Vote stuffing accounts

More:

https://www.imdb.com/user/ur198049579/

https://www.imdb.com/user/ur198049651/

https://www.imdb.com/user/ur198049708/

https://www.imdb.com/user/ur198049807/

https://www.imdb.com/user/ur198049760/

I can't be the only one to notice the tsunami of possible bot accounts with the username variation on imdbfan-(random ten-digit number set). At face value, these accounts are voting for different options on polls and randomly rating different IP (movies, etc...). So? Not the usual red flag activity where bot accounts ratings bombings a particular movie or tv series. But still, something one should monitor or even prevent from happening - considering they aren't actual human owned accounts. Of course, there's the nano-sized chance that this is some kind of coordinated flashmob/long haul prank. Either way? This should be monitored and discouraged (if not outright banned for the possibility of the havoc that could be inflicted on IMDb's reputation). Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation Link : https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/just-another-flood-of-suspicious-imdb-accounts-imdbfan/692ede5e73137847efcfc162 Title : Just Another Flood of Suspicious IMDb Accounts - imdbfan-(...)

Hey, guys I saw many votings in my new poll and also saw that there were several users called imdbfan - xxxxxxxxxx (xxxxxxxxxx seem to be randomly 10-digit numbers) I suspect someone to manipulate the votings. What do you think about? Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation Link : https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/imdb-poll/botvotings-in-the-poll-section/692e2bd423ac613afa174ba5 Title : Bot-Votings in the Poll Section?

Thanks for the problem reports. The accounts which @Jessica reported look like AI powered clones with the same profile text just reworded for different generes.  Please await the IMDb CS team to comment on this separately and to possibly start an investigation.  

However, a little bit of background on @Breumaster's point around the imdbfan-XXXXXXXXXX accounts; these are not necessarily bot accounts.  Earlier this year we had to make a temporary change to how we pick the default account nickname for new IMDb accounts, and using the "imdbfan-" format was active for a few weeks.  While many people who registered during this time have subsequently manually changed their nicknames, some people are unware that their generic account name is visible on the site and have not changed it to something more personal. 

Please merge with this thread https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/imdb-poll/bots-voting-on-polls/69339ea47c486c22fdf971f2

These bots' names have the format

firstname lastname - 5 digit number

The first and last names are 5 - 7 characters long, and are common english names.

Look at these creeps. All the names follow the format firstnamelastname-##### All accounts are 9 months old, and have voted on exactly 10 polls. Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation Link : https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/imdb-poll/bots-voting-on-polls/69339ea47c486c22fdf971f2 Title : Bots Voting on Polls.

Hello Jessica, 

Thank you for reporting this.

I've forwarded this information to our technical team for further investigation, ticket reference V2028128082. I'll circle back when we receive an update on this.