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There is a poster that seems to be here just to harvest replies. What should I do?

207 replies

Another2Cats · 13/05/2026 21:33

Very much as the title.

There is a poster here who made her (their?) first post on 25th April.

Since then, she (they) has made 57 posts, of which 55 are starting threads that appear to be just there for soliciting engagement. This is done by way of asking a question and providing a three or four word opening post. Or sometimes only a single word in the opening post.

Should I highlight this to @MNHQ and, if so, should I link to all the 55 threads that they have started since 25th April?

For context, I am often on the Genealogy board and it was only after seeing two threads started by this person there that I took notice and realised that they had also started multiple threads on other boards as well.

This included Chat, Other Subjects, Tech Tips, AIBU, Property/DIY, Music, Sports, UK Travel, Education, Baby Names, Living Overseas, Style and Beauty, True crime and unsolved mysteries, Bullying, Parenting, Pets, Food/Recipes, Wildlife nature & conservation, and Telly Addicts.

Starting 55 new threads in the space of two and a half weeks which appear to be very much about soliciting engagement doesn't seem to really be in line with what MN is really all about.

Just to add to that, the username of this person is a direct reference to a thread that the newspapers back then picked up on. It was a thread from 2013 that people who were here then would likely remember and the poster is likely purporting to be somebody with a history dating back to then (despite their first post being on the 25th April this year).

Without giving the name of this poster, it would be like if she had called herself something like "Isle of Wight bollards" or "stacking goats".

Am I even right to call out this sort of harvesting of replies?

Are MNHQ likely to do anything about this even if I do make a complaint?

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
PickAChew · 24/06/2026 15:07

BIWI · 24/06/2026 14:52

Building a posting history so that they can troll 'safely' - as people tend not to think longer term posters are trolls.

MNHQ included.

BIWI · 24/06/2026 14:52

Trotfestival · 24/06/2026 13:34

Why would someone post purely to get engagement? Rather than information?

Building a posting history so that they can troll 'safely' - as people tend not to think longer term posters are trolls.

Manchegomango · 24/06/2026 14:02

Trotfestival · 24/06/2026 13:34

Why would someone post purely to get engagement? Rather than information?

Teaching AI how to have a natural conversation

Trotfestival · 24/06/2026 13:34

Why would someone post purely to get engagement? Rather than information?

abitbloodybrighteroverthere · 24/06/2026 12:34

But surely the point being made here is that any thread can look above board taken in isolation?

There might be a dozen apparently unconnected threads by a dozen apparently separate, innocent posters - asking random, ‘harmless’ questions - quirkiest local landmark; most popular name when you were at school; what’s special about your favourite pub; how much debt do you have, etc? If I answered all of them I might expect to wake up to both my bank account and my house stripped of everything I own.

KellyMumsnet · 24/06/2026 11:58

Morning, everyone. Thank you to those of you who have reported threads using the report button. We do check in on these threads on Site Stuff regularly but if you have concerns about a specific thread or post, it's always best to hit the report button. We never mind checking them out, even if they turn out to be above board, so please don't hesitate.

JaneJeffer · 24/06/2026 11:55

IsEveryUserNameBloodyTaken · 23/06/2026 11:48

Can you give us a clue on who it is.

That would be classed as troll hunting by MNHQ and as @PinkNBlueBunnies says there is nothing to report them for because a thread asking what’s your favourite cheese or whatever isn’t breaking any rules.

DugnuttEyeBoogies · 24/06/2026 11:40

EmpressaurusKitty · 14/05/2026 10:41

On a thread the other day, some idiot made what he considered a gotcha comment about my social media accounts.

Except none of my social media names anywhere bear any resemblance to any of my MN usernames, & what he was saying didn’t match with any of my social posts either, so whoever he thought he was looking at it wasn’t me.

It’s another thing to consider though - variety is good.

Yeah my MN usernames are just random shit I make up on the spot. See above name 😄

Ive been on here for yonks but name change a lot more since the infamous hack a few years back.

abitbloodybrighteroverthere · 24/06/2026 11:38

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

PinkNBlueBunnies · 24/06/2026 11:26

JaneJeffer · 22/06/2026 17:12

There’s another one now but it seems more like an exercise in creating engagement rather than data harvesting.

