Strange bot-like behaviour on TOC X/twitter feeds

[startingaparty]

I regularly peruse the Northern Assist twitter feed to keep abreast of goings on across the network. However, over the past few months/years I've noticed what look like bot accounts always asking the same thing, almost word-for-word:

"I can no longer use the Advance ticket I have purchased for this weekend, what do I do?"

I've included a few examples below but copying and pasting the above into the twitter search bar will uncover a multitude of examples spanning months, if not years.

Are these bots? If yes, what do they stand to gain? It's utterly bizarre.

 

[High Dyke]

They seem to be bots. Asking same / similar questions across a multitude of ranges i.e. tickets, as highlighted, or restaurant discounts. I agree, it does seem bizarre. Like you, I can't see what they would gain. Still, it makes a change from the usual young ladies proffering their 'adult' pics on twitter accounts.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

"I can no longer use the Advance ticket I have purchased for this weekend, what do I do?"

What's the 'fishul response to the question?

 

[startingaparty]

What's the 'fishul response to the question?

Something alone the lines of "How did you purchase the ticket?" and then the bots reply, usually, "on the Northern app".

 

[greatkingrat]

Just a guess, but perhaps having an account with a history of asking generic questions from companies and getting replies makes it easier to avoid Twitters spam filters in the future, instead of using a brand new account.

 

[Mojo]

There are a lot of accounts on Twitter that seem to be faking those of real companies as some sort of phishing attempt. British Airways in particular seem to be particularly affected. See some of the other replies to tweets that their legitimate account has replied to: https://twitter.com/British_Airways/with_replies

Could it be that perhaps it is some sort of attempt at machine learning, to see how the official account really replies, so they can then start replying to real customers from fake accounts?

 

[YorksLad12]

I did wonder (because I'm a cynic) if they were posing the questions themselves so that they could answer them and highlight the app, or a ticket type. Like advertising, but without having to advertise.

Machine learning seems a much more likely answer, to be honest!

 

[Tetchytyke]

I’d say evasion of X bot prevention, as much as anything. Accounts having ‘real’ conversations mean they’re lies likely to be detected as a bot.

 

[Kite159]

Makes a change from the fake customer service accounts which exist solely to scam anybody unfortunate to give them enough details

 

[ollyrogers]

I run a hotel; we get a lot of these now to our email. Things like:
"Hi, I have a reservation at your hotel, but for some reason it has the wrong dates, how can I change the dates of my reservation? Regards"
"Unfortunately, I found myself in an unfortunate situation, me and my brother recently stayed with you and now my ID is lost I have searched everything, my bag and my car, I just hope that it is at the hotel and not somewhere else. The ID is in a case and it's issued in Georgia. Has anything been found? Your help is immensely appreciated.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, have a great day!"

I have found that they are phishing attempts. If you reply, they send a .zip file with malware that allows them access to hotel systems and, ultimately, to the credit card details of guests.

I am guessing there is a similar backstory to these. Once replied to, they will attempt a similar scam. Quite what the payoff would be I am unsure.

 

[jh64]

Twitter is absolutely cooked now. I have a few artist friends who've given up posting their work there because of the inevitable flood of bots offering ripped off t-shirts or prints of their work in the replies. Just about any account with a significant number of followers will now get a ton of spammed replies like 'Great', 'Nice post', 'Okay' or a string of emojis from blue-tick accounts trying to get more views for money. Things weren't great before the takeover but now the entire platform looks like the wreckage site of one of Musk's exploding rockets.

 

[YorkRailFan]

There are a lot of accounts on Twitter that seem to be faking those of real companies as some sort of phishing attempt. British Airways in particular seem to be particularly affected. See some of the other replies to tweets that their legitimate account has replied to: https://twitter.com/British_Airways/with_replies

Could it be that perhaps it is some sort of attempt at machine learning, to see how the official account really replies, so they can then start replying to real customers from fake accounts?

There are even accounts pretending to be the CEO of these companies.

 

[Arfbadger]

These are possibly mystery shoppers, who are supposed to change the wording of the enquiry they are assigned but frequently neglect to.

 

[renegademaster]

Facebook has gotten very bad recently with those travelcard scams they always refuse to take down when reported

 

[duffield]

Facebook has gotten very bad recently with those travelcard scams they always refuse to take down when reported

Only one thing would make them remove them, and that's legal liability leading to severe penalties. But there's no prospect of that, so basically the only prudent assumption is that everything on facebook is a scam or fake unless proved otherwise.

 

[Frontera2]

I regularly peruse the Northern Assist twitter feed to keep abreast of goings on across the network. However, over the past few months/years I've noticed what look like bot accounts always asking the same thing, almost word-for-word:

"I can no longer use the Advance ticket I have purchased for this weekend, what do I do?"

I've included a few examples below but copying and pasting the above into the twitter search bar will uncover a multitude of examples spanning months, if not years.

Are these bots? If yes, what do they stand to gain? It's utterly bizarre.

I don't believe they are bots -more likely to be mystery shopper / service quality (SQR) audits - certainly that's the case for the TOC I work for