Impersonation Through Similar Usernames Needs Attention

[AakZaki]

Abcbitss is imitating the username =>ABCbits.

Regardless of the motive for making the account name as similar as possible, it should not be justified. It looks like they want to ride on the fame of the name, without building their own reputation.

I don't think events like this are accidental, but imitating users who already have a good reputation. Because if it's really accidental, it's unlikely that it can be like that, especially if it's just a difference of one letter or an additional character on the back. This is obviously potentially confusing for other users, especially those who are new to the forum.

In addition, actions like this can also open up opportunities for more serious things such as pretending to be someone else, spreading misleading information, or even scams if left unchecked. The reputation on Bitcointalk is built over the years with effort, so when there are accounts that try to resemble in this way, it clearly ruins the ecosystem.

In my opinion, things like this should be dealt with immediately so that they do not develop further. It is better to prevent it from the beginning than later there will be a victim because of misrecognizing the account.

[Ashawowo(OS)]

ABCbits already added a disclaimer in its profile https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=3761276, I think it is enough to tell anyone dealing with it that it's a fake version. You can add yours too if you wish.

I already asked him of his intent on This thread and he never replied.

[Little Mouse]

ABCbits already added a disclaimer in its profile https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=3761276, I think it is enough to tell anyone dealing with it that it's a fake version. You can add yours too if you wish.

I already asked him his intent on This thread and he never replied.

Imposter should be red tagged, and there's no way it's not an imposter.

[Ashawowo(OS)]

Imposter should be red tagged, and there's no way it's not an imposter.

Supported, and That's why I suggested he should add his own tag if he wants to lend his voice in calling this Imposter out.

[eternalgloom]

I merited OP, username squatting can easily be used to scam unsuspecting user.

this Abcbitss dumb was clearly trying to benefit from ABCbits reputation.

When someone build good reputation such copycats eventually show up looking to take advantage of it. I am pretty sure that if this scammer hadn't been caught they would have created telegram account with similar name too. And claiming via message they were in a tough spot and needed to exchange some coin.

I bet many would have fallen for it and ended up getting scammed.

[PrivacyG]

I would say using similar usernames does not immediately require suspicion of fraud.  There are very similar usernames around here that have even confused me very often.  Such as DaveF and Dave1, two Members I have confused a lot of times before.  The particular Member you linked us to is definitely up to something suspicious but generally I would not necessarily immediately suspect someone simply because they have a familiar name.

[Xiaomie A1]

I would say using similar usernames does not immediately require suspicion of fraud.  There are very similar usernames around here that have even confused me very often.  Such as DaveF and Dave1, two Members I have confused a lot of times before.  The particular Member you linked us to is definitely up to something suspicious but generally I would not necessarily immediately suspect someone simply because they have a familiar name.

I also had similar thoughts when I saw two nearly identical usernames, virasisog and virasog. I even considered saying they were the same, but since this forum always prioritizes more accurate evidence when making a claim, I chose not to. However, now that the OP has revealed this extraordinary thing, I agree with what the OP said, as it could also have implications for other, more specific things in the future, and from the examples presented, it's clear that there are intentional name copies.

However, apart from all that, I also tried to check other user names that only use two letters (BD) via the bpip.org site, it turns out that there are many that come up like the example below, as well as users who use the word (Black).

https://bpip.org/search.aspx?q=BD+ & https://bpip.org/search.aspx?q=Black

[YOSHIE]

Regardless of the motive for making the account name as similar as possible, it should not be justified. It looks like they want to ride on the fame of the name, without building their own reputation.

As far as I know, things like that have been happening for a long time on this forum, where the same name is often used by other members.

As I discovered a long time ago:
Topic: The name is the same as, staff, monderator forum.

Mod names, Admins and other members are not immune from imitation of the same name.

Including my name has also been imitated.
YOSHIE345

But as long as members know and provide a warning on the profile in question, I don't think it's a threat to certain members.

[ABCbits]

I checked https://bitlist.co/search?author=Abcbitss&limit=20&sort_by=date_desc, but so far i dont see scam, spreading false technical information or impersonation (aside from very similar user name) attempt. But i don't mind other member left neutral or negative feedback to that account.

However, apart from all that, I also tried to check other user names that only use two letters (BD) via the bpip.org site, it turns out that there are many that come up like the example below, as well as users who use the word (Black).

On other hand, there are so many account with similar name with certain staff/moderator.

[SuperBitMan]

Things like this sometimes is not a coincidence some are actually impersonators however, sometimes it can be a coincidence, a lot of people are joining this forum every single day and there can be similarity of names, I will not be surprise that before I came into this forum someone is answering similar username that I’m now using, this things happens.
I don’t support punishing someone for just having similar name with another person because it can just be a coincidence, one can only punish when they are seen trying to use that account to do wrong.

I remember creating this thread Similar name registration should not be
allowed. I think the solution to all this impersonation is not allowing similar name registration again especially usernames of reputable members in the forum.

[FinneysTrueVision]

They also wrote an AI generated post that is very similar to Chotom01’s AI generated post in the same thread. Both of their accounts were created on the same day, about 1 hour apart. Obviously they are alt accounts.

