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Anglerfish
hearing things



Registered: 09/08/10
Posts: 18,641
Loc: Norvegr
Last seen: 2 hours, 7 minutes
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Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples?
#28112654 - 12/26/22 07:10 AM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Few days ago a mail came trough the messenger service at MO from a user with the following request:
Dear Anglerfish,
I am currently doing research related to Psilocybe.
If possible, please make a dried specimen of any of the mushrooms described in https://mushroomobserver.org/512228 and send them to:
insert mailing address for specimens
Thanks,
Crystal
Turns out this MO user has provided zero observations. Seems fishy to me. A bit of googling of the provided email address indicates this is supposedly a woman living in Philadelphia, PA.
Anyone else got similar requests on MO?
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RenegadeMycologist
On the case



Registered: 12/05/20
Posts: 3,817
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 7 days, 20 hours
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Re: Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples? [Re: Anglerfish]
#28112695 - 12/26/22 08:09 AM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Yeah, it's very common on mo. Sort of pathetic scam attempt to acquire drugs. Few years ago I reported similar research request to webmaster and he said they debated for a long time how to deal with this problem, meaning this was happening since the dawn of mo.
You could just ignore it or report it, if you do the latter admins will contact the person in question and try to get some credentials, but he won't respond, so the admins will block their "mail through mo" option.
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Anglerfish
hearing things



Registered: 09/08/10
Posts: 18,641
Loc: Norvegr
Last seen: 2 hours, 7 minutes
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Re: Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples? [Re: RenegadeMycologist]
#28112735 - 12/26/22 09:24 AM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Thanks for the reply. I assume that any legit requests sent through MO would be from seasoned users writing some kind of introduction and description of their activities and whereabouts.
I find it rather hard though to believe this is an attempt to get drugs, given that I'm asked to send ONE specimen of P. semilanceata, lol. I don't think it's the woman who owns the mail address either, unless she is really, really stupid. Probably somebody who took her address from some mailing list or something. Maybe a bot of some kind. Also seems to me some real users on there have started using some kind of bot or "AI" to make entries. IDK. I like MO. I hope it doesn't get fucked up.
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RenegadeMycologist
On the case



Registered: 12/05/20
Posts: 3,817
Loc: Serbia
Last seen: 7 days, 20 hours
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Re: Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples? [Re: Anglerfish]
#28112752 - 12/26/22 09:59 AM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Anglerfish said: I assume that any ONE specimen of P. semilanceata

Perhaps it would escalate rather quickly - hey man you know that one mushroom you sent me, well dna extraction failed due to low mass, can you please send me now at least a kilo, just label it "research only"
Joke aside I think you're right that it's automated, some sort of bot request, but I think there is some sort of attempt to collect drugs in the end, or even money in some plot twist
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6The6Despised6One
southern-fried eskimo



Registered: 04/12/20
Posts: 502
Loc: cop(cobb) county GA
Last seen: 1 day, 11 hours
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Re: Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples? [Re: RenegadeMycologist]
#28112764 - 12/26/22 10:28 AM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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id say if you havent heard anything about it from Alan id be partly suspicious of what its going towards. it could be some random person just genuinely interested in a certain species or something too though. live specimen though? a prints not good enough?
some local mushroom farm or something would have no problem getting fruits from spores right? could be academical or some kind of genuine research for various entrepreneurial entities.
imo with the way its worded, i picture this person with access to at least one piece of actual lab equipment. whether its for cultivation, college project, or medical/company business is up for grabs.
there is that small chance though, some group of authority could be fishing for reasons to crack down on security and get funding.
id make sure they werent someone doing research to ban,restrict,regulate,decide whats best for the "herd" first, and then, if i had an abundance i might send this person a print or two out of gratitude from the generosity shown to me by you guys here on this site . (id want some credentials if i were sending a specimen lol)
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Moria841



Registered: 07/02/18
Posts: 4,928
Loc: NJ
Last seen: 5 hours, 45 minutes
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Re: Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples? [Re: 6The6Despised6One]
#28112860 - 12/26/22 12:43 PM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Sounds like some bot activity or an elaborate social engineering plot
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist

Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,271
Last seen: 5 hours, 55 minutes
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Re: Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples? [Re: Moria841]
#28112898 - 12/26/22 01:28 PM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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MO allows people to request specimens when observations of a certain genus are added. Sometimes people think it's funny to put in Psilocybe. Not sure if they really get samples, but they'd surely eat them if they did. When I notice it I report it to Jason Hollinger, who takes care of it. Looks like someone is at it again, I'll let him know.
I usually reply and ask them what kind of research they are doing and never hear back.
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist

Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,271
Last seen: 5 hours, 55 minutes
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Re: Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples? [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#28112923 - 12/26/22 01:58 PM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Jason replied and said "Yup, he's already been dealt with. We saw the notification when it was created and confronted the person, Joe just forgot to remove the notification. We try to stay on top of this."
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Anglerfish
hearing things



Registered: 09/08/10
Posts: 18,641
Loc: Norvegr
Last seen: 2 hours, 7 minutes
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Re: Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples? [Re: Anglerfish]
#28113054 - 12/26/22 03:59 PM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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I contacted the webmaster and got a swift reply with thanks for the notification. Then another message less than an hour later and told me they got a message from the user in question which told them she had accidentally sent the request. So it appears it was just a prewritten message function that she somehow managed to click on.
I reckon that if it really was a request for drugs, it would have been more elaborate.
Case closed, I guess.
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Mead

Registered: 07/26/02
Posts: 2,519
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Re: Anyone else been contacted by MO user with 0 posts requesting samples? [Re: Anglerfish]
#28115333 - 12/28/22 04:29 PM (1 year, 30 days ago) |
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Thread sheds some light on why nobody has ever responded to me asking if they took spore prints 
I don't want a specimen, just a couple spores
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