Weird user registrations with .pl emails

  • Resolved ljh65536

    (@ljh65536)


    11 years, 2 months ago

    On my WP site, I keep getting user registrations that look pretty weird. The usernames are always a seemingly random string of letters and numbers, and the emails are always the same, but they end with @[something].pl.

    Example below (not exact to protect confidentiality):
    Username: d6x2ad2
    E-mail: dhopmy@o2.pl

    Obviously, anyone can create a weird username, but does anyone know what is up with these weird pl emails? Should I be worried about these user accounts? I can’t think of anything a scammer could gain by registering users on my site…but it seems very suspicious/computer-generated.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • esmi

    (@esmi)

    11 years, 2 months ago

    There’s noting especially weird about an email address that uses o2.pl. See http://www.o2.pl/

    notawoodpecker

    (@notawoodpecker)

    11 years, 2 months ago

    As I posted on the other board, .pl is the TLD (Top Level Domain) for Poland.

    Is there something on your site that attracts readers from Poland?

    Thread Starter ljh65536

    (@ljh65536)

    11 years, 2 months ago

    Huh. Hadn’t thought of it that way. Thanks for the comments!

    There’s nothing about my blog that should especially attract readers from Poland…I haven’t been able to find any evidence that people in Poland play a lot of Minecraft (and that’s the content matter of 99.5% of my views).

    It still doesn’t make sense to me that their usernames and emails are always random strings of gobbletygoop. Let me know if anyone has any other thoughts on this.

    esmi

    (@esmi)

    11 years, 2 months ago

    Some spam bots will try to complete any forms that they find online. As long as all new users are restricted to the Subscriber level and WordPress, themes & plugins are kept up to date, spam registrations (in themselves) shouldn’t pose any kind of risk. However, if they bother you, you could always turn registration off via Settings -> General.

    Thread Starter ljh65536

    (@ljh65536)

    11 years, 2 months ago

    Ah, that makes sense.

    Yes, all of those things are true for me; I keep everyone at the subscriber level except me. So I guess I won’t worry about this any more.

    Thank you for the complete answer! You guys were so fast to respond too.

    notawoodpecker

    (@notawoodpecker)

    11 years, 2 months ago

    When you get bored someday, read up on Country specific TLDs:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_code_top-level_domain

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_top-level_domains#Country_code_top-level_domains

    And the new gTLDs (Generic Top Level Domains) that will change the way we see domain names:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_top-level_domain

    junkestaff

    (@junkestaff)

    11 years ago

    I just stated my new site and have no real content on it, but my first sign up and a couple of others has this .pl extension on their email. I investigated the origins on Word fence plugin and found that one member with this email .pl was from china and the others was from Poland. All of them have been blocked totally from my site. I’m running a local services and have the option on Word-fence plugin to block out a country with one click, cool option against the war on spammers.

    Thank for the links “notaweedpecker” I learned something that was needed to be known by anyone who deals with domain names like myself.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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