Bogus TB Discoveries

[+chaosmanor]

So I'm sitting at the computer, going through the mountains of old e-mails, looking for stuff to delete. While I'm at it, new e-mails come in...

 

"Hey! Someone Discovered a TB of ours that vanished more than six years ago! Cool Too bad they don't say where they saw it, but I can write to them about it. Hey, wait a second; here's another TB Discovery from the same people. And a third..."

 

OK, you can see what the deal is. All three of these "Discoveries" were on TBs that had tags in the old six-digits, numbers-only series. The cachers (Mia&Jesper) started at 100000 or thereabouts, did a "discovery", added '1', did a discovery on *that* TB, and so on. The three e-mails came in numerical order, based on the tag IDs.

 

As the three TBs in question had vanished hundreds of kilometers apart from each other, there was no way any of the "Discoveries" was legitimate, so I deleted the logs. If these folks are trying to qualify for a challenge cache or something, they can do it the right way. If they were looking at all of the different TBs over the past decade, that's cool, but Discoveries of TB pages is, for me, like claiming a Find on a cache you didn't get to.

 

So, don't be surprised if you get an e-mail that says that Mia&Jesper "Discovered" a TB of yours that vanished long ago. I would suggest deleting the log, unless it has some real details that sound legitimate. But it's really up to you. I just don't think making things easier for the cheaters and rule-benders helps any of us: that's my three-and-a-half cents.

[Keystone]

I received watchlist notifications on some very old travel bugs that hadn't been active in years, so I investigated a bit.

 

I have submitted a report to Groundspeak Customer Service about this behavior. The ticket number is 325062. If you reading this and are directly affected (i.e., one of your trackables was logged), feel free to write in to contact@Groundspeak.com and reference this ticket number.

[+Geodalf]

I found your 12 Days of Geocaching that went awol in 2009 in 2011 in a cache in New Mexico.

[+chaosmanor]

I found your 12 Days of Geocaching that went awol in 2009 in 2011 in a cache in New Mexico.

 

I remember that! That was pretty cool The thing is still traveling now, too; really glad you got that back on the road.

 

But that isn't what I'm talking about; this was four TBs (another log came in a few minutes ago) of TBs which were all lost years ago, all many miles apart from each other. There is no way that one cacher is going to Find all four of those on the same day.

 

Keystone: thanks for the info; I'm going to do that right now!

[+Sagefox]

I have submitted a report to Groundspeak Customer Service about this behavior. The ticket number is 325062. If you reading this and are directly affected (i.e., one of your trackables was logged), feel free to write in to contact@Groundspeak.com and reference this ticket number.

 

Yep. They hit one of our early TBs also. I came here to see if it has been reported. It has so I won't bother "contact" at this time. Happy to see it is under control.

 

Looks like these guys are hitting virtual caches too.

[+jday171]

Was wondering if we could create a user such as "TravelBugReaper" and a virtual type cache in the Bermuda Triangle that we could clear away the MIA objects into if they are reported missing for a given time. That would clear false inventory logs. Then require people who try to open a "I found it" to do an extra step to prove it in order to truly release it back into the land of the living. I go out of my way to snag items and if they are not there I get really upset.

[+nevadanick]

I get the 'false discovery' thing ... but what I don't get is how they manage to 'discover' anything without the actual TB number unless they have access to a file somehwere or a website that shows the TB's AND the GC tracking number. It's not like you can just say you discovered it without posting the actual tracking number too inhe discovery log.

[dryad5160]

Mia&Jesper hit me too x 4. I know it's bogus because one of my TB's was never released in the wild and I have it in my hand now. The other three have been MIA for years. Thanks for the report info, I'm going to add my complaint to your list. Interestingly, when I look at one of my TB's directly through the Geocache site, I don't see Mia&Jesper having had logged it. Maybe customer service has already started their work. I did NOT click in the link provided with the original e-mails for fear of a virus.

[+brilog]

What is the opinion of discovering bugs you see in pictures, IE postings and Youtube videos? It seems harmless but does it make for hard feelings?

[+6NoisyHikers]

Just "discovered" one that I know is in New York City right now.

