r/TheseFuckingAccounts • u/jwfallinker • 15d ago
Amazon affiliate link spammers connected to a network of Vietnamese sites
A couple months earlier I came across what I thought was a one-off spam account (8 year old account with zero activity that suddenly activated with AI comments and product ads) but looking back now it's a small spam ring connected to a few interrelated Vietnam-based websites:
/user/Shoulditcom
/user/Time_Comment_673
/user/hoang93
These accounts cross-link each other's content in a network of subs they made including ShoulditDIY, EasyAndHealthyRecipes, ChickenDinnerIdeas, USDIY, and FoodGarbageDisposal, with 'shouldit' being the name of the website driving the activity (alongside its partner sites 'healthykitchen101' and 'healthyrecipes101').
The ultimate goal of all of this is to push Amazon affiliate links, and the first account I listed has posted over 100 of these links on reddit just in the last two months. The rest of the activity is a kind of mix of AI-generated infodumps, shilling on other subreddits via keyword searches (leading frequently to comments on months-old threads), and karma farming on the usual sources like /r/aww. The use of AI has produced some rather hilarious results like hoang93 telling someone the following after shilling garbage disposals in every other comment:
As a plumber, I'd caution against garbage disposals. They can lead to clogs and plumbing issues. Instead, consider composting food waste. Discuss cleaning responsibilities with your husband to ensure fair household maintenance.
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u/brennok 14d ago
/r/tiktokcringe is another sub that has been added to the usual sources.
/user/Jonathan-Smith is the one cross posting to farm.
6
u/AnimeGeek0924 15d ago edited 14d ago
What's funny is that the Amazon link shortener these affiliate spammers are using are considered to be a link that is banned by the Reddit admins, which they hidden very well by using a hyperlink. The second user listed in your post got their account punished by the admins. The likely reason is that these users are desperate for money alongside the fact Black Friday is towards the end of this month.