How to report a Fake Wayspot from Pokemon Go?
brookesh98-ING
Posts: 2 ✭✭
I came across a new wayspot (pokestop in Pokemon Go, but also exists in Ingress) earlier this week. It was a new one with the title "Lego Man" and it was clearly a fake. They made it look as if it was some kind of tile art, but the photo looked Photoshopped and it definitely does not exist, and never has existed, in that location or anywhere nearby. I walk through that neighborhood almost daily, I definitely would have seen it.
The only option I saw to report the spot was by selecting "Invalid Pokestop" and then "Permanently Removed". Did I miss something, or is there no option to report a fake? Because I feel it's important to distinguish between a stop that was removed and a stop that was never there to begin with, which I would consider abuse. I'd love to see more stops in my neighborhood, but not like this.
If anyone from Niantic is reading this, the coordinates on Google map are 51.48065938351853, 5.665927996325685 and the spot's title is "Lego Man".
Comments
This probably would've been better posted in the thread about Strange accepted wayspots in the Netherlands, as it's likely part the abuse that's been happening.
There is no option to report fake unfortunately. You can do it through the Wayfarer support chat, and that allows you to add a photo to justify your report.
You can also use Help Chat (on the wayfarer website, under help tab), or the Report an abuse form on Niantics Helpshift website, they are usually pretty fast with reports there
Thanks, everyone. I just reported it using the chat.
I was surprised by the number of new wayspots that are approved in my area (Bay Farm in Alameda, CA, USA) that are utility boxes, benches and docks that have been photoshopped with murals and "painting" on them. I struggled to get a valid memorial listed and then there are 10 - 20 obviously photoshopped ones that pop up.
@DvlDAB-PGO There are more than that with photoshopped artwork, and the person who did the photoshopping is pretty competent... I have a really good eye for picking out fakes while reviewing and at least one of them got past me.
I know someone who is working on identifying all of them and reporting them, and they have already filed a report with support for the first batch. Last I heard it's been waiting for support to review it for a week.
Wow these fakes are really well done ! No way to spot them will reviewing.
@Blania6967-PGO They are very well executed fakes. I have a pretty decent eye for fakes but couple of them got past me before I noticed that something was weird. I took a drive over to check several out in person and figured out what was going on, and since then I've figured out how to conclusively identify and reject these fakes. They're still getting accepted, though, because other people are still fooled.
@DvlDAB-PGO To the best of my knowledge all of the Photoshopped fakes that you saw on Bay Farm Island are now gone.