How does Zazzle determine spam in chat?

[Barbara]

Today, I received a chat message from a designer, but Zazzle flagged it as spam. I read the message anyway because I could see it wasn't spam, and the only thing I noticed was a link to the designer's store. It was legitimate. Do links of any kind cause the warning to appear?

Colorwash's Home

[Cat]

I dunno, but I received a similar chat today. Hmmm.... 

[Barbara]

@Cat: Was it a newbie wanting help with trying to get noticed and to sell? It didn't set off any alarms, given that the person wasn't telling me how they could help me, but instead the reverse. Still though, I found it strange to ask an individual you don't know for help rather than post in the forum.

Colorwash's Home

[KeegansCreation]

It's possible it wasn't a newbie at all and the link led somewhere malicious, not a Zazzle store. Maybe Zazzle has a bot that can see when a link leads outside Zazzle and that set off the Spam warning.

If you clicked it and it led to a Zazzle store maybe the Spam trigger was sending the same message to multiple designers.

[Barbara]

The link was totally legitimate, but it was a Share link that had to be pared down, whereupon it went directly to the person's store. My initial impulse was to ignore what I considered a rude request, but I was curious and couldn't resist.

I'm thinking that, since those Share links are meant to be used only outside Zazzle, they end up alerting Zazzle's automatic detector.

Colorwash's Home

[Cat]

@Barbara Mine was the same, with the same link including a referral ID. I didn't actually follow the link and instead clicked on her member info on the right hand panel. I basically pointed her to the forum as well... but it's weird that we both got the same message. I can't exactly think how it could be a scam - unless it's step one in an elaborate setup. I'm thinking it's probably just someone spamming a bunch of designers for help, but it does seem odd to me. Hmmm...

[Anne]

I use links all the time as that is they only way to know exactly what product people are referring to. So my guess would be that it is something else that triggered this spam thing.

[Jadendreamer13]

Good question. I received a legitimate chat message from a fellow Zazzle designer, and it was also flagged as spam. Interestingly, I just received the notification yesterday for a chat message that was sent to me in June.

[Barbara]

@Jadendreamer13: Did the designer, by any chance, include a link in the chat?

June? Hey, better late than never, right? LOL

Colorwash's Home

[Jadendreamer13]

Yes, a link that took me to a legitimate Zazzle store.

[Cat]

OK... this is getting weird. I'm wondering how many of us got that seemingly legit message. I'm struggling to see how it could be a scam, but it's just weird.

I'm gonna PM you with a copy of the message I got so we can compare notes!

[Cat]

Maybe what triggered the warning is the fact that so many of us received the exact same message. That, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily mean that it's a scam, but it is starting to sound fishy to me.

I'm gonna PM you with a copy of the message I got so we can compare notes!

[Jadendreamer13]

It is the same message. Interestingly, your message was also flagged as spam.

[colormedesign]

Jumping in here to share what I have experienced on the internet. I have a neighbor that works in media and their advice is to NEVER click any link in any message no matter what. The info in the message can be used to check out it out to see if is real & safe to respond to. The fact that the Zazzle system tagged it 'Spam' is telling this for a reason. With the introduction of AI it is never safe to go down a rabbit hole. They explained that AI can actually create a whole conversation back & forth (on it's own) until it reaches the goal set buy the User. Scary business and our accounts on this site are attached to our money accounts. Just trying to pass along my neighbor's advice in hope of being helpful. I apologize for butting in with scary stuff.....

[Jadendreamer13]

Good advice, but in this case messages from other Zazzlers that don’t contain links are also being flagged as potential spam. I think this may be a programming error.

[ColsCreations]

I had that happen a while ago in the middle of an on-going discussion with another Designer over the course of a few days. One message - no link included in it -  randomly came with the warning this could be a spammer yadayadayada.... I obviously ignored it but did wonder briefly what triggered it.

[Barbara]

Thinking about the fact that this person wrote to several us, and probably more who haven't spotted this thread, and then the fact that she followed me and likely everyone else she wrote to, and finally, the fact that the URL has her associate's number, my best guess is that she believes she'll get return follows plus more clicks resulting in rising like cream. It's a faulty belief, of course, and so she's wasted her time and ours. This is certainly not the way to garner good will. It's yet another form of spam.

EDIT: After what I wrote above, I went to my messages and reported her. If several more of us do this, it might put a stop to the behavior.

Colorwash's Home