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I subscribe to handful of investment-related YouTube channels. This pattern has been common for years. A bot will reply with a comment loosely related to the vi

by hrunt 5mo ago

I subscribe to handful of investment-related YouTube channels. This pattern has been common for years. A bot will reply with a comment loosely related to the video and about how something worked for them. Another bot will reply asking how they did that. Another bot (not the original commenter) will reply that they worked with so-and-so or invested in such-and-such, and then there will be maybe four or five more comments responding to that. All obvious bot accounts. It's obvious on the channels, because these reply sets usually don't contain a lot of replies to comments (if there are any comment replies, it's almost always from the channel owner). It's so obvious, in fact, that I'm surprised YouTube hasn't done something to address it.

Forgeties79 5mo ago
They also talk like people in a national ad. “Wow! Seems like it’s so easy to change over with savings like that!”
- sixhobbits 5mo ago
  The bad ones seem like this, the scary part is not knowing if there are good ones
  - Forgeties79 5mo ago
    Generally when people start having a back and forth about a product I assume it’s astroturfing unless it makes sense in context and/or it’s just one of those brands people genuinely get excited about (they tend to be obvious ones you’ve seen a lot already). Doesn’t mean I don’t ever get duped, but idk. You learn to spot the signs. I imagine most of us on HN catch most instances. Genuine-seeming referrals aren’t as easy to fake as one would think.
pinkmuffinere 5mo ago
Oh I love these comment threads! I like to add another reply saying something like “oh my goodness, I used Elizabeth Ferguson for my investing too!! She went to my college, so I thought I could trust her. But then I found out she was cheating on me with my wife! We got a divorce and i lost half my assets in the separation. Elizabeth Ferguson probably is enjoying them now :(. Just one experience, but buyer beware!”
- basilikum 5mo ago
  I'd be careful with that. Sounds like you could be mistaken for a bot that is part of the scheme and get your Google account banned. Then again, you should live under the assumption that your Google account could be banned at any time with no recourse. You do have local backups of all your Google account data and don't need your Gmail account to access anything important, right?
  - bombcar 5mo ago
    That makes me realize that banning is a punishment only usable on people who care about their account. Scammers don’t, a new bot account is a click away. But basilikum would be sad to lose his account.
    - radlad 5mo ago
      For something like YouTube, there is a small monetary cost in order to verify a phone number.
      - efilife 5mo ago
        you don't need to verify the phone number to comment
        basilikum 5mo ago
        Depends on how much Google dislikes your IP and browser.
- giraffe_lady 5mo ago
  Fun until that's a real person using a paid bot service to promote their business and you just libeled them in a perfectly preserved medium.
  - radlad 5mo ago
    Dishonesty, meet dishonesty. (Legally, I think libel requires intent.)
Ralfp 5mo ago
I’ve been seeing this kind of spam on forums all the way back in 2004. I wonder if it was a feature in Xrumer or whatever they used to post spam back then.
- bombcar 5mo ago
  If you have a forum and haven’t found a thread that is just one guy arguing with himself on twelve sock accounts; well then you haven’t been looking or only have one user.
lopis 5mo ago
It's been well know to happen on reddit too for many years. Whole posts and comment threads copied verbatim with new accounts. Nowadays with AI you can make it way more dynamic.
- embedding-shape 5mo ago
  > It's been well know to happen on reddit too for many years "For many years" being around 20 years at this point. Not sure reddit is a great example, given the founders admitted to using sockpuppets almost since day 1 in order to generate fake activity on the platform.
- jerf 5mo ago
  AI has been awful on Reddit. I've acquired a sense for at least some of the bots. There's this set of bots that post a high-engagement post about once a day to an implausibly large range of subreddits, with implausible regularity. I can tell by the way I remove them and the way that the other subs are mostly not that most subs have not figured this out yet. There is an obvious solution to that problem, which I haven't wanted to put out there, but I've become increasingly suspicious that it's already been figured out anyhow, which is to limit a specific user account to a specific "persona" with plausible interests and posting rates. And that's where I think the race may well end, victory spammers. If there's a winning move against that in general I haven't figured it out. I know reddit is concerned about this at the corporate level but I'm not sure they realize this is possibly their #1 threat, towering above all others. Not that I have any specific suggestions about what to do about it either. And it's years before the masses realize this and stop visiting, and by the time that happens all the social media companies are going to be in trouble for the same reason. You can see the leading edge here on HN but it's still only an almost negligible fraction of the total userbase of something like Reddit today. But that will change.
  - chorkpop 5mo ago
    Considering reddit now allows you to hide your post history, I don't know if the admins consider bots to be the giant problem that they certainly are.
weird-eye-issue 5mo ago
Yes and what they do is use actual registered investment advisors names and set up scam websites for them. This way it's more legitimate because if you research that person you will find that they are actually registered in official databases.
sebakubisz 5mo ago
Have you seen the same chain pattern outside finance yet? Wonder whether investment scams are the most conspicuous because the payout per convert is high or whether it's seeded the widest on YouTube specifically.
- nibbleyou 5mo ago
  I saw something like this for a book. It was under an Instagram reel where the person was describing ways to improve your self-esteem. In the comments section someone mentioned a book that worked for them and it had a few replies saying how it worked for them too. I searched for the book and it was a very new book from an unknown author and zero reviews everywhere.
- lewispollard 5mo ago
  Happens a lot in meditation/spiritual videos on YouTube, spam promoting some AI-generated "manifest riches with the power of your mind" type book.
SV_BubbleTime 5mo ago
I’m putting together an AI presentation internally for my company, can anyone point to examples of this exact behavior? I’d like to use it as a reference.
- bachmeier 5mo ago
  Just go to a popular YouTube retirement channel and check the comments on a new video. For instance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awtflo0cU4o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awtflo0cU4o Most of the creators delete those comments, but if you get in early, you'll see them.
  - SV_BubbleTime 5mo ago
    Thanks! I think I found one in that link. @DeniseJ.Wilson 6 hours ago I believe that a 'hard economy' is actually the best time to build if you have discipline and the right strategy. Most people spend their time complaining, but I believe in execution over excuses. I made a smart move in early 2026, and because I believe in staying the course, I just hit $1M. The momentum is still building, and by the end of this year, it’s going to be massive. And the replies start talking about a Coach Julia out of no where. To search set up an apt.
Barbing 5mo ago
Most elaborate scam (illegally run by SF entrepreneur?) https://claimyr.com/government-services/irs/I-filed-my-2021-taxes-in-May-2023-Recieved-letter-from-IRS-to-verify-my-identity-in-person-That-was-done-in-August-2023-After-checking-transcript-seen-they-updated-my-info-in-system-Sept-2023-After-months-of-checking-transcript-no-update-Never-received-letter-phone-call-anything-about-my-taxes-Checked-it-today-just-to-see-and-see-theres-still-a-810-code-followed-by-766-and-768-if-Im-not-mistaken-those-codes-were-there-in-Feb-2024-when-I-checked-I-did-receive-my-2022-tax-return-and-my-2023-with-no-issues-if-that-helps-Thanks-Heres-the-latest-transcript-also/2024-04-30 https://claimyr.com/government-services/irs/I-filed-my-2021-...
bachmeier 5mo ago
If only Google had access to an AI service. That sounds like a snarky comment, but given how easy it would be for Google to use AI to zap those, I can only think there's something preventing them from using it.

