Why You Should Avoid Some 'Data Entry' Jobs

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Most people have come across having to type in a CAPTCHA code in order to set up an account or to prove that you are a real human when you type a post or a comment on a website. This is NOT what I mean by ‘being paid to type CAPTCHAs’. CAPTCHA codes exist to prevent abuse of the site by people who want to set up hundreds of email addresses or to post hundreds of spam 'comments' on blogs, news articles and anywhere else that many people will see. In the past, spammers found it easy (using software) to post their ads on forums, blog comments and other sites by the thousand. When simple CAPTCHA codes were first introduced, such spammers very quickly wrote and sold software which would read and enter the CAPTCHA codes, so a more robust form was introduced consisting of text which character recognition software cannot process. Sites like Kolotibablo, Protypers, Megatypers, Pixprofit and others were set up to provide a service to these criminals (who prefer to call themselves 'black hat' entrepreneurs) by charging them $4 - $6 per 1000 CAPTCHAs solved - and paying the (mostly) unsuspecting 'solvers' about half that amount or less. Some sites say that what you are doing is 'transcribing manuscripts for libraries' or 'helping those who are visually impaired to use computers'. I have also seen it claimed that you are 'helping Google improve the effectiveness of its CAPTCHAs'. This is, of course, complete nonsense. Libraries have sophisticated scanning technology and trained staff, who know how to read difficult manuscripts, and there is (nearly) always an alternative for the visually impaired (usually a little loudspeaker symbol to click on next to the CAPTCHA). Google and other CAPTCHA providers have their own, in-house, methods of testing and improving efficiency and DO NOT use CAPTCHA-breaking sites which pay you to type them in! Bank robbers may pay good wages to someone who acts as a lookout for them. Does that mean the work is 'legitimate'? NO! If a site offers payment of any kind for the mass typing of CAPTCHAs, the ONLY POSSIBLE reason it does so is to help spammers, account thieves (sometimes incorrectly called hackers) and virus-distributors to do their dirty work. If you work for them, you are, yourself, a criminal because you are aiding and abetting criminals! There are many people who would like such 'services' banned. The trouble is that they are run by people and are hosted on servers in countries where the laws are lax and law-enforcement is not really interested. Also, the people who actively search out Internet criminals are busy identifying the more dangerous kind who hack into databases and steal personal information. For further information, these two articles are the best I have found so far: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/14/captcha_serfs/ (Note: This article was originally published in Bubblews. I have now removed it from there to republish here)