Can you hear me now?
This little project is a great deal different than Aaron Stanton’s CanGoogleHearMe.com and Brandon Fletcher’s spin-off CanYouTubeHearMe.com. Those guys wanted to be heard out by the powers that be. The Fox Interactive Media / MySpace crew has already heard me SEVERAL times, they just aren’t listening.
The Not-So-Skinny:
Exactly one year ago, I wrote a little article (NSFW-ish ads) about the fake profiles used to market adult webcam sites on MySpace. Since then, tracking down internet asshats and exposing their hustles has become a regular hobby of mine. My MySpace blog and the personal security blog it spawned are full of all sorts of adventures from this past year. Said adventures have gained the attention of IT security experts, the media, and even the FBI.
In that first little article, I made it clear that I knew who the spammers in question were and that I could prove it…
What’s got me really pissed is that the fake profile I used as the example for this article was not the creation of an affiliate. It was created by an adult webcam company to promote their site. This is beyond screwed-up for a number of reasons. A company of its size should be doing everything it can to help clean-up the image of the industry, not add another stain to it. I’m not going to reveal their identity here because “Bad publicity is better than no publicity”. And, I’m not looking to give them any time in the spotlight.
I will say this though:
Dear (Your name begins with a ‘J’ and ends with an ‘N’), I know what you guys are up to. Stop it, this shit is not cool. No, you’re not an exception because your performers are aware of the MySpace marketing you’re doing. Yes, I have plenty of proof that it’s your company and not an affiliate. If you’d like to debate this, you know where to find me.
And, I hinted at MySpace that I knew how they could put a dent in such BS…
There are some measures they could take internally that would really help. I won’t mention them here because it would give the fake profile marketing idiots a heads-up.
Sure enough, I got an email from a MySpace employee not too long after that…
…I’m curious what advice you have for us? We have a good team on it, but don’t have the inside perspective you do.
Inside perspective? That’s right. I don’t make any qualms about my dabbling in the online adult sector (porn, duh) or my admittedly shady past as an internet shit-bag over 10 years ago.
Since I was still wet behind the ears with this newfound hobby of mine, I was under the illusion that if I gave them solid advice they’d run with it…
…I can name several things which could be implemented to combat fake profiles after they are up and marketing stuff, but… None of them would be a long-term solution to the problem. That’s not to say they shouldn’t be put into effect. You’ll still need to implement such measures for the idiots marketing CPA offers for surveys and the like. I’ve just got a much better game-plan that would greatly reduce the number of fakes being made in the first place…
…My idea is extremely simple: Sue them. And, have them reprimanded any way you can from a criminal standpoint. As to the criminal aspect: you guys have Hemanshu Nigam on your team. I’m sure he knows what steps would need to be taken. As to the civil aspect, I’m clueless on how such things work when it’s an international issue [the webcam spammers are in the EU]. You guys have a ton of claims that could be made though: negative effect on your brand, hurts your CPM rates, ruins user experience, etc.
How would that have such a large impact?
As of right now, MySpace is considered open-game in the adult industry. Program owners don’t have any rules in effect prohibiting affiliates from marketing on your site. The news of such a suit and criminal action against the guys at [url removed] would send a shock-wave through the adult industry. Marketing on MySpace would quickly become frowned upon and rules would be put in place by all the major companies. Affiliates would not be allowed to market sites via MySpace because the companies would be afraid of catching hell from it. And, affiliates would be afraid to do it in fear of criminal prosecution.
…The bottom line is that these idiots are just getting the hang of underhanded marketing on your site, so it’s going to get a whole lot worse…
Side note:
I also forwarded my advice over to Ross Levinsohn who was President of Fox Interactive Media at the time. His cousin Peter has since taken over that position.
Did they take my advice? Nope. And, things have surely gotten a whole lot worse. In fact, the guys from that adult webcam company are still making a killing off of MySpace spam.
My little investigations have generally calmed down since then. I usually just dig deep enough for a good story and document enough to come out on top of any civil matters that might arise from slamming people publicly. Keep in mind, this is just something I do for shits and giggles.
Inevitably, I hear a lot of this kinda stuff all the time:
- top notch reporting my friend…you should be getting paid for this shit, there are thousands of hack investigative journalist that don’t have half the heart that you do.
