POF : I am even a bot now. This shit is ridiculous.

POF : I am even a bot now. This shit is ridiculous.

I’ve been inactive on POF for a while (weeks/months) and, i see a notification that i got a new in box message. Reads to the extent of:

* »I’m not doing that. Have your friend do it himself if he is so interested. Is this a scam? Are you a bot? »*

I’m just ???????????????????????????????????

Its a response to a message from my account saying something like:

* »My friend is 6’2″ single, muscular. Likes your profile wants to meet you. Contact him through link »*

What the actual fuck? I changed my POF password, and then responded with an apology.

​

Next day. Same shit is happening again. Same outgoing message to a different woman.

Thing is: i’m wondering how exactly this is happening.

If they brute forced or just cracked the POF password, then, the usual MO is: change the pass so i can’t get in.

Perhaps not possible without email verification, and, if they don’t have the email i used to make that account, not doable, fair enough. They only have THAT POF pass to work with. Whatever they are trying to pull with this, they felt they needed an aged real account that has been inactive long enough that its obvious the user is not using it, but, not inactive long enough that it got shelved…ok… i get it.

However: if that theory is correct, how come changing to a new and stronger pass didn’t show them that i returned to an active user and have them give up? Also: this activity resumed so soon that it seemed like having my password seemed to be a moot factor to them having access.

Maybe they DO have my email, and, they are sending the password change requests and deleting them while i’m asleep, but…..no, because my password never changes unless i do it. This is a mystery.

O-fucking-K. Now, out of pure paranoia, i’m checking network history, running spyware tools, virus scan, changing my email passwords….

NOTHING ELSE aside from this POF incident was out of order or gave any hint that something was wrong.

My theory: POF must have terrible security, and, there are vulnerabilities that are letting hackers read the passwords off the database. This still leaves mystery. Why MY account. As OLD users go, i’m kind of a schlub and nothing to write home about. My face and my account is not enticing enough to be bait for anything. Why even bother with me?

Conspiracy theory: OF COURSE they have the new password. They WORK there! This is literally their paid job. Its just another step to shedding users off that division and on to other, more lucrative sites within the Match Group family of sites. Its some internal company politics horseshit. For some reason: its going to benefit someone if POF dies as a site that fell apart and failed, rather than just shutting it down openly.

Well, whatever it is: i made sure to delete my account before changing my email password.

I’ve actually had some success with POF over the years, even getting relationships that held out a few months, but, that place has gone too far in the shitter to be worthwhile anymore.

By. zoyathedestroyah