. I assume Google intentionally limits it to prevent too much server load or abuse. The less ImportXML functions I had, the faster they would fill the field.

I don't know if and how Google limits it, but the forum limits page load frequency. I forgot the mention it allows a short higher burst rate though.
If you exceed that, you'll see this:

[yahoo62278]

Bounty campaigns are a huge pain in the ass period. I get multiple messages from users and remove the guys who are trying to cheat and use a users profile to claim but for the most part it is very easy to miss some cheaters.

We as managers do not know who's cheating and who's not(unless involved with the scam) without messaging every single users who applies for the said bounty and that's just not gonna happen when you're talking multiple thousands of users joining the campaigns.

The companies that run the bounty campaigns are usually cheap as hell and hire someone for a very poor rate, so it's likely that most managers messing with the bounty just turn their heads and look past the cheaters.

If someone devises a method to combat this, please pm me so I can implement it into the few bounties I manage. I have nailed a few cheaters who used reputable members names and profiles here only because I messaged those users and asked if they joined. Otherwise I have had to rely on users checking the spreadsheets and messaging me that xxxxx user used their name and removed the cheater

[marlboroza]

One way to quickly(ish) check if some one is using your account for a bounty campaign (at least on the same bounty as you anyway, it's a lot tougher if they are using your details in a bounty you are not even enrolled in!) is to go to the bounty spreadsheet and click on the column heading with your bitcointalk name in (I have just used a random bounty to use to illustrate).

I know faster way: CTRL + F  
@OP there are 800 different bounty campaigns bumped today and it is impossible for any of us to go trough all spreadsheets to check them every day, I believe campaign managers are checking participants and signatures and if they notice that someone is not wearing signature they will remove name from the list, especially when they count stakes after ICO ends.

~
If someone devises a method to combat this, please pm me so I can implement it into the few bounties I manage. I have nailed a few cheaters who used reputable members names and profiles here only because I messaged those users and asked if they joined. Otherwise I have had to rely on users checking the spreadsheets and messaging me that xxxxx user used their name and removed the cheater

How do you count their stakes if they are not participating in campaign?
Don't you check participants before sending payment?