A Scammy Mistake To Make When Marketing MLM Opportunities
Okay, if you have your own blog then you’re probably used to dealing with comment spam by now.
But, lately I’ve been hit by something even worse!
Forget about comment spam, because this is seriously a comment scam.
Because somebody is literally stealing other people’s comments (Yes, mine too) and using them to post new comments on this blog…
Here’s just one string of comments I’ve deleted lately…
The funny thing (if it wasn’t so sad), is that Partick, Ian, Larry, Dennis, George, Robin, Adam, and Jeff are all the exact same person using the same blog template on every single comment they leave. What a loser.
(Side Note: Don’t worry if your name is mentioned above. This guy’s easy to spot and I delete his comments right away.)
But I actually enjoy deleting these types of comments…
You see, the plugin I use (Akismet) usually takes care of these dorks before I have to. But, every once in a while one gets through and I make it my personal mission to delete every comment they even think of posting on this blog. It’s the same pleasure a little boy gets crushing helpless ants…
And, here’s why I think it’s a really stupid mistake
1) It doesn’t work. 2) You will get caught. 3) The Internet NEVER forgets.
Seriously, 40 years from now your grand kids will be able to search everything you ever posted online. Gosh, nevermind 40 years from now – they can do it today. And, if you think you can “delete” your history – you’ve probably never heard of the WayBackMachine.
Honestly, when it all boils down, no amount of web traffic, sales, or recruits from any sleazy scheme will ever be worth more than your name.
So why people insist on “gambling” with their future is beyond me…
Because Your Reputation Is Your Brand
Like Bob Burg said: “All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like and trust.”
It simply doesn’t pay to shoot yourself in the foot.
Please, if you enjoyed this article then share it with your friends.
To your success,
-Jason The “Better Networker”
-The Jason Better Blog
New Here? Well then, join the circle of friends by signing up for more free network marketing tips delivered straight to your inbox. It’s real easy to do. 
76 Comments
Josh Garcia on April 26th, 2010
Hey Jason,
Lately I’ve been getting hit with a lot of comment spam.
Besides Askimet, is there any other prevention that we could place?
Chat with you later…
Josh
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 10:51 am
I wish I knew.
Akismet is 100% the best option I’ve used so far.
Unfortunately, it sometimes eats legit comments too.
If you find something, I’m all ears…
And you can bet I would write an article about it too if it worked better than Akismet.
[Reply]
Kerie Cooper on April 26th, 2010
That sucks! It’s a shame that someone with so much time on their hands is using it so ineffectively. Sorry you have to go through that – what a P.I.A.
You’re always ‘On It’ Jason – that’s why I follow you.
Kerie
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Thanks Kerie,
It’s kinda funny actually.
I wonder where these people get their marketing advice?
Not here! hah.
[Reply]
Wayne Vassell on April 26th, 2010
Hey J,
I hear ya! I have been hit with a quite a few comment spammers/scammers recently.
I won’t go into detail, but it is sad to see some of these attempts to take advantage of peoples blogs as they start to gain popularity.
I guess that is part of the challenges we have to face. All I can say is, good job our blogs are well equipped for these scenarios.
Thanks for bringing this topic up.
Wayne Vassell, signing out…
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Funny thing is, I almost approved them.
Then I noticed that all the links were going to basically the same blog…
[Reply]
Dwayne Huggins on April 26th, 2010
Hey J
These spammers inspired my post today.
They work so hard at there spam, they could use the same enegry (maybe less) and get soooo much more!
Oh well. Where there is GOOD there will always be bad. Sad but true.
Happy Monday
Dwayne
[Reply]
Ross on April 26th, 2010
Spam commenting is certainly one of the most annoying things and Akismet catches most of mine. Everyone once in a while it lets one slip through. One red flag is that the comment is not really related to the post or doesn’t offer anything specific to the post like the “Great post .. blah blah” stuff. But back to your point, that’s a really pathetic thing to do.
[Reply]
Twila Jacobs on April 26th, 2010
I have been hit hard over the weekend! Sorry it’s happening, but also glad to see it’s not just me.
How stupid do they think we are when they are using comments that have already been made, using even my own name and reply at times. It is kind of funny, but annoying at the same time.
Have a great day!
Twila
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Weird,
This is like a spam virus.
Seems to have hit a few of us over the weekend.
[Reply]
Melodie Kantner on April 26th, 2010
Yea. I have had a few spammers already. Reputation is important. I don’t understand the way some people operate in their business. How do they expect to be successful? It’s beyond comprehension.
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
What was it that Jim Rohn would say?
“Isn’t that interesting…”
I need to break out those tapes instead of crushing spammers.
[Reply]
Emma on April 26th, 2010
Oh My Goodness!
It’s one thing for a desperate person to spam but to steal comments… perhaps they don’t write English very well?!
Pleased you’re on to it!
Wishing you a fabulous week
Emma
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Thank you Emma. 
That’s a good guess too.
Better than any I have about these weird copy and pasted comments.