 

In the big picture, arm-chair logging of anything isn't a matter of life and death - the only "inconvenience" is that it uses up a few more bytes of memory on the hamster server. But false discover logs defeat the purpose of the game. If you don't see the trackable in real time and can still log it, then we may as well all stay indoors on our computers looking for goofy street-view shots in Google maps.

 

As a cache owner, I would wonder how many of their 3000+ cache finds are real.

[Keystone]

Was wondering if we could create a user such as "TravelBugReaper" and a virtual type cache in the Bermuda Triangle that we could clear away the MIA objects into if they are reported missing for a given time. That would clear false inventory logs. Then require people who try to open a "I found it" to do an extra step to prove it in order to truly release it back into the land of the living. I go out of my way to snag items and if they are not there I get really upset.

In the old days, there were "travel bug graveyards" for this purpose. These false caches are all archived and locked now. That's because there's a feature called "Mark as Missing" that allows a cache owner, a trackable owner or a site volunteer/site administrator to move a trackable out of a cache's inventory and into an "unknown location."

[+NanCycle]

I get the 'false discovery' thing ... but what I don't get is how they manage to 'discover' anything without the actual TB number unless they have access to a file somehwere or a website that shows the TB's AND the GC tracking number. It's not like you can just say you discovered it without posting the actual tracking number too inhe discovery log.

 

Just keep trying number combinations until they hit on one that works.

[+nevadanick]

I get the 'false discovery' thing ... but what I don't get is how they manage to 'discover' anything without the actual TB number unless they have access to a file somehwere or a website that shows the TB's AND the GC tracking number. It's not like you can just say you discovered it without posting the actual tracking number too inhe discovery log.

 

Just keep trying number combinations until they hit on one that works.

 

OK ... I even get THAT idea. But the early posters were complaining about multiple long-time missing bugs being discovered, apparently on the same day too.

 

Try puching in random numbers and 'hitting' multiple trackables, all previously noted missing for some time. I think my chances of hitting the Pick-6 WITH a power ball ... without buying a ticket ... are better than hitting multiple random long lost trackables owned by the same geocacher.

[+Red Dragon]

I just discovered that I am also a victim of Mia and Jesper. I will delete their logs. I have the bugs here on my desk except for one that is in the hands of a cacher in Australia.

[RedShoesGirl]

I get the 'false discovery' thing ... but what I don't get is how they manage to 'discover' anything without the actual TB number unless they have access to a file somehwere or a website that shows the TB's AND the GC tracking number. It's not like you can just say you discovered it without posting the actual tracking number too inhe discovery log.

 

that's what i was wondering. an old TB of mine, that i had marked missing, was recently discovered. i wrote the person in germany that had discovered it and he said something about he had found the number on google? we wrote back and forth about stuff so i let him discover the TB and then i marked it missing again.

 

how does a cacher find a tracking number on google? i would have loved that particular TB to resurface as it disappeared soon after i released it. i think it was in a cache that had been destroyed by road construction. there was no indication there was going to be any future construction when we placed the bug. too bad because it was a kind of cool TB.

 

lara

[+BlackRose67]

What is the opinion of discovering bugs you see in pictures, IE postings and Youtube videos? It seems harmless but does it make for hard feelings?

There was one that I saw on Youtube (The Geocacher's Ring) that I logged as discovered.

 

Myself and others indicated they saw it on Youtube.

[RedShoesGirl]

What is the opinion of discovering bugs you see in pictures, IE postings and Youtube videos? It seems harmless but does it make for hard feelings?

There was one that I saw on Youtube (The Geocacher's Ring) that I logged as discovered.

 

Myself and others indicated they saw it on Youtube.

 

how can you discover something you've never seen physically ? isn't that the whole point of discovering? the only way geocaching works as a sport for a huge number of people is to play by the rules or guidelines. stealing a tracking number is simply wrong.

 

edited to add a crucial word.