Yes I’ve noticed them too. I’ve been reporting them but not had it taken seriously. I do find it frustrating that posters can notice things over time/across a thread and try and give MN a picture of what’s going on then they glance at one post, don’t see the issue (because the issue is the pattern) and leave it.

GinandGingerBeer · 23/06/2026 16:52

There’s a where do you live one just popped up in “retirement”

IsEveryUserNameBloodyTaken · 23/06/2026 11:48

JaneJeffer · 22/06/2026 17:12

There’s another one now but it seems more like an exercise in creating engagement rather than data harvesting.

Can you give us a clue on who it is.

JaneJeffer · 22/06/2026 17:12

There’s another one now but it seems more like an exercise in creating engagement rather than data harvesting.

blacksax · 01/06/2026 14:59

I've reported one this morning.

Mumtobabyhavoc · 01/06/2026 06:43

I think you report suspicious threads and give a thorough explanation like you've done here, with links.
AFAIK @mnhq isn't valid, though. Use the report button from the menu under the three dots on tbe top right of the post.
You can also report to the Night Watch and they either delete it or hide it until it can be reviewed. You can find the Night Watch under
Talk Topics then Mumsnet Stuff.
www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_night_watch

busyd4y · 01/06/2026 06:07

justasking111 · 31/05/2026 22:31

No they just increase in the holidays.

Why would bots or bad actors care about UK schools holidays? Are posters more prone to give away their pets names when their children aren't at school? If anything I'd have thought the site traffic would be down during holiday weeks

justasking111 · 31/05/2026 22:31

busyd4y · 31/05/2026 20:52

Do chat bot information harvesters only work in the school holidays then, that doesn't seem very likely

No they just increase in the holidays.

busyd4y · 31/05/2026 20:52

justasking111 · 26/05/2026 16:50

Three click bait threads today, guaranteed to rile folks up. Things like forgetting to renew passports, getting insurance can I leave the kids at home is one. There's been two others today. Ah well it's school holidays.

Do chat bot information harvesters only work in the school holidays then, that doesn't seem very likely

glaciercherry · 31/05/2026 16:35

BatchCookBabe · 13/05/2026 21:55

Is an 11-letter username beginning with P and ending in R?

Threads usually go

TITLE:

'What was your favourite subject at school?'

Then their first post:

'History.'
.

And

'Do you have a middle name? And what is it?'

'Jennifer.'

.

Edited

This sounds like criminals trying to get security question information from as many people as possible to identify targets.

Adding as many questions as possible to add enough noise to mask their nefarious purpose. Seems really obvious actually.

justasking111 · 26/05/2026 16:50

Three click bait threads today, guaranteed to rile folks up. Things like forgetting to renew passports, getting insurance can I leave the kids at home is one. There's been two others today. Ah well it's school holidays.

Twinkletoesandspaghettios · 25/05/2026 10:23

@Another2Cats I really want to know their username

Mumoftwoadults · 23/05/2026 11:07

It's happening on Gransnet too. I just scroll past. Still annoying though.

Manchegomango · 21/05/2026 11:11

Its obviously either a scammer looking for answers to security questions or an AI bot using MN as a training ground

KellyMumsnet · 18/05/2026 10:51

Morning everyone.

It sounds like this is a returning banned poster who we are aware of. While we've no reason to think they are here with any nefarious purpose, as always, we wouldn't encourage anyone to share too much personal information that could be put together and used in any way but we'd hope that people would be as cautious as they are anywhere on the internet and not post anything like that on those threads either.

If you spot anything similar and are concerned please do just hit the report button. We can usually tell pretty quickly if someone is a previously banned poster or just someone innocently asking a question and not returning to the thread, but we're always happy to check things out.

Thmssngvwlsrnd · 17/05/2026 14:08

justasking111 · 17/05/2026 13:05

The naivety of posters is concerning. But is MN obliged to protect them from themselves?

I suppose not. Just wondering because mumsnet know there is currently a poster around who is purposely looking for info - presumably that's why they are deleting all these threads. I wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't clicked on this thread. It wouldn't hurt them to put up a reminder about not sharing any personal details.