I think two things need to be looked at separately here. If someone has really intentionally damaged the Reflecting Pool, then an investigation should be conducted and if there is evidence, legal action should be taken. But at the same time, it cannot be avoided that the coating has come off, algae has formed, and questions about wildlife have arisen within a short time after the completion of such a large-scale project—explaining these as vandalism alone does not make the whole issue clear.
The biggest question is the quality of work and transparency of the contract. If taxpayer money is used to work on such a historic place, there should be accountability for the contractor selection, costs, materials used, and maintenance plan. Trump or his supporters can say vandalism, but without evidence, it sounds like a political defense. Again, even if the opponents say corruption, they need evidence for that too.

If someone really did damage the Reflecting Pool intentionally, then there should be an investigation and if there is evidence, legal action should be taken. But at the same time, it is not uncommon for the coating to come off, algae to appear, and repairs to be needed again within such a short period of time after the renovation is complete.
Trump says vandalism, but if you just blame the entire failure on that claim, the question remains. If taxpayer money is used to work on such a historic place, there needs to be clear accountability for everything from contractor selection, no-bid contracts, materials used, and quality of work.

[hugeblack]

Giving a neutral trust is sufficient in such cases, especially since s/he did not attempt to request a loan or claim to be connected to ABCbits
Also, the lowercase letters make it very easy to distinguish between them.

[Bitcoin-Forever]

Seeing this shows that the user is an imposter and trying to create a username that already existed, I am very sure that this imposter knows ABCbits on the forum and that it has already been taken, so this wasn't a case of coincidence or by mistake, rather a deliberate act to impersonate, can you imagine how many will make mistake of the imposter for the intended user if allowed to rank up and become a legendary, differentiating between the two account may be done by mistake, it is better to red tag this kind of behavior to kill down the intention completely as this may be the reason why the account can be inactive.

[lovesmayfamilis]

I don't understand how a Newbie with a similar nickname can impersonate another person with a high rank. Who would believe that? Someone who doesn't have eyes? If one user's nickname is very well known, then someone who knows about it simply can't confuse a beginner with a legend, can they? In fact, there are a lot of similar nicknames on the forum. Do we need to set rules for nickname ownership on the forum? I don't think there's any need to panic. It's good to protect users, but this is not a kindergarten, and anyone who can be deceived, one way or another, will still be deceived because he does not have his own "attentiveness immunity."

[The Cryptovator]

I don't think events like this are accidental, but imitating users who already have a good reputation. Because if it's really accidental, it's unlikely that it can be like that, especially if it's just a difference of one letter or an additional character on the back. This is obviously potentially confusing for other users, especially those who are new to the forum.

This won't be accidental; rather, this is clearly intentional. Just adding a few extra characters with similar other reputed users' names won't be accidental anyway. So this is clearly impersonation; neutral feedback should be enough, but if someone leaves negative feedback for that, then I won't mind either.

I am not sure what the intention is to impersonate, but the intention won't be good. An ideal user won't copy this way; rather, they will choose a unique name always. Like if I want to register with any platform, then I would choose a username that I often use; otherwise, it should be unique based on the platform.

[yahoo62278]

I don't think events like this are accidental, but imitating users who already have a good reputation. Because if it's really accidental, it's unlikely that it can be like that, especially if it's just a difference of one letter or an additional character on the back. This is obviously potentially confusing for other users, especially those who are new to the forum.

This won't be accidental; rather, this is clearly intentional. Just adding a few extra characters with similar other reputed users' names won't be accidental anyway. So this is clearly impersonation; neutral feedback should be enough, but if someone leaves negative feedback for that, then I won't mind either.

I am not sure what the intention is to impersonate, but the intention won't be good. An ideal user won't copy this way; rather, they will choose a unique name always. Like if I want to register with any platform, then I would choose a username that I often use; otherwise, it should be unique based on the platform.

I try to use yahoo62278 name anywhere I register. Don't wanna be that on 1 platform and billybob on another and confuse myself lol.

Users that add an extra character or 2 could just be trying to keep a username from another platform but in cases of respected members here I think neutral tags saying xxx is not the same person as the respected member is good.

[AakZaki]

This is why I am calling attention to accounts similar to those of a respected member, because in the past there were also similar cases here: The accounts of icopres and AB de Royse7777 who tried to cheat with their posts like the ones here https://bitlist.co/user/id/3748779/posts and https://bitlist.co/user/id/3748782/posts.

But in the case of Abcbitss he did not post like that, but it is not impossible that he will try it in the future if he does not get attention.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

In my opinion, things like this should be dealt with immediately so that they do not develop further. It is better to prevent it from the beginning than later there will be a victim because of misrecognizing the account.

I think this can be handled on a case-by-case basis. Some usernames are limited, and some people sign up in the forum to advertise their platforms and would love their usernames to be similar to the service. If such a person gets an already taken-up username and just decided to alter it a bit, I don't think that can be taken as malicious.

For example, this user who signed up much later than me had a similar username to mine because of what he was trying to advertise. In fact, some members thought that I was part of the project, but I did not see any wrong intentions of him trying to impersonate me.