- MySpace should be throwing hookers through your window for this stuff!
- holy shit… every time i try to track a spammer i end up [with] my thumb up my ass… Your Kung Fu Is Strong.
- Will you marry me?
- Why aren’t you on [MySpace's] payroll yet?!
Well, in that email with advice I also said:
I’m not some goofy script kiddie pandering you for a job or trying to extort money [that was in reference to these retards], but if you need my help on this: let me know.
Why are those webcam spammers still around? Why are there still gaping security holes all over MySpace? Why aren’t the trolls who post scat all over the place being prosecuted? Why is traffic from MySpace still being pumped through Scott Richter’s CPA network even after suit has been filed against him?
Why aren’t hookers being thrown through my window??!?!
I generally just tell people:
I make a decent chunk of change from my own sites. And, I do little projects for other sites, build sites for clients, and have a sweet office gig. At my office gig, 98.5-ish percent of my time is spent working on my own aforementioned stuff.
Everyone has a price. I’d surely take a gig with them if they met or exceeded mine.
And, I’ve just left it at that for the longest.
Well, I recently discovered (a little birdie told me) that MySpace has been getting some of their “security” people from a staffing service. That was good for a quick laugh, but the next link sent over is what really got my attention…
This is a job advert for a position with Fox Interactive Media (not the aforementioned staffing company) currently posted on Monster.com, FoxCareers.com, and wherever else they post such stuff:
—-
Location: US-CA-Los Angeles
Status: Full Time, Employee
Position Description:
Sr. Abuse Specialist — MySpace, Inc.
Social Networking is one of the hottest sectors on the web in recent years. MySpace.com has emerged as the definitive leader in this space and is one of the highest trafficked sites on the Internet since it’s launch.
Our users use MySpace to meet friends, find and listen to new bands/music, blog, plan events, play games, and participate in user forums and groups. MySpace has revolutionized the way people interact and plan their social lives.
MySpace is looking for a full-time internet compliance officer to work to combat spamming, phishing, hacking, bots, worms, and other malicious or harmful activity directed against our website, www.MySpace.com The ideal candidate is highly proficient with the internet, technically savvy and enjoys aggressively pursuing web wrongdoers through both technical and legal means.
Job responsibilities include:
• Investigate incidents of spamming, phishing, hacking, bot and worm propagation and other misconduct directed against MySpace.com
• Investigate and identify the source of the misconduct
• Collect, organize, and analyze data regarding misconduct
• Work with the security team to patch exploits and preserve evidence
• Prepare correspondence to affiliate advertisers, web hosts, and other parties related to the misconduct
• Contact wrongdoers and related parties by telephone to aggressively get content removed and situation halted
• Assist the legal team in bringing suit against wrongdoers
• Assist law enforcement in criminal prosecution of wrongdoers
Job Requirements:
• Experience working in a technical environment
• Advanced proficiency in general computer use: MS Word, Excel and Outlook
• In-depth understanding of the internet, including HTML, JavaScript, embedded cross-site scripting, web hosting, ISPs, affiliate advertising programs, internet privacy issues, online payment programs, WHOIS, reverse DNS lookup procedures
• Proactive and aggressive
• Excellent oral, organization and written communication skills
• Self-starter with ability to prioritize and handle multiple projects and meet deadlines under pressure
• General understanding of legal procedures and concepts a plus
—–
Are you freaking kidding me? It’d probably be easier to clone my ass than find someone else for that gig. Think I’m full of it? Let’s rip into this puppy piece by piece….
(Links go to stuff that speaks volumes, everything else has notations)
—–
Job responsibilities include:
• Investigate incidents of spamming, phishing, hacking, bot and worm propagation and other misconduct directed against MySpace.com
• Investigate and identify the source of the misconduct
• Collect, organize, and analyze data regarding misconduct
Yeah, that kinda just happens during the process.
• Work with the security team to patch exploits and preserve evidence
Yay!!! I could keep them busy with a zillion holes to patch up.
• Prepare correspondence to affiliate advertisers, web hosts, and other parties related to the misconduct
Getting hosts to pull pages down and whatnot would be cake too.
• Contact wrongdoers and related parties by telephone to aggressively get content removed and situation halted
I’d almost pay to hear their voices crack as I explained why cooperating would be in their best interest.
