[HK] You may be kidding: allowing many times jogging two points in 1-2 mins and >100kmh speed!

littlewilittlewi ✭✭
edited May 2021 in General

Related report ref: # 13230098


Before I write this report, there had been several other reports posted in this community forum, mentioning reports from highly susceptible or even obvious spoofers that jumping from one location to another remote location in a speed of over 100km/h in a very short period of time (for example, https://community.ingress.com/en/discussion/14309/you-might-be-kidding-again-sos-founder-acc-flew-140km-40min-defying-the-terrain-but-you-did-nothing ). Even I could see there were reports, enclosing Google Map calculations of possible fastest route, ended up with template / canned replies but no further action was understood to be taken on these players, and eventually, closed.

Despite of several reports to Niantic Helpdesk by several allied RES agents, including me, to file complaints of an Agent, which he performed actions jumping from point A to point B and then back to point A within very short period of time (say 1-2 minutes), with two locations several (or even >20) kilometers away, no apparent actions were taken by Niantic for enforcement and maintaining the fairness of gameplay. All to the end were closed by your Lambert after standard replies.

For my case, I sent the below report to Niantic on 3 March 2021 at around 2:30pm GMT+8:


I am writing to report the agent’s inappropriate gameplay behavior, in particular, by using two phones with two separate (locked / mocked) GPS locations and performed actions in two different places with impossible travelling time. 

The ENL agent, NewportPlace, had two logs within a very short period of time on 2 May 2020 GMT+8:

16:54 <NewportPlace> captured 香港會議展覽中心 (22.280916,114.172938)

16:56 <NewportPlace> captured 心 (22.442869,114.030593)

By following the direction shown in Google Maps (https://goo.gl/maps/zsVqPF8Gw7n9bPXh8), the pathway from (22.280916,114.172938) to (22.442869,114.030593) requires around 30 minutes by car. Meanwhile, the agent, NewportPlace, only spent 2 minutes travelling between the two locations, which is certainly impossible. It was suspected that the agent, NewportPlace, is falsifying geolocations of either or both mobile phones in order to perform actions at two different places of around 20km in distance within 2 minutes. 

When asked by another RES agent in COMM, NewportPlace admitted that he had performed “locking GPS signals” in order to access two locations in a same time. Falsifying locations would be a violation in your TOS, to the best of my knowledge.

May I request your full investigation. Your reply in detail for the investigation (not generic or canned replies), would be appreciated in taking necessary enforcement actions for this agent.


I have also submitted a fast-track ticket under the reference # 13230098, but it seemed all these efforts were in vain.

Tonight, the Agent NewportPlace again performed actions with impossible travelling time within a short period of two minutes, acrossing the harbour. One example could be this, on 11 May 2021 at around 20:03-20:05 GMT+8:

 

20:03      <NewportPlace>    created a Control Field @North Point Alliance Church (22.287998,114.193734) +2 MUs

20:05      <NewportPlace>    captured 余仁生石柱 Eu Yan Sang Pillar (22.298384,114.171771)

 


It was impossible to go within 2 minutes from portal “North Point Alliance Church” to portal “余仁生石柱 Eu Yan Sang Pillar” either by driving (16 minutes, https://goo.gl/maps/PFGUXdW6vNiJeev96) or by taking MTR (14 minutes, http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/jp/index.php?oLabel=Fortress%20Hill&oType=HRStation&oValue=30&dLabel=Tsim%20Sha%20Tsui&dType=HRStation&dValue=3).

I wonder if your staff, Lambert, had taken any actions against this ENL Agent for performing such “jumping actions” for so many times, despite of numerous complaints filed to Niantic, or different interventions by allied RES Agents against ENL Agent NewportPlace. Every time when an allied RES Agent asked NewportPlace for the impossible travelling time, NewportPlace usually answered in COMM and said that he “locked GPS signals” with two different phones, which could be falsifying locations and violating TOS. Attached below is an example which the Agent NewportPlace claimed that he "locked GPS signal" for his phones:


Allowing such actions by this Agent - and your game servers - had been seriously impacting gameplay experience, and I had even heard about some allied Agents expressed their objection by saying that they would quit the C.O.R.E. program until Niantic had taken apparent and reasonable actions to these Agents.

I also wonder why my complaints (and possibly, other reports and complaints by allied RES Agents), had been closed in anyway. Kindly clarify me if the situation were wrong.

I earnestly invite @NianticKK, @NianticCasey, @halette or other appropriate persons to look into the case and provide us an appropriate reply.

Thank you for your attention and time for reading. 

Comments

  • We’ve all come across cheaters over the years. But rarely has an agent openly admits to wrong-doing, and in this case even goading others to do something about it. Well I’m glad somebody has done something about it.

    If Niantic fails to take any action, it will send a very wrong message to all agents.

  • LynoocsLynoocs ✭✭✭

    too late, message is already understood by all agents. spoofing won't stop

  • TheKingEngineTheKingEngine ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 2021

    Remember to archive this post in advance for the benefit of yourself with the help of archive.is website because some you know who players on this forum will very soon report you of "defaming other players" even if the spoofer admits he/she "locks the GPS with two cellphones" in public COMM, so that you later could send the link of archive to NIA OPS for further review, IF someone really will review like they said.

  • TheKingEngineTheKingEngine ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 2021

    I checked the record and found that the player being reported in this post...

    for whom I've hidden its codename for privacy consideration...

    ...has indeed made following speech in the COMM, admitting its GPS spoofing behavior:

    2021-05-02 18:52 [public] 因為有兩個電郵囉

    2021-05-02 18:49 [public] 係囉唔知點解個gps喺灣仔地鐵站都可以無啦啦飛去元朗

    2021-05-11 22:50 [public] 兩部機lock gps嘛

    Google Translation:

    2021-05-02 18:52 [public] Because there are two emails

    2021-05-02 18:49 [public] I don’t know how to solve a gps in Wan Chai MTR station, you can fly to Yuen Long without la la la

    2021-05-11 22:50 [public] Two machines lock gps

    Post edited by TheKingEngine on
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