Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/Scam warning

advice to call the authorities

I think this goes way beyond the scope of anything WP can/should say to people. Naming something as possible fraud is one thing (and I could borderline live with saying "possible fraud") but advising people to not pay under contracts they make or call the cops is not what we should do. Jytdog (talk) 20:14, 29 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Why not? We're only trying to prevent people being scammed. Shantavira|^{feed me} 18:34, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Is there an AbuseFilter that can detect this scam?

Ups and Downs (↕) 04:57, 8 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It is mostly done off-Wiki via email, so it looks unlikely. If you can identify part of the scam done on-Wiki, please let us know what to look for. Thanks.

BTW, it looks like at least one account has been blocked that was related to this notice. It's hard to say for certain, though, since there has been no official announcement Smallbones_(smalltalk) 14:26, 16 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Email does not exist

When sending a report to the paid-en-wp@wikimedia.org address it returns the following error:

paid-en-wp@wikimedia.org, ERROR CODE :550 - Address paid-en-wp@wikimedia.org does not exist 2601:404:C300:3B0:78FE:4CD9:1101:26B3 (talk) 19:35, 28 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

You should add a filter for this

You should AmongusRanger (talk) 19:56, 23 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

For what exactly? Primefac (talk) 20:03, 23 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Professional wikipedians?

Hi everyone, we recieved this mail from (Redacted)

Hello ...... owner,
Hope you are doing well! I hope this email finds you well. I am reaching out to you as a professional Wikipedia writer, offering my services to help boost your business's online presence and credibility. Having a Wikipedia page for your business is essential in today's digital age. Not only does it establish credibility and authority in your industry, but it also increases search engine visibility and helps in building trust with potential customers. A Wikipedia page can significantly boost your SEO efforts, ultimately leading to increased brand recognition and customer engagement. By having a presence on Wikipedia, more people will come across your brand and learn about what you offer, which can ultimately result in increased sales and customer trust. Your business will become more reputable, making it easier for customers to trust your brand and choose your products or services. One of the lesser-known benefits of having a Wikipedia page is the impact it can have on your SEO efforts. Backlinks from Wikipedia are highly valuable in the eyes of search engines, as Wikipedia is considered a highly authoritative and trustworthy source. By including relevant links to your website on your Wikipedia page, you can improve your search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic to your site. One of the key benefits of having a Wikipedia page is that it will be valid for a lifetime guarantee. This means that once the page is created, it will remain on the site indefinitely, providing a lasting impact on your online reputation. If you are interested in moving forward with this initiative, please let me know at your earliest convenience. I will be more than happy to assign you to our digital marketing manager, who will guide you through the process and ensure that your Wikipedia page is created in a timely and professional manner. Looking forward to hearing from you. Warm regards, (Redacted)
Wikipedia Content Writer

Moroder (talk) 09:46, 24 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Moroder, I've formatted your post just a little bit to indicate what was email and what was your content (but I didn't change anything). That's definitely a scam email, and you're welcome to ignore it. Primefac (talk) 11:49, 24 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I'm getting a paid editor vibe from this one more than a scam vibe. Of course, most paid editors are undisclosed paid editors, which is against our terms of service. Paid editors have major problems following WP:NPOV and avoiding a promotional tone so do not usually do a good job. If the topic is actually notable, writing a draft using the article wizard and including citations is usually better, and it's free. –Novem Linguae (talk) 22:36, 24 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Eh... six or two threes; either way you're out of money with no article to show for it. Primefac (talk) 23:11, 24 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Being pinged on this reminded me of the existence of this RfC draft. I forget most of the particulars, but I do not understand how something like this can be an article. I suggest we close this down. Coretheapple (talk) 14:10, 24 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Uh... are you commenting in the right place? You were not pinged and this has nothing to do with an RfC. Primefac (talk) 14:20, 24 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry I meant AfC. Right, I was not pinged but it was on my watchlist. Coretheapple (talk) 14:40, 24 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I do not understand how something like this can be an article. Which article are you referring to? This page is Wikipedia:Articles for creation/Scam warning, so I assume you mean something else? –Novem Linguae (talk) 22:29, 24 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps I should clarify my point. I am all in favor of this scam warning. It's great. But what I don't understand is why it is being structured in quite this fashion, through the AfC process which is typically reserved for creating mainspace articles. In other words, why not create this as an essay or through some other methodology? I do like the scam warning as I said, and I think I may place it on my user page. Coretheapple (talk) 21:52, 30 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
This message is for editors and subjects that have been contacted or solicited by anyone asking for payment to get a draft into article space, which is directly in the purview of AfC and is the primary source for bad actors to find people to harangue for money. You are welcome to transclude the message onto your user page. Primefac (talk) 10:12, 1 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Appreciate the explanation and yes, I have placed that warning on my page as I think it needs to be disseminated. Coretheapple (talk) 13:41, 1 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Backlinks from Wikipedia are highly valuable in the eyes of search engines This is probably wrong. We use nofollow in our external links, which tells search engines to ignore our backlinks. –Novem Linguae (talk) 22:32, 24 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]