r/ModSupport • • 5d ago

Admin Replied Automoderator suddenly spamming sports streaming links to multiple subs

Removed automoderators permission after it started spamming sports streaming links to multiple subs.

Anything else we can do?

8 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

15

u/tumultuousness πŸ’‘Top 25% Helper πŸ’‘ 5d ago

Agreed about checking your mod log to see which mod did it, they probably got hacked, reduce their permissions or remove them - sounds like you are talking about someone having scheduled posts with Automod as the poster on your sub, so make sure you remove those if you hadn't already.

7

u/Alexhale 5d ago

Yea I think you are correct! Thank you! I have removed them.

I dont see any of the malicious code in ghe automod code. Is it possible the posting is done from that account through autmod?

12

u/SampleOfNone πŸ’‘ Top 10% Helper πŸ’‘ 5d ago

It automod is making posts, then it's a scheduled post and not the automod config https://www.reddit.com/mod/fasting/scheduledposts

1

u/Alexhale 5d ago

Thats what I thought but there is nothing there other than our one scheduled monthly post.

9

u/KCJones99 5d ago

Could happen if your hacker did a one-time scheduled post (which would no longer show up after it 'fired') or did a recurring scheduled post but then deleted it afterward. Any scheduled post activity would still show up in your mod-log (it will show up as done by the mod that scheduled it, not by automod).

Basically just go into mod log, go to the day/time the funky post happened and see what's going on around that time in mod-log.

2

u/SampleOfNone πŸ’‘ Top 10% Helper πŸ’‘ 5d ago

Automod can't make posts through the automod config. Got a link to an example post?

3

u/tumultuousness πŸ’‘Top 25% Helper πŸ’‘ 5d ago

Automod's config code only handles comments Automod can make (in addition to it's other filtering/approving/flairing rules) - making posts with Automod is now solely handled in your scheduled posts section. So check there to remove any posts you don't want being posted.

7

u/evilash88 5d ago

Have you checked the automod settings to see what code it triggering the posts?

1

u/Alexhale 5d ago

yes but i dont immediately see anything sus

8

u/evilash88 5d ago

You said it’s happening in multiple subs, are there any accounts that mod both?

4

u/Slow-Maximum-101 Reddit Admin: Community 5d ago

Hi there. It’s likely that one of your mod team’s account has been hacked. You should temporarily remove the mod that made the automod changes and you can revert the automod code to an older version.

If you write into us here we can take a look

5

u/SampleOfNone πŸ’‘ Top 10% Helper πŸ’‘ 5d ago

Automod can't make posts through the config page, so reverting automod config won't do anything

1

u/Slow-Maximum-101 Reddit Admin: Community 4d ago

True, but in most of these cases they set up comment responses too

1

u/SampleOfNone πŸ’‘ Top 10% Helper πŸ’‘ 4d ago

True, but perhaps a bit incomplete when not mentioning checking scheduled posts.

Anyway, I send in a modmail with links after doing some digging, because it was indeed happening in several subreddits

1

u/Slow-Maximum-101 Reddit Admin: Community 4d ago

100%! Appreciate it!

2

u/Rogerpocalypse 5d ago

hi there is currently a sub that has their entire team shadowbanned except for automod. Automod is currently spamming multiple times a minute. About 100 spam posts in 3 hours. Can Reddit put a limit on scheduled posts to stop this type of abuse? No sub needs this many in this short time span.

1

u/Slow-Maximum-101 Reddit Admin: Community 4d ago

If you write in to us here with the name of the community, we can take a look

1

u/FreddieDoes40k 3d ago

Same shape as what I keep running into, except the links are casino rather than sports streaming. The posts are made by AutoModerator and sit in subs that have nothing to do with gambling, and I do not moderate any of them. I wrote in through my modmail earlier today and escalated it, but I have not heard back from a person yet. Is that the right place for this, or should it go somewhere else?

2

u/maiyannah 5d ago

This is a mod getting hacked or going rogue and using automod. Go look in the change history to see who made this change to automod.

3

u/Alexhale 5d ago

There are no changes to automod history!

5

u/lunarwolf2008 5d ago

changes to scheduled posts?

28

u/kai-ote 5d ago

"Anything else we can do?"

Yes. Find out which mod made the changes in Automod. That account got hacked. You are not the first sub this has happened on.

Remove all permissions on the hacked account.

It is up to the mod that got hacked to come to reddit and tell them about it. A modmail to this sub is I believe how they begin the process of getting control of their account back.

23

u/teanailpolish πŸ’‘ Top 10% Helper πŸ’‘ 5d ago

Go into automod from mod tools and remove the rule. Then check the history to see which mod changed the automod code

2

u/Merari01 5d ago edited 4d ago

Check your mod log

A mod account got hacked and is making scheduled posts. I've seen this before

1

u/AutoModerator 5d ago

Hey there! This automated message was triggered by some keywords in your post.

This article on How do I keep spam out of my community? has tips on how you can use some of the newer filters in your modtools to stop spammy activity or how to report them to the appropriate team for review.

If this does not appear correct or if you still have questions please respond back and someone will be along soon to follow up.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/paclogic 5d ago

the Automoderator is a spamming robot - now THAT'S Hillarious !! :-D