Edited December 6, 2012 by RedShoesGirl

[+chaosmanor]

I get the 'false discovery' thing ... but what I don't get is how they manage to 'discover' anything without the actual TB number unless they have access to a file somehwere or a website that shows the TB's AND the GC tracking number. It's not like you can just say you discovered it without posting the actual tracking number too inhe discovery log.

 

Just keep trying number combinations until they hit on one that works.

 

OK ... I even get THAT idea. But the early posters were complaining about multiple long-time missing bugs being discovered, apparently on the same day too.

 

Try puching in random numbers and 'hitting' multiple trackables, all previously noted missing for some time. I think my chances of hitting the Pick-6 WITH a power ball ... without buying a ticket ... are better than hitting multiple random long lost trackables owned by the same geocacher.

 

Go back to my original post, and what was going on should be clearer to you. The TBs of ours which had bogus discoveries were all Bugs from the old series of dog tags that only had numbers. If you type 123456 in the "Enter the Tracking Code of the Item:" box on the trackables search page, you will get a message on the next page which says that this number is not in the system. So, go back, and change the '6' to a '7' and try again. This will get really frustrating for you, as you will keep getting "Does Not Exist" messages, but eventually, you will hit pay dirt. Once you have a number that works, just keep adding '1' to the number which you know works, and keep going. I am *NOT* saying that anyone should do this sort of thing; I'm obviously very opposed to it, but knowing how this stuff is done is useful to helping prevent it, or at least correcting things when they affect you directly.

 

Glad that some others who have had this happen to them have taken appropriate steps

[+C A Royal Flush]

I have been getting several bogus logs a day for a week now, by cacher "ithink314". Looks like they are logging hundreds of coins a day.

 

Here's what is strange about these discoveries, I am not getting emails for the discoveries. I just happened to look in my collection, sort it by newest log, and found a bunch of logs on coins I have never released.

 

I have reported the problem to Groundspeak, but you may want to check your collections. My guess is if you have a large amount of coins you are getting bogus logs and don't know it.

[+C A Royal Flush]

I have been getting several bogus logs a day for a week now, by cacher "ithink314". Looks like they are logging hundreds of coins a day.

 

Here's what is strange about these discoveries, I am not getting emails for the discoveries. I just happened to look in my collection, sort it by newest log, and found a bunch of logs on coins I have never released.

 

I have reported the problem to Groundspeak, but you may want to check your collections. My guess is if you have a large amount of coins you are getting bogus logs and don't know it.

 

Actually it could be thousands a day they are logging. Bring up their trackables list and pick any coin they have multiple logs. Almost all were discovered in the last week.

Edited December 10, 2012 by C A Royal Flush

[+Sagefox]

...we wrote back and forth about stuff so i let him discover the TB and then i marked it missing again.

 

Why did you let them discover it if they didn't see the actual TB?

 

I'm sure the Google bit is a scam but what's Google got to do with discovering a TB that one must personally see to discover?

[RedShoesGirl]

...we wrote back and forth about stuff so i let him discover the TB and then i marked it missing again.

 

Why did you let them discover it if they didn't see the actual TB?

 

I'm sure the Google bit is a scam but what's Google got to do with discovering a TB that one must personally see to discover?

 

oh you're right. after several emails he seemed like a nice guy that just found the tracking number so i let him discover it which is totally the opposite of what i said earlier. it was as if it was ok since we had become better acquainted. but after reading all the threads about bogus logs i deleted his log.

 

edited to add stuff ...

Edited December 11, 2012 by RedShoesGirl

[+runner1701]

I just activated my first TB. It's going into a cache soon but people are already discovering it. Should I delete their entries or how should I deal with it?

[+NOSNOW]

I just activated my first TB. It's going into a cache soon but people are already discovering it. Should I delete their entries or how should I deal with it?

 

Yes, you should also edit your picture to remove the tracking number from the picutre. That is the way they are discovering it.

[+mm&i]

After all of their dishonest discoveries and finds, how come "Mia&Jesper" aren't banned/deleted/locked/whatever???

They're in Denmark and their account looks to be in good standing ... http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=64576060-9238-4dec-8bb8-bbbbdac572da&wid=8d0fd754-0404-49e1-9586-3881669b56f8&ds=2