[Reply]
Craig White on April 26th, 2010
Jason,
I only thought that this was happening to my blog.
I have these Ruskies(Russian Dudes)that keep spamming my blog with the same stupid comments. I thought that this was some kind of software that goes out and creates comments for you to get back links. After reading your posts it cleared this up for me.
Next time before I delete them I will take a screen shot like you did and post there names in public.
Thanks,
Craig White
[Reply]
Dan Johnson on April 26th, 2010
Wouldn’t you think that spammers would realize by now that most website owners approve comments before they let them be posted, so their dream of thousands seeing their ad are crushed immediately.
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
You would think?
Hmmm, I wonder how many thousands of comments they have to post to accidentally get a sale?
[Reply]
Marc on April 26th, 2010
Hi Jason
I had this to, Josh Garcia made a genuine comment on one of my posts, and a chap called Carlos posted the same comment……SAD
Thanks for your post Jason
Marc
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Very sad.
Almost feel sorry for anybody who thinks they can get away with that.
[Reply]
Mark Gubuan on April 26th, 2010
Nice!! That means the ridiculous amount of spam I’ve been getting means that I’m actually popular (tear)…
Viagra123 if you’re out there, I’m watching you!!
Not in the gross sicko way…geez people…..
I’m pretty sure if you get the commentluv plugin you can enact a “no follow” rule.
Mark
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
Hah!
Mark you make me laugh.
I’m not sure if I want to go with “no follow”.
But it’s an idea.
[Reply]
Doug Bauknight on April 26th, 2010
LOL! I had a guy once who attempted to defend himself as “Marge” in the comments section. He posted something really stupid – and, well…I told him as such.
Next thing I know this “Marge” comes to his defense and calls me all kinds of names.
Problem? Both “Marge” and this “John Doe” had the exact same IP address.
When I called him on it, all of the sudden he had a “roommate” and I was the one who didn’t want to accept the fact that I was wrong.
Whatever…
Any comments from either IP or e-mail address goes right into my spam folder, never to be seen or heard from again. (Thank goodness!)
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Haha!
I’ve heard the old “roommate” defense before.
Or it’s a “girlfriend” or “husband” or “wife”.
The lengths people will go.
[Reply]
Gayle Buchanan on April 26th, 2010
classic bullet proof teenager mentality! unfortunate bi-product of success.
sorry to hear you have been pounded, however congrats and yes – lousy no good sods who will regret it that’s for sure …
go get em Jason (love the ant analogy – yukkie but effective)
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
I would almost be happy if it was teenagers!
I have a feeling it’s much more sad than that.
[Reply]
Ana YourNetBiz Trainer on April 26th, 2010
On the other hand, comment spam can be considered a compliment – nobody would spam your blog, unless it’s worth it.
“Always look at the bright side of life.”
Best,
Ana Hoffman/YourNetBiz
[Reply]
Susanna on April 26th, 2010
Hey Jason,
I’ve had a few of those. They didn’t get through.
The first time I saw one in my spam box I had to stop and look a second. It was the exact comment someone had already left, even down to their name at the end of the comment! But it was from someone I’d never heard of.
Weird and dumb!
Great heads up!
Susanna
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:21 am
It’s bizarre,
It must be some sorta of program.
It’s been happening to me for days now and it’s
hard to sort the good comments out.
I think I lost a few. 
[Reply]
Derek Alvarez on April 26th, 2010
Thanks for the heads up, Jason!
I haven’t had this particular problem, but I do get at least 7 – 10 spam comments caught in Akismet a day…
All I have to do is hit “delete” but I wonder how many hours of my life these people are taking up…
Another one I noticed was spammers opting in to my list — so I switched to double opt-in.
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Oh my,
Wait till you double and triple that.
It takes 30 minutes a day to dig through the spam to approve the good comments. But worth it.
[Reply]
Winnie BAD on April 26th, 2010
errrr???no idea…need to follow more of you pro’s…am a newbie’s of a newbie of a newbie!!!thanks anyway for all the emails and infos…am a traditional networker…tryin to do online…hope to get up there!!! mANY THANKS JASON…IM GONNA BE BETTER…HOPE NOT SO LONG…
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 12:47 am
You’re in good hands here Winnie!
You can’t go too far wrong if you’re already following advice from Jason
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Hey Winnie,
You are in the right place if you want to learn to do it right.
If you really want to kick it high gear get ANYTHING you can from Mike Dillard, he’ll get you on track. And keep you there
Mike
[Reply]
Peter Montgomery on April 26th, 2010
Good on ya Jase,
It’s not good that it happens to you but I’m glad it’s not just me.
I just deleted 4 out of 6 new comments right before I popped over here.
Your posts are always timely.
Thanks again my man.
[Reply]
Mike Paul on April 26th, 2010
I love the comment spammers. They do bring such joy to my day, as I see the same comments from so many “different” people.
As I’m deleting them all, I’m singing the Monty Python Spam song in my head….
Watch out for those spammers,
Mike
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Some are actually hilarious.
I don’t know if you get the ones that leave dumb jokes.
