Impersonator tab on user profile / subsection

[TechBanana]

For those who don't know what an impersonator is, he/she is basically someone to pretends to be a user, typically the targeted user is someone fairly reputable (but not always).

For example, if user "Banana"'s skype was "banana". The impersonator might create a skype account with the username "banana.mcm" or "banana1".

Impersonators are especially dangerous since they might scam another user, and the user who he/she is impersonating would be framed.

Spoiler: The Current Solution

The Current Solution:
Create a thread in "General Discussion" warning users
Pros:
- Many users will view the thread and be aware

Cons:
- After the thread gets pushed down to the second, third, fourth, etc page, it will no longer get noticed as much.
- "Many users will view the thread and be aware" but only temporarily
- New users will no longer be aware

Spoiler: My Proposed Solution

My Proposed Solution:
Have a tab on the user's profile (public for everyone to view) like this:

There will also be different sections like skype, discord, etc (w/ icons)

Pros:
- Users can go to the user's profile before making a deal to make sure they are contacting the real person
- Very convenient
- I can't think of any reasons a feature like this would be especially hard to implement/develop (but feel free to comment if you think of any)

Cons:
- Won't get as much exposure compared to posting a thread in the General Discussion section

Spoiler: The Alternate Solution

Alternate Solution:
Have a separate subsection dedicated to impersonators where user can post threads w/ their impersonator details.
Pros:
- Very easy to implement
- Would get more exposure than on a users profile
- Users can search a user's name to see if they have posted a thread in that section:

Cons:
- Threads would get pushed down as well
- much slower compared to in the General Discussion section

If anyone has anything to add to this suggestion (ideas on how to improve this concept, pros or cons that I missed), please comment it below and I will add it

Spoiler: Disagrees w/ feedback

I disagree. I wouldn't personally but somebody could make an impersonator account for themselves then add it to their own list to cover themselves.

It does help yourself to keep tab over the impersonators you or others have discovered, but it still won't help those who are stupid enough to fall for the impersonator trick in the first place.
The tip of "Always contact the "supposed" owner of the skype over MCM before doing a deal" will let you avoid 100% of ALL impersonators that imitates people from MCM. It's stupidly simple, so when people doesn't even do that, then I dont expect them to to check the persons impersonator subsection either.

Noone should need to be in such a rush that they can't do abit of research before finishing their deal.
There isn't anything wrong with this suggestion, but it isn't needed and won't help those who do get scammed by impersonators. I would rather praise the tip I gave earlier then giving those who could be scammed a safety net that might not work. "If the skype isnt listed in the impersonater tab, then it gotte be legit!" would be the worst outcome of it.

 

[sad]

I agree, This will save the scam report handlers alot of time.

 

[Taiga]

It does help yourself to keep tab over the impersonators you or others have discovered, but it still won't help those who are stupid enough to fall for the impersonator trick in the first place.
The tip of "Always contact the "supposed" owner of the skype over MCM before doing a deal" will let you avoid 100% of ALL impersonators that imitates people from MCM. It's stupidly simple, so when people doesn't even do that, then I dont expect them to to check the persons impersonator subsection either.

 

[TechBanana]

I disagree. I wouldn't personally but somebody could make an impersonator account for themselves then add it to their own list to cover themselves.

I hadn't thought of that, thanks for pointing that out.

It does help yourself to keep tab over the impersonators you or others have discovered, but it still won't help those who are stupid enough to fall for the impersonator trick in the first place.
The tip of "Always contact the "supposed" owner of the skype over MCM before doing a deal" will let you avoid 100% of ALL impersonators that imitates people from MCM. It's stupidly simple, so when people doesn't even do that, then I dont expect them to to check the persons impersonator subsection either.

Having it on their profiles will save a lot of time (instead of having to PM the user, and wait for them to reply which can be quite a hassle when you need something ASAP). Thanks for pointing this out though, I do agree that would be the safest way.

 

[Luke]

or they could just add ways to connect more of your social media accs such as skype or twitter so that people know which one is u

 

[Taiga]

Having it on their profiles will save a lot of time (instead of having to PM the user, and wait for them to reply which can be quite a hassle when you need something ASAP). Thanks for pointing this out though, I do agree that would be the safest way.

Noone should need to be in such a rush that they can't do abit of research before finishing their deal.
There isn't anything wrong with this suggestion, but it isn't needed and won't help those who do get scammed by impersonators. I would rather praise the tip I gave earlier then giving those who could be scammed a safety net that might not work. "If the skype isnt listed in the impersonater tab, then it gotte be legit!" would be the worst outcome of it.

 

[TechBanana]

Noone should need to be in such a rush that they can't do abit of research before finishing their deal.
There isn't anything wrong with this suggestion, but it isn't needed and won't help those who do get scammed by impersonators. I would rather praise the tip I gave earlier then giving those who could be scammed a safety net that might not work. "If the skype isnt listed in the impersonater tab, then it gotte be legit!" would be the worst outcome of it.

There's no perfect solution to this problem that is both safe and convenient unfortunately. Thanks for bringing that up though, will add it to the thread.

 

[Samuel]

There's no perfect solution to this problem that is both safe and convenient unfortunately. Thanks for bringing that up though, will add it to the thread.

I think that an ideal solution would be to discourage deals outside of the PM system. Some sites have a policy that if you deal outside of the site with a user, then any scamming that happens is your fault.

Of course, many people (including myself) would be less likely to deal with people if it were only on the PM system, but it definitely does have benefits. Scam staff have less work, since they'd only have to deal with on-site stuff - and buyers are definitely dealing with who they think they are (since each user is responsible for their account and any actions on it).

 

[Ivain]

Instead of discouraging dealing outside the PM system, let's encourage people to confirm through PM on here that this is indeed the corerct user.

 

[TechBanana]

Instead of discouraging dealing outside the PM system, let's encourage people to confirm through PM on here that this is indeed the corerct user.

Then the live PM feature should be available to all users, instead of just Supreme.

 

[Ajdin]

People get scammed by impersonators because they don't verify the person over PM. They usually don't do it because they are either lazy or simply unaware. You honestly think they will check profiles? Highly doubt that.

 

[Phewo]

People get scammed by impersonators because they don't verify the person over PM. They usually don't do it because they are either lazy or simply unaware. You honestly think they will check profiles? Highly doubt that.

Once they see this, they will. And usually people have stuff like this posted on their wall.

 

[thebaum64]

Really nice idea, honestly this would really only help and it way better than making a thread for everything, hopefully Bebos agrees and it can be added

 

[Ajdin]

usually people have stuff like this posted on their wall.

Exactly. If they have it posted on their wall, why would it be needed to have a seperate tab? It's a simple fact that people don't even check the member's profile because the impersonator usually impersonates a known member so that the victim doesn't even need to bother to check for vouches or devouches.

 

[EpicFooF]

I disagree. I wouldn't personally but somebody could make an impersonator account for themselves then add it to their own list to cover themselves.

You can easily check the IP and match it with their mcm account.

 

[Shattered]

We just need to push common sense inside of some of the people lacking it.

Some people are really dumb when they say "I'd buy this for $50, add my skype skypeaccount123' this announces your skype account and that you have $50 to all of the shady users lurking on the forums. Just use common sense and give people your skype thru PM.

People are not being as sensitive with their personal contact information as they should be. For some reason everyone posts it publicly on a thread so anyone can contact them, making it partly your problem.

 

[Ajdin]

Thread archived. See responses above for reasons.