So I did some brief checking today and what I noticed is that the alts are from the Nigerian community board. Someone is farming accounts through merit cycling and posting in specific thread and boards. The pattern is easy to follow.
Ah, shit. I know I just sent out a bunch of merits for posts made in that thread, and I haven't checked but I do think they were made from one or more Nigerian members. Granted, they weren't bad posts at all (else I wouldn't have merited them), but I really, really don't want to get taken advantage of more so than I probably am when doing post history reviews.
Of course, not all people from a certain nationality are bad. Given the angry tone of the newbie. I think one of his alts might have as well been implicated in the scandal.
Of course not, but word spreads through small-ish communities and so when members of it talk you can start seeing certain behaviors originating from one of those communities and nobody else. On a related note, I've noticed that whenever I do a few reviews, it's almost a guarantee that I get a PM from 2-3 new members asking for reviews, some of which I've helped out before, some not. I wonder if people are watching my merit-giving activity or if it's something else that's more nefarious.