Chasing spammers: Using the Internet protocol address for detection

Abstract

The proliferation of reviews evaluating different services on social networks and online platforms and their importance in consumer decision-making has led some unscrupulous individuals to take advantage of the anonymity offered by the Internet to manipulate these reviews and influence customers' decisions. The main objectives of this study are: (1) to test whether spammers usually perform their misdemeanors from the same IP address; (2) to explore whether there are differences between stated sexes in this regard; (3) to detect the main motivations for posting fraudulent reviews; and (4) to determine the motivations for doing so from the same IP address. These objectives were achieved by means of a quasi-experiment with a sample of 7,192,487 users, and a qualitative investigation in which 37 users who had falsified information were interviewed. The results show that spammers who tend to fake their identity do so from the same IP address and that they tend to be male. Four types of motivation are presented: revenge, entertainment, opportunity for profit, and self-esteem; as well as a further three to explain the use of the same IP: convenience, limited resources, and complacency.