by hrunt 5mo ago

Forgeties79 5mo ago

They also talk like people in a national ad. “Wow! Seems like it’s so easy to change over with savings like that!”

sixhobbits 5mo ago
The bad ones seem like this, the scary part is not knowing if there are good ones
- Forgeties79 5mo ago
  Generally when people start having a back and forth about a product I assume it’s astroturfing unless it makes sense in context and/or it’s just one of those brands people genuinely get excited about (they tend to be obvious ones you’ve seen a lot already). Doesn’t mean I don’t ever get duped, but idk. You learn to spot the signs. I imagine most of us on HN catch most instances. Genuine-seeming referrals aren’t as easy to fake as one would think.

pinkmuffinere 5mo ago

Oh I love these comment threads! I like to add another reply saying something like “oh my goodness, I used Elizabeth Ferguson for my investing too!! She went to my college, so I thought I could trust her. But then I found out she was cheating on me with my wife! We got a divorce and i lost half my assets in the separation. Elizabeth Ferguson probably is enjoying them now :(. Just one experience, but buyer beware!”

basilikum 5mo ago
I'd be careful with that. Sounds like you could be mistaken for a bot that is part of the scheme and get your Google account banned. Then again, you should live under the assumption that your Google account could be banned at any time with no recourse. You do have local backups of all your Google account data and don't need your Gmail account to access anything important, right?
- bombcar 5mo ago
  That makes me realize that banning is a punishment only usable on people who care about their account. Scammers don’t, a new bot account is a click away. But basilikum would be sad to lose his account.
  - radlad 5mo ago
    For something like YouTube, there is a small monetary cost in order to verify a phone number.
    - efilife 5mo ago
      you don't need to verify the phone number to comment
      - basilikum 5mo ago
        Depends on how much Google dislikes your IP and browser.
giraffe_lady 5mo ago
Fun until that's a real person using a paid bot service to promote their business and you just libeled them in a perfectly preserved medium.
- radlad 5mo ago
  Dishonesty, meet dishonesty. (Legally, I think libel requires intent.)