• Assist the legal team in bringing suit against wrongdoers
I’ve got an entire blog entry dedicated to my thoughts on why I think MySpace prematurely filed suit against Scott Richter. It’ll give you a pretty decent idea of how my thought process works when it comes to legal stuff.
• Assist law enforcement in criminal prosecution of wrongdoers
Job Requirements:
• Experience working in a technical environment
It’s 2007, you can’t even wake up to a nontechnical environment.
• Advanced proficiency in general computer use: MS Word, Excel and Outlook
Looks like someone was posting a bit of filler. Anyhoo…
Advanced proficiency in Word? haha
Excel – I’m actually a newb. I’ve simply never had a need to put together my own spreadsheets.
Outlook!??!! Ninja please! Gmail is the hotness.
• In-depth understanding of…
The Internet – It’s that series of tubes Al Gore invented. ;-)
HTML – No probs.
JavaScript – “Kinda good enough” to research such stuff.
Embedded cross-site scripting – Samy was my hero.
Web hosting – Asks the guys hosted on Microsoft boxes.
ISPs – That’s those things you use to connect to Mr. Gore’s tubes.
Affiliate advertising programs – I was what is known as a “whale” in the mainstream CPA affiliate arena. And, my “dabbling in the online adult sector” would prove to be invaluable. The world of affiliate marketing is completely different when tits are added to the mix.
Internet privacy issues – Here’s a cute little quote / link:
Dude, you can quit trying to turn those wheels in your head to try and figure-out a way to file suit. I intentionally let you know that I was posting this beforehand just to make sure you wouldn’t have a legal leg to stand on. The “You had better not post any identifying information about me otherwise you WILL see legal action.. got it?” message clearly implies that you were aware that I would be posting [what he could have argued was private correspondence].
So yeah, I’m pretty good with the CYA privacy issues.
Online payment programs – Huh? Talking about payment processors?
WHOIS – Duh.
Reverse DNS lookup procedures – Procedures? Here’s step one through one: Clicky. Or, you could always just do a quick traceroute.
• Proactive and aggressive
I’m pretty sure this retarded site screams proactive, aggressive, attention-starved, self-promoting whore.
• Excellent oral, organization and written communication skills
Did you seriously just ask if I have “excellent oral skills”? =O
• Self-starter with ability to prioritize and handle multiple projects and meet deadlines under pressure
Sure.
• General understanding of legal procedures and concepts a plus
Read over my bio (NSFW-ish ads). The bit about having had a trustee job as an official “Jailhouse Lawyer” isn’t a load of BS.
Dude, do you really think they’ll offer you a gig???
Not sure. The whole convicted felon with ties to the adult industry who has a moral conscience is a pretty hard pill to swallow. And, I’ve got this thing for calling things as I see them…
- [Tom], are you high??? That’s completely retarded sounding and not true. Plus, it sure looks like you’re trying to place all the blame on Apple. Not a very slick move considering you’re waiting for a permanent fix from them.
- Based on [MySpace's] track record of unrelenting incompetence and boneheaded moves, I find it unlikely that they’re really ready for this war.
- If your legal team is every bit as competent as your security guys, just go ahead and firebomb the data centers you host out of. It’ll make this a lot quicker for all of us.
I’m not one for sensationalizing stuff for the sake of a story either. So, they can cry about my negative comments if they want. They had them coming.
Do I really want a gig with them???
Sure. That position would be a dream job for me. And, I seriously can’t imagine anyone being more qualified than myself. That’s why I feel confident being so loud about this. They can either hire some knucklehead who is a good bullshitter (and I’ll keep my endless supply of stuff to write about) or they can make me an offer that I can’t refuse.
And, and, and… Truth be told: I’m seriously jealous. Almost everyone I correspond with about such stuff has a cool job title. PaperGhost is a Microsoft Security MVP and Director of Malware Research for FaceTime Security Labs. Paul Wood is a Senior Analyst at MessageLabs. etc… The best title I can come up with for myself is Office Bitch / Interweb Dude.
So… If Fox Interactive Media or anyone else has a sweet sounding job title that I can have, I’m open to offers.
Nonnegotiable:
- Decent sign-on bonus.
