Spoofing is killing Ingress

Hello:

I would like to share my experience with the fight against cheats.

It's sad, but in recent months there have been an increasing number of players leaving Ingress because they have grown tired of fighting spoofers and I can't help but understand their decision. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, accounts that have not suffered restrictions of any kind have proliferated and the ineffectiveness of Niantic and its spoofer detection systems has become apparent.

I am a fan of the mountains and therefore I capture many portals in these places. When a low-level account, which has been raised by multilayer, attacks a mountain that requires overcoming 900 meters of unevenness, the logical thing is to think that it does not play fair, but if it also does so on a rainy day in which it is dangerous to ascend to that mountain, no further evidence should be needed. As it turns out, I went in search of an even clearer proof and approached a portal in the parking lot from which the ascent begins. I could say that I was surprised when the aforementioned account started attacking in the parking lot without anyone present, but I was already expecting what I saw, or more exactly what I did not see (there was no one).

I reported through the game providing data and photos of the place (reference # 13428526). I could say I was surprised when the ticket was closed and the account was still active, but unfortunately Niantic fails more than ACME brand gadgets.

Here I speak only of a very specific case, but unfortunately there are many similar accounts that are reported on multiple occasions and continue to fly with total impunity.

I am willing to continue fighting the cheaters, but without the help of Niantic there is nothing to do.


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Hola:

Me gustaría exponer mi experiencia con la lucha contra los tramposos.

Es triste, pero en los últimos meses hay un número cada vez mayor de jugadores que dejan Ingress porque se han cansado de pelear contra spoofers y no puedo menos que entender su decisión. Desde que comenzó la pandemia del COVID-19 han proliferado cuentas que no han sufrido restricciones de ningún tipo y se ha hecho patente la ineficacia de Niantic y de sus sistemas de detección de spoofers.

Yo soy un aficionado a la montaña y por lo tanto capturo muchos portales en estos lugares. Cuando una cuenta de nivel bajo, que ha sido subida haciendo multicapas, ataca una montaña que requiere superar 900 metros de desnivel, lo lógico es pensar que no juega limpio, pero si además lo hace en un día lluvioso en el que es peligroso ascender a esa montaña, no deberían hacer falta más pruebas. Pues resulta que yo fui en busca de una prueba aún más clara y me acerqué a un portal que hay en el aparcamiento desde el que se inicia el ascenso. Podría decir que me sorprendió cuando la susodicha cuenta empezó a atacar en el aparcamiento sin haber nadie presente, pero ya me esperaba lo que vi, o más exactamente lo que no vi (no había nadie).

Reporté a través del juego aportando datos y fotos del lugar (referencia #13428526). Podría decir que me sorprendió cuando se cerró el ticket y la cuenta seguía activa, pero por desgracia Niantic falla más que los artilugios marca ACME.

Aquí hablo tan solo de un caso muy concreto, pero por desgracia hay muchas cuentas similares que son reportadas en múltiples ocasiones y siguen volando con total impunidad.

Yo estoy dispuesto a seguir luchando contra los tramposos, pero sin la ayuda de Niantic no hay nada que hacer.

Comments

  • Shameful.

  • GrogyanGrogyan ✭✭✭✭✭

    The topic of spoofing and cheating isn't specific to Ingress, it just appears to do more damage to Ingress than other games

    Niantic takes cheating extremely seriously.

    Though there efforts appear minimal, it is a constant battle between new ways to identify and defeat bad actors, and those same bad actors finding new ways to cheat.

    A classic Tom and Jerry

    But there is a job posting which highlights this

    https://careers.nianticlabs.com/openings/product-manager-anti-cheat/

  • JukkaJuuJukkaJuu ✭✭✭

    Spoofing is not a problem, but hard to get portals portals are. With those portals, a few players can control entire cities and prevent others from playing. Not everyone has the opportunity to go climbing mountains, access military bases or boats to small islands, in which case the only way to play Ingres will be spoofing.

  • mortuusmortuus ✭✭✭✭✭

    then dont go to such areas or places.. there are many OPs in the past that has been demolished by spoofers and this is still a big problem in many areas many legit players stopped play due to niantic cant seem to get rid of spoofers..

  • TheKingEngineTheKingEngine ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2021

    I reported through the game providing data and photos of the place (reference # 13428526). I could say I was surprised when the ticket was closed and the account was still active, but unfortunately Niantic fails more than ACME brand gadgets.

    Unfortunately Niantic Support will not review the photos you provided. They only review actions logs.

    Unfortunately even if the action logs indicate blatant spoofing the accounts may not be banned as well.