I still delete them… but funny all the same.
[Reply]
anne on April 26th, 2010
Hi Jason,
I have been getting spammed a lot too. I thought I was attracting losers and chumps to my blog.
Happy to hear I’m not really a spam magnet. I was developing a complex.
Thanks for the heads up!
Anne
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:24 am
It’s something you’ll see more of the more popular your blog gets. A good sign?
Hmmm…
[Reply]
Tracey Hausel on April 26th, 2010
You know, with twitter and facebook spammers there is always a chance that it is someone new hasn’t learned better. But with this….no excuse.
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:26 am
It leaves me confused too.
I know there’s a learning curve but this is extreme.
[Reply]
Melisa on April 26th, 2010
spam sucks! It’s amazing how much time people will waste on stuff like that. Thank God for Akismet or else we would all be swimming in the stuff.
I also use WP-SpamFree. Here is a description of it. ~An extremely powerful anti-spam plugin that virtually eliminates comment spam. Finally, you can enjoy a spam-free WordPress blog! Includes spam-free contact form feature as well~
I am not sure if this will help or if you already have it but you can give it a try. 
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:26 am
I’ll have to give that one a test drive!
Thank you Melisa.
[Reply]
Rhonda Miller on April 26th, 2010
Wow. When I’m posting, I always try to keep in mind that when I hit the “submit” or “save” button, anything I’ve said will be forever in cyberspace for all to find if they had to.
It’s a shame that so many of us are out there trying to run a legit business and spammers like this come along and give us “internet gurus” a bad name.
I guess we’ll just have to ban together tighter than the scammy spammers.
I’m definitely sharing this post. Great comments from everyone.
Have a great evening,
Rhonda
[Reply]
Yadvinder Singh on April 26th, 2010
I would be starting my own blog soon and I would be using Aksimet for sure. Thanks for the insight Jason
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:27 am
It’s a pain to set-up but 100% necessary.
Otherwise you’ll get swamped with spam.
[Reply]
Peter Grimes on April 26th, 2010
Jason,
Makes you truly wonder why they even bother in the first place. I guess it’s like trying to justify why someone wud want to tag public buildings and the like.
Like you mentioned, our good name is our greatest asset.
Thanks for the post:)
[Reply]
Ilka Flood on April 26th, 2010
Hi Jason,
Thanks for posting this! I have been hit quite hard this past week too and couldn’t figure out what was happening. Someone just took some else’s comments and reposted them. First time I’ve ever seen something like that.
At least now I know what it is and that I’m not the only one.
Great post! Consider it retweeted and facebooked
Have a great day!
Ilka
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:28 am
With so many people getting hit – I’m guessing it has to be some kind of program.
It’s a shame to see genius wasted.
[Reply]
Marcus Baker on April 27th, 2010
Hi Jason,
My blog was also a target over the weekend.
I am applying the Rohn approach of “Isn’t that interesting” to this and whole more these days.
Personally it helps me to move on fast without giving more attention to ‘life’s parasites’ than they deserve to receive.
Have a great week!
Marcus
[Reply]
Michael Cole on April 27th, 2010
Hey Jason,
After reading all of these comments I’m starting to wonder if some jerk put together a copy and paste “product” promoting comment Spam.
What a waste of effort, if true
Mike
[Reply]
April 27th, 2010 at 10:31 am
It wouldn’t surprise me.
We live in a strange world.
If only they knew it was just as easy (if not easier) to make money by being less annoying.
[Reply]
Nelson Montanez on April 27th, 2010
Unfortunately where there is Good, sometime Evil lurks its ugly head and attempts to wreak havoc. Good and truth will always triumph. Thanks again Jason for all you do.
Be blessed
Nelson
[Reply]
Susan Redmon on April 28th, 2010
Too bad some people choose to use time spamming and scamming. They could spend time sharing really valuable info and adding to the community rather than detracting from it.
Susan
[Reply]
Kylie Doak on April 30th, 2010
Hi Jason
So it’s not just happening to me then?! lol
I’ve only had three stolen comments on my blog (last week, actually), but they were all comments that were already approved comments on MY blog.
Each stolen comment was identical to that of the original author (including their CommentLuv link!), but each of the three comments stolen were different from each other.
I always check through (often skim) the spam folder just to be sure something isn’t there by mistake, however, I did a “double take” when I found the first of these stolen comments!
Oh, the things some people stoop to …
There are some very strange people out there!
~ Kylie ~
[Reply]
April 30th, 2010 at 9:32 am
I think it’s some kind of script/robot.
It happens too often now to be a human.
[Reply]
Matt Cassity on May 25th, 2010
How could people even want to scam others?!?!
What Losers!
matthew
[Reply]
Hi Jason,
It never fails to amaze me how hard some people will work doing stupid things when it is so much easier to do them the right way, without spamminf.
Mike
[Reply]
April 26th, 2010 at 10:50 am
I know…
It’s almost like they go out of their way to be scammy when an honest day’s work is easier. lol.
[Reply]