- Plenty of vacation time / off for holidays. I’d obviously make myself available for emergencies via telecommuting.
- A three year minimum / extremely short probationary period built into the employment contract.
- I won’t sell out. I will continue to write about anything I want. Any information that I’m privy to exclusively because of my employment status would obviously remain confidential. And, I’d add a “the views expressed on this site are in no way endorsed by my employer” disclaimer to all of my stuff.
- Insanely relaxed dress code. I like to work in my PJs and slippers sometimes.
Negotiable:
- Stripper pole in my office.
- A new ninja outfit.
Interested? Email me.
Want to leave a comment? You can do so here.
Update (5/27):
Just to make things all official-ish… Yesterday, I sent over the below message to the current President of Fox Interactive Media (Peter Levinsohn):
Spam / Security issues…
May 26, 2007 9:12 PM
Hey man,
I messaged your cousin about a year back with info about the guys doing the bulk of the adult webcam spamming on here with fake profiles and whatnot. That message was read but ignored. And, that same company is still spamming this place.
Yesterday, I launched a spin off / parody of Aaron Stanton’s CanGoogleHearMe.com. I can confidently say that you’d be doing FIM a disservice if you didn’t take a look.
- LoLo
And today, I went ahead and applied for that gig via FoxCareers.com. In the “paste your resume here” section I just put a link to this site and text saying that all my info could be found here. Being the classy guy that I am, I added a wink for good measure. ;-)
Thank you for your inquiry about our current job opening (FIM5571 – Sr. Abuse Specialist).
Your resume will be carefully reviewed against the requirements for this position. Should your experience and skills match, we will contact you to arrange an interview.
Thank you for your interest in Fox Entertainment Group!
Sincerely,
Fox Recruitment Department
I guess that means I’ll be hearing from them soon. That, or their automated response is a big fat liar. :P
Update (5/28):
MySpace is listening… I’m currently messaging back and forth with Tom Anderson on MySpace. Yes, it’s the real him. No, I’m not a retard. We are just touching on some basic stuff right now: will I move to LA, what are my strong suits, what size ninja outfit do I wear, etc. This is some pretty exciting stuff for sure, but that’s not the main thing I wanted to get out in this update.
For the longest time, I’ve been keeping an eye on and planning a write-up about Brad Greenspan. Said write-up will likely shine a positive-ish light on Chris, Tom, and the rest of the gang. And, it’ll do nothing short of slam the hell out of Brad. I won’t go any further into this now, I just wanted to get that out there so my readers don’t think I’m some kiss-ass sellout when I do eventually post it.
I’d just need a couple months to finish up some sites that I’m already obligated to. And, I need to find and train someone for my current office gig. I could make the move sometime in August.
Dear Spammers / Lame-tards,
Looks like it might be Game Over time pretty soon.
Sincerely,
LoLo
Update (11/14):
Well, I didn’t get the gig. I’ve got yet another funny story about the competence levels over at MySpace though…
As mentioned above, I sent a message over to the President of Fox Interactive Media (Peter Levinsohn) on May 26 and the next day I got a message from Tom Anderson. The ensuing correspondence between Tom and myself was anything but special. I won’t quote his side of it here due to the whole privacy issue though.
Bahahahhaha!!! Who am I kidding? I’ll at least be nice and translate our convo into Snoop Dog speak…
—-
From: Tom
Date: May 28, 2007
found yo website and yo momma. so you really want a job wit us? could you move ta los angeles? wed love tha help in track’n dizzy n prosecut’n these companies/ individuals thiznat is saggin’ trouble here.
Tom Dawg
From: LoLo
Date: May 28, 2007
Yup n yup. Id just need a couple months ta finish up some sites tizzy Im already obligated to , chill yo. And, I need ta find n train someone fo` mah current office gig cuz its a G thang. I could makes tha move sometime in August.
From: Tom
Date: May 28, 2007
cool wit da big Bo$$ Dogg. d-ya see yo main value as know’n tha industry / how ta track dizzy tha thugz who is actually doing this so we can collect evidence n prosecizzles or is it also technical solutions ta stop tha bots / fakes accounts, S-P-to-tha-izzam, etc?
