Spammers are exploiting Spotify's playlists and podcast pages to promote pirate websites by manipulating search engine results. The abuse targets Spotify's web platform (open.spotify.com), which is highly indexable by search engines.

Cybercriminals create playlists and podcasts with titles containing keywords related to pirated content, such as games, ebooks, and movies. These pages then appear in Google search results when users search for specific content to download.

For example, playlists titled "Sony Vegas Pro 13 Crack" appeared on the platform before removal. Similarly, six-second podcasts with titles like "epub download The Moonlight Blade" are being used to promote unauthorized downloads.

Firstory Hosting, a third-party podcast distributor used by many spammers, acknowledges this as an "ongoing challenge." While they implement filters for keywords like 'epub,' 'PDF,' and 'download,' the problem persists. A simple search for "epub" on Spotify's podcast page still reveals hundreds of spam results.

Spotify's official stance prohibits:

• Posting or sharing malware
• Providing instructions for unauthorized access
• Distributing malicious content
• Sharing pirated material

Despite these restrictions and quick removal of reported content, spammers continue to exploit the platform's search engine visibility to promote pirate websites. The issue affects both Spotify's music and podcast sections, creating ongoing challenges for content moderation.

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