Spotting spammers - Youniverse Community Guidelines

I've written posts along these lines before (here and here, for instance), but you can never be too careful - so today seems like as good a day as any to jot down a few musings about keeping safe online.  There are a few general points here,  then it's tailored for Youniverse.

Firstly, while social networks like this one work really hard to prevent spammers getting in and spewing their drivel all over the place, they can always find ways to get in. Yes, even on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and the big social network players. Also, there will usually be something in the terms and conditions of a site (which you agree with when you sign up) that says they are not liable for any interactions you have on the site. So... it's important to take responsibility for your welfare by being informed of the sort of things that can go on online in the way of phishing and scams.  

Here are some pretty good places to start: BBC's Crimewatch guide to online scams, Scambusters' tips for avoiding being taken in by scams and good old Wikipedia's Internet Fraud entry...

Armed with a bit of knowledge and awareness, you can go a long way. The following tell-tale signs of dodgy Youniverse users and profiles will then be so blindingly obvious... yay! On their own, they're not much, but combine them together and you've got one seriously dodgy user - handle with care (if at all, to be honest).

1. Check the profile picture. If it's airbrushed to perfection and/or grainy and pixelated because the image size is too small for the site, that suggests it's not exactly bona fide. Probably nicked from some website somewhere.

2. Quality of English on a profile... English obviously isn't everyone's first language and it can be tough to get all the phrasing right, but something like the following in both "About Me" and "Interests" sections of a profile should ring a cacophony of alarm bells: 

          "i am a nice and easy going young girl and i am here to meet with my love i am a nice and easy going young girl and i am here to meet with my love i am a nice and easy going young girl and i am here to meet with my love i am a nice and easy going young girl and i am here to meet with my love i am a nice and easy going young girl and i am here to meet with my love."  

And yes, that's happened on Youniverse.

3. Personal details on a profile: See if these have even been filled in. If they have, how genuine do they look? How many people do you know who believe that Alabama is a city? (Again, this actually happened on a profile).

4. Profile name: Sweetbaby, Joy4u, Babygood etc. To me, those are ALL DODGY. If you use this sort of username, please accept that I think it looks spammy and so probably won't talk to you.

5. Someone been in touch by telling you they like your profile and are looking for a serious commitment, no games and all that matters is love (not age or colour or distance)? Lucky you. Admirable though those sentiments may be, it's not the most personal of letters is it? Wait a while before replying to see how eager they really are for your affections.

If you're unfortunate enough to get hit by a spammer whose profile is cleverly constructed enough to fool you into talking to them (and sadly, this has happened), then there is one golden rule to remember above all others...

NO MATTER WHAT, DO NOT SEND MONEY TO ANYONE YOU'VE MET ON THE INTERNET, NOR GIVE OUT PERSONAL DETAILS LIKE BANK CODES OR ADDRESS ETC.

That is all.

Stay safe, kids.

anna@youniverse.com