    Unfotunately we don't even know whether the accounts were really reviewed, or was the accounts not banned because Niantic would like to give them a second chance for some reasons. This is a fight that we are destined to lose with no hope so whatever.

    Example:


  • TheKingEngineTheKingEngine ✭✭✭✭✭

    Niantic says that they take cheating extremely seriously

    does not equal

    Niantic takes cheating extremely seriously.

  • JukkaJuuJukkaJuu ✭✭✭

    Then don't read them😉 When ingress was new then all portals were in easy places, parks, statues, attractions, stations... No one had to spoof to get the fields destroyed, or at least no one had to pay the spoofers to destroy the fields. Now in large areas there may be months of breaks to play if someone is not spoofing and destroy hard to get portals. Niantic loses money and players. It impairs its ability to develop the game. Could it be that Niantic itself destroys fields that have been blocking play for a long time?

  • SSSputnikSSSputnik ✭✭✭✭✭

    That's not true, there have always been hard to get to portals. Some of the seed portals were satphone only access for instance.

  • TheKingEngineTheKingEngine ✭✭✭✭✭

    Spoofers always have "reasons". Only spoofers justify the action of spoofing. Nobody asked you to be a king of an area being able to manage all portals. Spoofing won't make anybody a king either. Hasta la vista.

  • SSSputnikSSSputnik ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yeah military ones are the worst. Hard to get are a fun challenge. Ones you can't ever get are just maddening.

  • MuzzgoodMuzzgood ✭✭✭
    edited June 2021

    I've seen and reported several spoofers also bots.

    There must be thousands of technical solutions how to identify and block a spoof move before harm have been done to the playfield,

    of these thousands a few might work for a while then new has to be found/invented -so its a R&D resource question Im guessing.

    A very important source of information is the local players that knows the portals, the roads, how weather conditions affect, i.e "is that possible? Can I repeat that myself?"

    My personal favourite is portals attacked and captured in wintertime without any footsteps in the snow...

    Lets keep on reporting what seems wierd from our experience!

    Maybe a new stat for if the agent has contributed to fair play/catching cheaters, a sheriffs star!? :)

    The investigating, documenting and reporting work is acknowledged by the cheater being banned of course but its work hours contributing to the game just as reviewing portals is.

    Post edited by Muzzgood on
  • MirthmakerMirthmaker ✭✭✭✭

    Lol, just the facts ma'am. Like the post. We knows there stink out there. To borrow from others "gotta catch them [spoofers and massive ToS violators] all.

  • CamsEyesCamsEyes ✭✭✭

    Totally agree to your post.

    So bad.

  • Otrera35Otrera35 ✭✭✭✭

    Would call it the spoofer/bot "hunter" badge instead of the sheriff's star.

  • jjavierjjavier ✭✭✭

    Spoofer, obsessed or privileged agents difficult other to play ingress.

    Spoofer: Without moving, laughing of ppl who plays legal.

    Obsessed: Captured portals are yours, feeling the game like its real. They lost a portal and leave everything to capture it again.

    Priviledged: Has access to portals that are in a restringed area. There are lot of examples. No need to say.

    That kind of agents will still playing ingress.

    I understand spoofing is very difficult to avoid, the virus is always before the antivirus.. but i dont understand why Niantic let privileged portals up, really dont understand.. on top on mountains, gravegards, etc.. please, change portal rules.. With more accesible portals, spoofers and obsessed player will get bored. Priviledged player will convert to a normal agent.

    Meanwhile.. why not matrioska? jejejejeje.. like lot of agents said before, ppl wants to play ingress, new agents must be able to play and the global MUs competitions must be in a second place. Matrioska could be an option for agents <L6, growing to be able to break BAF.

  • The real problem in AR games are people playing while driving. People driving around burning gas without even thinking twice about it. Driving around looking at their phone to play a game putting everyone around them in danger. As bad as spoofers are, they are definitely not as bad as Cargress players.

  • joecainjoecain ✭✭✭✭✭

    They already have "work for free" badges (see: scout).

  • Otrera35Otrera35 ✭✭✭✭

    I guess some player cargress because strangers like to follow them. Stalkers in this game are as bad as the spoofers out there.

  • Otrera35Otrera35 ✭✭✭✭

    Those privileged players who spoof have this type of entitlement mentality because they help promote Niantic's other game in another way through different social media and groups. Just an FYI...

  • SSSputnikSSSputnik ✭✭✭✭✭

    Nothing wrong with difficult to get to portals. The issue is portals where nobody can go except military/employees/tenants.

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