Ralfp 5mo ago

I’ve been seeing this kind of spam on forums all the way back in 2004. I wonder if it was a feature in Xrumer or whatever they used to post spam back then.

bombcar 5mo ago
If you have a forum and haven’t found a thread that is just one guy arguing with himself on twelve sock accounts; well then you haven’t been looking or only have one user.

lopis 5mo ago

It's been well know to happen on reddit too for many years. Whole posts and comment threads copied verbatim with new accounts. Nowadays with AI you can make it way more dynamic.

embedding-shape 5mo ago
> It's been well know to happen on reddit too for many years "For many years" being around 20 years at this point. Not sure reddit is a great example, given the founders admitted to using sockpuppets almost since day 1 in order to generate fake activity on the platform.
jerf 5mo ago
AI has been awful on Reddit. I've acquired a sense for at least some of the bots. There's this set of bots that post a high-engagement post about once a day to an implausibly large range of subreddits, with implausible regularity. I can tell by the way I remove them and the way that the other subs are mostly not that most subs have not figured this out yet. There is an obvious solution to that problem, which I haven't wanted to put out there, but I've become increasingly suspicious that it's already been figured out anyhow, which is to limit a specific user account to a specific "persona" with plausible interests and posting rates. And that's where I think the race may well end, victory spammers. If there's a winning move against that in general I haven't figured it out. I know reddit is concerned about this at the corporate level but I'm not sure they realize this is possibly their #1 threat, towering above all others. Not that I have any specific suggestions about what to do about it either. And it's years before the masses realize this and stop visiting, and by the time that happens all the social media companies are going to be in trouble for the same reason. You can see the leading edge here on HN but it's still only an almost negligible fraction of the total userbase of something like Reddit today. But that will change.
- chorkpop 5mo ago
  Considering reddit now allows you to hide your post history, I don't know if the admins consider bots to be the giant problem that they certainly are.

weird-eye-issue 5mo ago

Yes and what they do is use actual registered investment advisors names and set up scam websites for them. This way it's more legitimate because if you research that person you will find that they are actually registered in official databases.

sebakubisz 5mo ago

Have you seen the same chain pattern outside finance yet? Wonder whether investment scams are the most conspicuous because the payout per convert is high or whether it's seeded the widest on YouTube specifically.

nibbleyou 5mo ago
I saw something like this for a book. It was under an Instagram reel where the person was describing ways to improve your self-esteem. In the comments section someone mentioned a book that worked for them and it had a few replies saying how it worked for them too. I searched for the book and it was a very new book from an unknown author and zero reviews everywhere.
lewispollard 5mo ago
Happens a lot in meditation/spiritual videos on YouTube, spam promoting some AI-generated "manifest riches with the power of your mind" type book.

SV_BubbleTime 5mo ago

I’m putting together an AI presentation internally for my company, can anyone point to examples of this exact behavior? I’d like to use it as a reference.

bachmeier 5mo ago
Just go to a popular YouTube retirement channel and check the comments on a new video. For instance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awtflo0cU4o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awtflo0cU4o Most of the creators delete those comments, but if you get in early, you'll see them.
- SV_BubbleTime 5mo ago
  Thanks! I think I found one in that link. @DeniseJ.Wilson 6 hours ago I believe that a 'hard economy' is actually the best time to build if you have discipline and the right strategy. Most people spend their time complaining, but I believe in execution over excuses. I made a smart move in early 2026, and because I believe in staying the course, I just hit $1M. The momentum is still building, and by the end of this year, it’s going to be massive. And the replies start talking about a Coach Julia out of no where. To search set up an apt.

Barbing 5mo ago

Most elaborate scam (illegally run by SF entrepreneur?) https://claimyr.com/government-services/irs/I-filed-my-2021-taxes-in-May-2023-Recieved-letter-from-IRS-to-verify-my-identity-in-person-That-was-done-in-August-2023-After-checking-transcript-seen-they-updated-my-info-in-system-Sept-2023-After-months-of-checking-transcript-no-update-Never-received-letter-phone-call-anything-about-my-taxes-Checked-it-today-just-to-see-and-see-theres-still-a-810-code-followed-by-766-and-768-if-Im-not-mistaken-those-codes-were-there-in-Feb-2024-when-I-checked-I-did-receive-my-2022-tax-return-and-my-2023-with-no-issues-if-that-helps-Thanks-Heres-the-latest-transcript-also/2024-04-30 https://claimyr.com/government-services/irs/I-filed-my-2021-...

bachmeier 5mo ago

If only Google had access to an AI service. That sounds like a snarky comment, but given how easy it would be for Google to use AI to zap those, I can only think there's something preventing them from using it.