Reporting Photos and Spammers

The new system of reporting spammers though easier is far less effective then in the past. I’ve reported accounts through the app the way instructed here when I reached out last time https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/Announcements/You-can-now-report-entire-profiles-for-abuse-on-Google-Maps/bc-p/2863176#M83834

Someone should go read the replies and see that this system is NOT working.

I’m curious what the admins think a reasonable amount of time is that a spammer account stay active. 6 months? More? Is there an automated check happening now that is letting spammers slide?

How about photos that are not actually of the place? Some so obvious its ridiculous.

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I will start keeping track to see if my flagging of photos and reviews and profiles get reacted upon.

Morten

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Hi @chiefzero and @MortenCopenhagen ,

System ain’t working, and I’ve said far too many times on different posts here. From spammers, to people stealing pics, posting thousands of selfies, and so on, I do not think that actions were taken for even 5% of the reported. Exact reason why I came here, and tried to get many issues fixed, because there was no other way. I save all links to accounts I report, and open them monthly, more or less, and see the same things, nothing fixed, just more of issues.

With reporting photo by photo, story is a bit better, which is good a thing, but even that depends on the accounts. For example, I know two accs which have stolen few thousand pics, at least, and lets put aside that somehow that just went thru the system, the thing is that I can’t remove any of those pics, even reporting pics, and writing “stolen from net”, or similar, in the box. Just won’t work.

Other things I saw, and I think it’s from the post that @chiefzero linked, is that someone said how if you find that someone has few accounts, and I’ve found a person who has 5 or 6 accounts, just report with “Another policy violation”, and that should somehow fix it, is just hilarious.

Simply put, many accounts seem untouchable, no matter what you tried. Also, thinking that it should take 3 or 6 or 10 months to remove someone who stole thousands of pics, or is constantly abusing/gaming the system, is just wrong.

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https://goo.gl/maps/g8rXvMTmu38WQtUy8

Great example for any admins who want to check it out. the second picture on this California starbucks page is “the golden Nugget” IN LAS VEGAS!!

its been reported several times as has the account. Yet the profile and the picture remain up.

Another one scroll not too far and you’ll find theme park paintings and photos from a starbucks in the middle of DTLA!

https://goo.gl/maps/4QSnA6pNPNfVsp196

@chiefzero

Just a quick look can show that that account, which posted the pic, should be banned. They are posting same/similar pics over and over, to multiple Starbucks places. Typical abuse of the system, and obvious that they are doing this to have more points.

There has to be a way that a mod, or someone else, looks into this. It’s a 10 second issue, same pics over and over, to multiple locations, just ban them, and over.

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Exactly my point but they remain spamming

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If I looked at the same profile I have to disagree. Photos are not perfect but certainly not so bad the the profile should be flagged in my opinion.

Please be very careful and considerate before flagging a profile. Imaging losing all your work.

Morten

Maybe the second photo is different from viewer to viewer.

Non of the photos are from that particular starbucks. Look at other starbucks in the area and he has exactly the same photos posted at each.

How is it not a violation to post a las Vegas starbucks photos to a completely different location then spam every other starbucks with those same photos?

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Hi @MortenCopenhagen

Perhaps you didn’t see the profile that is the issue here.

I wouldn’t simply say to ban someone without a reason, and account in question has more than enough for it. Posting same pics over and over is enough on it’s own. Also there are weird pics with faces of babies on some type of food (really no idea what is it).

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Maybe the biggest point of this is that accounts/people like this, ruin it for all the others. Account has +223k points, many would take what they say/do as very relevant data, and so on, and when you take a closer look, they are one big scam.

To repeat something again, I have plenty of links to big accounts, which have thousands of stolen pics, and they are untouchable. Some of those are posting on this forum, and being the part of community.

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Let’s talk in private.

Cheers

Morten

are you a moderator?

I don’t go reporting just anyone. In the past a moderator would get a hold of me they would look at the account and take action. The system wasn’t great but it worked.

Now reporting is easily done at the user profile though mobile only. But the report seems to go into a black hole and nothing is done with picture that are not the right location or spammers.

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@Bubica1992

The reporting to moderators is history. And I’m not a moderator as you can see on my profile pic. Let’s keep an eye on them.

To everyone else : after identifying the profiles we did agree that is was fair to report them.

Cheers

Morten