Threatening Comments and Emails – Do not give in!
I will not give in to extortion! Most visitors to this website seem nice. They come, they get their information, and they go. Sometimes they even leave a comment or send a friendly messages that make me feel good about what I do. But today when I checked my messages, I saw something very unexpected. Somebody, I am not sure if it was a real person or a bot, threatened to attack my website if I did not send them money via PayPal.
Did you get this message or one like it?
PAYPAL DONATE ME NOW OR I WILL HACK YOUR WEBSITE
donatenoworyourssitegone.com
108.62.68.24
Submitted on 2012/04/09 at 9:45 AMPAYPAL PAYPAL DONATE ME NOW OR I WILL HACK YOUR WEBSITE- DON’T YOU DARE TO REPORT PAYPAL…
PAYPAL PAYPAL DONATE ME MOTHER PHUCKER NOW OR I WILL HACK YOUR WEBSITE – Scraped Media Pty Ltd MY PAYPAL IS PA****@5t*.com – Scraped Media Pty Ltd – PAYPAL IS su*****@sc*******.com Payment Sent to: MY PAYPAL IS su*****@sc*******.com…
I have also seen another version of this message that includes the comment:
PAYPAL PAYPAL DONATE ME NOW OR I WILL HACK YOUR WEBSITE- DON’T YOU DARE TO REPORT PAYPAL…
Message from Scraped Media
I would like to point out the very true comment below from Scraped Media. … I was going to contact and inform them that somebody was using their name for bad, but they beet me to it. In response, I would like to say that I think it is very sad that somebody would try to hurt their reputation by sending out such rude messages. And I hope that they did not succeed.
A note to visitors:
Please forgive me for posting such language on my site. Normally I would edit out bad grammar and non rated G words. But I wanted you to be able to find me.
I spoke with Hostgator and PayPal about this issue. I will also be looking up the registrar, host, and owners for the domain names in question and make sure they realize that someone is using them for bad.
Hostgator has been giving me great service for 6 years, but there didn’t seem to be much they could do about this particular issue at this time. They did, however, give me some good advice. Make sure my WordPress is up to date and secure, and block the IP of the sender. I would like to add that it is always a good idea to make regular backups of your work. Keep records going back a few weeks or months – it would be a shame to realize that there is a problem with your site AFTER overwriting your good backup with a messed up one.
It was difficult to get a real person on the phone from PayPal. But they did seem to take the issue seriously.
I will keep an eye on this website and let you know if I notice any major attacks.
A note to my threatener:
I am not sure what results you expected by posting such a message on my website. But you will not get any money from me.
I wonder, do you put much time into thinking about who your threats are affecting, who you are trying to take money from? What happens if the person does not have a PayPal account?
p.s. You owe me $38.42 for the time you have wasted by posting this on my blog. CLICK HERE TO DONATE
Hi there.
It seems there is another bot lurking around. I got the same message today, and we’re not the only ones.
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/576831-i-just-received-vicious-blog-comment.html
Don’t get easily scared. It is just someone’s twisted idea of fun.
Cheers,
J
Hello,
This isn’t a “hacker” or anyone trying to extort money, it’s someone trying to cause damages to Scraped Media Pty Ltd by falsely posting this to hundreds of blogs. This was not posted by Scraped Media, and if anyone sends payment to either of those email addresses it will be immediately refunded.
I could get your details and email address from your paypal link, and threaten hundreds of sites saying i’m michelle from easttexasdesign.com and do exactly the same thing. Unfortunately it’s all too easy.
Sorry for any problems this person has caused.
yeh I also receive the same comment. 🙁