From: LoLo
Date: May 28, 2007
“main value as know’n tha industry / how ta track dizzy tha thugz who is actually doing this so we can collect evidence”
^^^ Thats mah strong suit fo` sure.
as ta tha technical solutions, i can come up wit pimpin’ tizzy need ta be implemented ta solve specific issues n we out. i jizzust couldnt be tha code monkey who puts such shiznit in place.
example:
title tags need ta be added ta tha msplinks.com links wit tha original url in thiznem. example
otherwise yoe gonna S-T-to-tha-izzart steppin’ a lot of drive by adware installs, goatse links, etc.
—-
Although the convo was obviously informal at best (hehe), it looked like the gig was mine for the taking at that point. Things got a bit quiet for a couple of days after that. I wasn’t exactly in a rush though. I seriously couldn’t have just dropped everything I was working on and moved across the country overnight.
On May 30th, I posted the below in a MySpace blog entry of mine:
“I actually got a couple of messages from Tom the other day. If you have no idea why, go read all of this.
Already read over CanMySpaceHearAnyone.com the other day when I launched it? Here are the updates.
All caught up?
Ok, good…
If things go as I imagine they will, this place will be a whole lot better by January at the latest.
I’ve got plans that will:
1. Render phished accounts pretty much useless in the hands of a spammer. You won’t get any more* nearly as many spam comments or messages from legit user accounts. Besides getting rid of that kind of spam, this will enable us (yeah, I’m confident like that) to weed out the bogus accounts which are made specifically to spam. That’s the biggest clusterfuck that needs to be addressed at the moment. It’s one of the reasons soooo many legit users get deleted over BS.
One example:
- You get phished.
- Spam gets sent out in one form or another from your account to people you don’t even know.
- They all flag you as a spammer or manually send in reports.
- You go bye-bye.
^^^ Read my lips: “No more of that shit by January”. Well, if I get the gig and they let me unleash all my Kung Fu.
*Will still have to put fires out from time to time when it’s an evil evil bad bad scripting issue in the mix.
Side note:
If I’m not going to be given the authority / resources to actually take care of stuff, I won’t be taking a position with MySpace. I’m not going to move across the country unless I can be effective in killing off the spam and beefing up the security on this site.
Side note 2:
You still need to quit falling for spoof login pages. Some idiots will likely keep phishing just to harvest your email addresses so they can spam directly to them.
2. Put the breaks on the bulk of the adult webcam spam accounts / messages / friend requests.
RIP: Princess and gang.
3. Get rid of that assclown (and, any copycats that are likely in the mix) who spams the hell out of the Event Invite area.
4. Other ninja stuff I can’t say without ruining it. And, I’m sure I’ll think of some more stuff.
Hopefully things will work out and I can have my ass to work on that stuff by August. If not, I’ll see you ninjas elsewhere after this place implodes. :P
/yeah, me know. My writing is a bit off in this entry. A ninja has been up all night at the ninja office.
LoLo from canmyspacehearanyone.com is looking for a job but mostly is just sick of the spam and other issues that are plaguing MySpace. That separates him a little from the others who were mostly looking for personal promotion or a taste of fame. Here the goal is also to improve the community and user experience, something MySpace is well in need of.
~ Social Ham
Tiny Update:
Just noticed that the “Princess” I linked to has a link to “her” video on “LiveVideo” which is owned by that guy Brad I mentioned. So, an adult cam company is spamming via messages with IM bot screen names in them to make coin and pumping some traffic into the biggest enemy of the MySpace gang to boot.
/classic”
Not too long after I posted that I got another message from Tom…
From: Tom
Date: May 30, 2007
i couldnt find yo reply ta me.. can you shoot over non-myspace contact info?
From: LoLo
Date: May 30, 2007
Sure thang…
[email address]
Phone:
[my digits]
Email is B-to-tha-izzest at tha moment, I jizzust gots ta mah office gig.
Heres mah last reply fo’ sheezy:
[insert last message I sent him from above - put some quotes 'round that shiznit, too :P]
And, then it got quiet again until June 4th when I got an email from someone by the name of Sarah Kaleel…
From: Sarah
Date: June 4, 2007
Tom sizzay over some emails you sent ta us spittin’ that real shit. Are you local ta tha LA area? Are you interested in messin’ at MySpace? Send me yo resume if you are :D
From: LoLo
Date: June 4, 2007
Hey Sarah,
Im actually in tha New Orleans area . I thought i told ya, nigga I’m a soldier. Ive already let Tom n gang kizzle that Im will’n ta move ta LA though.
