howie.lol
Howie is still in development. These docs describe how Howie works at launch. Details may change over time.
What Howie catches
The scams Howie looks for, how it decides and what it does about them.
Scam types
| Type | What it looks like | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Casino and crypto giveaways | Screenshots of a celebrity, often MrBeast, "giving away" money through a casino or crypto site, usually with a promo code and a fake withdrawal screen. | Available |
| Fake Nitro and Steam gifts | "Free Nitro" or "Steam gift" links that lead to look-alike login pages. | Planned |
| QR-code login scams | "Scan to verify" or "scan for a reward" QR codes that log the scammer into the victim's account. | Planned |
| Invite and adult-content spam | Invites to other servers promising leaks, adult content or free stuff. | Planned |
Planned types appear in /setup once Howie has enough real examples to catch them reliably.
How detection works
Howie runs cheap checks first and stops as soon as it's confident.
1. AutoMod
Howie keeps Discord AutoMod keyword rules updated with known scam domains and phrases. Discord blocks matching messages before they post. AutoMod checks text only and limits how many rules a server can have, so Howie fills it with the scam terms that do the most damage.
2. Text signals
Howie checks message text for known scam domains, phrases and combinations of words, such as "promo code" next to "withdraw." It normalizes text first, so tricks like extra spaces, symbols and look-alike characters don't hide a match.
3. Image fingerprints
For each image, Howie computes two kinds of fingerprint:
- Exact: a SHA-256 hash, which matches a byte-for-byte copy of a known scam image.
- Perceptual: dHash and aHash, which match images that look the same after resizing, recompression or small edits. Howie compares them by how many bits differ and only counts close matches.
Fingerprints are checked against a shared list of confirmed scam images. When Howie confirms a scam image in one server, every server catches it on the first post.
4. Text inside images
Most scam variants are fresh screenshots that no fingerprint has seen yet. For those, Howie reads the text inside the image and checks it the same way it checks message text.
Scoring
Every match adds points. An exact fingerprint match or a known scam domain is enough on its own. Weaker signals, like the word "casino," need company. Howie acts only when the total shows it's confident the post is a scam. If the evidence falls short, Howie leaves the post alone.
Bursts
A hijacked account usually posts the same scam in many channels within seconds. Howie treats the whole burst as one event: it checks the first copy, applies one verdict and cleans up every copy.
Speed
Howie's targets are under 1 second for known scams and under 3 seconds for new variants, measured from when Discord delivers the message.
Actions
| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| Ban | Bans the account and deletes the scam posts. |
| Kick | Kicks the account and deletes the scam posts. The account can rejoin with a new invite. |
| Timeout | Gives the account a timeout and deletes the scam posts. This is the default. |
| Delete only | Deletes the scam posts and leaves the account alone. |
Hijacked accounts belong to real people who usually get them back. A timeout or kick gives them a way back in after they secure the account. Ban is the strongest option, but the member needs a moderator to unban them.
Reports
If you turn reports on, Howie posts one to your chosen channel each time it acts. A report includes:
- The account, the channel and the message ID.
- The action Howie took, or why it couldn't act, such as a missing permission or role position.
- The score and the signals that matched.
- A fingerprint for each suspicious image.
Reports never include the scam itself. Howie doesn't repost the images or the message text, so your report channel can't turn into a second copy of the scam.
If your moderators want to see exactly what was posted, add a bot that logs deleted messages, such as Dyno or MEE6. Messages Howie deletes show up in its log like any others.
Reports are optional. Even with them off, every ban, kick, timeout and deletion Howie makes appears in your server's Audit Log, under Server Settings, with Howie listed as the one who did it.
What gets shared between servers
Only fingerprints of scam images, the scam type and how often they've been seen. Never user IDs, usernames, message text or which server a detection came from.
Fingerprints from exact or known-signature matches are shared right away. Fingerprints from fuzzy matches are shared only after Howie confirms them in at least three separate servers, or after a review, so one mistake can't spread.