URGENT — Blog under attack. Someone is subscribing other people to my blog
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I’m suddenly getting dozens of emails, many in my spam folder, asking to be unsubscribed from my blog. They appear to have been subscribed to it by some unknown third party.
One person wrote in his request to be unsubscribed — “Who is behind this list and where did you get my email address? I don’t know how I came to be on it, but I hope you will give me information I don’t get elsewhere.”
I suspect someone is deliberately trying to sabotage my blog probably because I have been posting articles that are critical of Israeli attacks on Gaza.
How do I protect myself and others from this attack? And should I reply to all these people wanting to know how to unsubscribe from my posts?
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Your followers control their own subscriptions – you don’t and can’t do this for him/her. Here are brief instructions for unsubscribing from a blog if the person has a WordPress.com username account:
1. click the “unsubscribe” link on the emails of the posts received at the very bottom of the emails.
2. go here > http://wordpress.com/#!/read/edit/ locate and click the “x” next to any blog there to unfollow it and no longer receive posts in the Reader or by email.
3. go to the blog in question and click the unfollow/follow link on your Admin bar.If they do not have a WordPress.com username account then 1. applies.
1. click the “unsubscribe” link on the emails of the posts received at the very bottom of the emails.I’ll tag this thread for a Staff follow-up. Please subscribe to the thread so you are notified when they respond and please be patient while waiting.
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@ timethief — thanks for the assistance.
I started to reply to the messages in my spam folder with instructions on how to unsubscribe from my blog and discovered that each individual REPLY ended up was going to all 35 messages in the SPAM folder.
What a mess.
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Why would you reply to anything at all in your spam folder? I wouldn’t do that. It’s not wise. For all you know they are bogus comments aimed to get you to respond to them. Please be patient while waiting for St6aff to work their way forward to this thread.
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When you don’t know what you don’t know, you make these kinds of blunders.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll know better next time — may there never be another time like this one.
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I get dozens of “requests” for help from spammers – or suggestions about how to make my site better – most of the requests make no sense and the advice is junk (what platform am I using (look in the footer) ) – and the list goes on and on – they stay in the spam filter and I empty it twice a day – sending in bogus “help” requests is a standard spam trick
since the email follow is an “opt in” system – it takes two steps to subscribe – the second step is clicking on the link in the “opt in” email – so even if I put in @TT’s email into your blog to subscribe – she would get the email and by simply deleting the email would not be subscribed to your blog
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Hi again,
That’s so true and I’ve been on the interwebs for along time. You could have a raft of spam that’s truly spam and isn’t from any actual blog subscriber’s at all. My guess is that’s the case here. I think someone who doesn’t believe in freedom of speech is deliberately doing this. -
Clarification plus more information
1/ To clarify, in my first post I mentioned “spam folder” but neglected to clarify that I am referring to the spam folder on my gmail account and not on my WordPress account. I am also getting a few emails in my gmail inbox requesting to be removed from my blog. (Months ago I turned off the Comments option on my blog, but I have always included my gmail address in the Contact tab on my blog).2/ I received the following message in my gmail inbox today. It was sent in response to my email explaining how to unsubscribe from my blog by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the email — (note that “Pchr_e” appears in all these emails and I have no idea what it refers to)
Re: [Pchr_e] [no subject]
This is asking for some password that I do not have because I do not belong to this list.And this group’s liberal emailing to people who are not known to the author has become a colossal waste of time.
How did I get on your block list anyway? Who put me there? -
Hi there!
I just took a look at your followers lists and I actually don’t see any recent follows:
It sounds like this may be email spam that isn’t tied to your actual subscription list here at WordPress.com. If you continue to get emails from people, can you please ask them to contact us?
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@shawna
Thanks for the update. I’m puzzled. I sure didn’t make this up. And I still have a couple of email souvenirs from this experience as evidence in case it’s ever needed.Just guessing here, but could it be that the hacker found a way to either falsely inform people they were subscribed to my blog when they weren’t or to actually subscribe them to someone else’s list or blog and tell them, in either case, to contact me to request they be unsubscribed from my blog? As I say, I’m guessing — I have no idea how these people actually create their mischief.
On the plus side. I can report that I have had no further emails to my gmail account requesting to be unsubscribed from my blog.
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On the plus side. I can report that I have had no further emails to my gmail account requesting to be unsubscribed from my blog.
Thanks great!
And yes, it does sound like someone possibly forwarded a subscription confirmation on to several people basically telling them they were subscribed when they really weren’t. I’m sorry that happened to you. I hope it doesn’t happen again in the future!
Let me know if I can help with anything else!
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