In the wake of YouTube's new comment system, we decided to take a closer look at a growing problem on YouTube - Spam comments. Most of the times these comments go unnoticed as they really try to blend in. In this post we will look at the red flags in order to properly identify these potential threats.
These red flags are just a quick guide for those who are not sure how to identify something genuine. Just because a comment is highly rated, doesn't mean people really liked it. Bot software is a scammers best friend. If it contains a link, question it. Feel free to leave your comments or suggestions to further help fight against this ongoing issue.
- Comments that ask you to visit a link outside of YouTube. - These types of comments are usually from scammers trying to get you to buy a "package" that will help you - Get rid of acne, attract the opposite sex, work at home or become part of a pyramid scam network. In addition, these specific links could be potentially harmful to your computer.
- Comments that ask you to visit a link within YouTube. - These comments are usually harmless as they are merely shameless self promotions by aspiring music artist, or YouTube users desperate for views on their videos.
- Comments that have no relation to the video and display a keyword. - These comments can be problematic because their true intent is not known. This keyword that they're using could be a malicious site name or a product or service name in a pathetic gesture of harmless self-promotion. These comments typically have no relation to the video because they are generally generated by some sort of bot software.
- Comments that are extremely negative in nature. - Negative comments on YouTube are nothing out of the ordinary these days. Most harsh criticism relates to a deeper root of insecurity, immaturity, etc. Marketing schemes have caught on to this "trend" and have taken full advantage of it. The process is simple - They post a negative comment on your video, someone clicks their profile. In their profile they could have links or videos pointing to a specific product or service.
So what do you think? Is the new YouTube comment system really going to help against spam?
