Suspected Bot Subscribers

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  stevencnz · Member · May 27, 2018 at 3:23 pm

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  So, I’m never opposed to new subscribers to my blog. I’m not one for looking a gift horse in the mouth as it were, but lately I have been getting a lot of email subscribers that look suspect.

  About 2 months ago, a friend of mine mentioned my blog at a talk he was giving. Within the next few days I got a few new subscribers which I was of course pleased with.

  However since then, I have consistently, almost like clockwork, gained a new subscriber whose email is of a particular format and style that makes me think a bot of some kind is involved.

  All my new subscribers have emails using the ‘@outlook.com’ domain. The first half of the email looks like a mashed up combination of firstname, lastnames and/or initials although I can’t quite spot the pattern. At first I thought it was perhaps the naming convention of the institute where my friend gave the talk (but then surely the domain would be ‘@institutex.com’).

  So now I’m constantly, every 3 days or so, getting a new subscription from one of these emails. It has been too long since my friend gave the talk to be related to that (in fact I’m not even sure my friend mentioning my blog was what started this).

  These subscriptions are ALL from ‘@outlook.com’ and ALL of the same format. No ‘@gmail.com’, no ‘@vodefone.com’ nothing. All ‘@outlook.com’.

  I haven’t posted anything in a while (something I’m working on), but I’m worried that when I do I will be spammed with automated comments from some malicious bot (or some similar attack). I’ve already turned on comment moderation just in case, but wanted to ask if anyone has encountered anything like this before.

  Is there a way I can turn on moderation for those who subscribe to my blog? Can I detect or protect against this kind of thing?

  Part of me is still hoping that this is still genuine people interested in my site but this is far too consistent and regular to not be automation of some kind.

  Can anyone offer advice?

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

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  staartmees · Member · May 27, 2018 at 4:13 pm

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  Those so called @Outlook.com are spam. The are removed by Staff. Also wordpress.com developers are working on a solution.