There isnt a resume in tha world thiznat would properly cova all tha bases of tha responsibilizzles / requirizzles set out in tha job advert fo` tha Sr . Slap your mutha fuckin self. Abuse Specialist position. I can more thizzan fizzy those shoes though fo yo bitch ass. I sent a link ta canmyspacehearanizzles ta Peta Levinsohn n tha next day Tom contacted me via MySpace. All of mah info can be found on tizzle site n tha links on it.
Let me knizzow if theres anyth’n else you need.
- Loren Williams Playa
myspace.com/burntpickle
GhettoWebmaster.com
etc…
Phone:
[mah digits]
Oddly enough, I didn’t hear from anyone at MySpace after that. I was insanely busy with some projects at the time so days quickly turned into weeks. After about six weeks slipped by, I sent a follow up to Sarah…
From: LoLo
Date: June 15, 2007
Hey Sarah,
Just wondering what’s going on with the possibility of me getting that gig.
- LoLo
CanMySpaceHearAnyone.com
GhettoWebmaster.com
Blah, blah, blah…
I haven’t heard so much as a peep from them since that last message from Sarah. If I wasn’t so amused by this retardedness, I’d be pretty pissed off. I was seriously ready to move across the country and unleash all sorts of Kung Fu on the asshats who plague MySpace.
Random Hilarity:
- At first, I’m pretty sure Tom didn’t realize I was the same guy who embarrassed the hell out of him in a very public way back in December of 2006. I’m also pretty sure he took notice after the fact. He deleted the entry in his blog that I poked fun at him about sometime during these past six months. That should have been a non-issue though…
“Would I actually take a job at MySpace if they made a good offer? Duh. Do I think they’d be stupid not to? Yup. Pride has a funny way of making people do stupid things though.” – I soooo love quoting myself :P
- What was the deal with all the BS?
“found yo website”
No, you didn’t. Your boss sent you the link after I sent it his way. Why couldn’t Tom have just said that Peter sent the link over to him?
“Tom sizzay over some emails you sent ta us”
Sarah, the first “email” about this was the one you sent me.
“Are you local ta tha LA area?”
Kidding right? Did Tom send you ANYTHING other than my email address?
“Are you interested in messin’ at MySpace? Send me yo resume if you are”
That answers my last question. Tom obviously just emailed this chick with my email address and a quick note saying that I wanted to work at MySpace. Wowness at how poorly this was handled.
- “All candidates must be able to pass a criminal background investigation to be considered”
^^^ They added that to all of their security related job postings. I wonder if they were trying to tell me something. lolz
- I have proof that no one at MySpace with any level of competence (in the things I’m ninja at) thoroughly looked over this site. That’s right, Tom’s boss thought I was worth looking into – yet Tom didn’t even have a competent person fact check the info I have on here.
This has been on this site since launch:
“Why are there still gaping security holes all over MySpace?”
hmmmmmmm… If I worked for MySpace and someone who seemed to know what in the hell they were talking about had a link pointing to something about “gaping security holes” on MySpace, I’d follow that link and check things out. Seeing that it’s a blog entry on one of McAfee’s company blogs, I’d pay extra attention to things. Like, I dunno…
“Message-board pranksters have been playing the same games with it as usual: we spotted a MySpace group where all the links are switched to Last Measure sites (click here if you really want to see it).”
In McAfee’s blog entry the above link STILL goes to a forum area in a MySpace group with a lame exploit in place that would only take moments to remove by anyone who works at MySpace. They’ve had that blog up since April 11th and I linked to it from here on May 25th. There’s simply no excuse for screw ups like this. And, it’s blindingly clear that no one worth their weight in paper clips security-wise gave my info a decent inspection. (Update: Within hours of posting this update, that issue was addressed / fixed.)
“They can either hire some knucklehead who is a good bullshitter (and I’ll keep my endless supply of stuff to write about) or they can make me an offer that I can’t refuse.”
I’d rather have been instrumental in getting MySpace cleaned up. I’ll just have to settle for the endless supply of laughs and stuff to write about.