This type of mail is intended to get people to take action, usually by
sending or forwarding the mail on. I know that this type of mail message is
completely bogus, except for maybe some of the facts. It is a ploy to
collect valid E-mail addresses. What I typically see in these types of
messages is a request to send to everyone you know including the person that
sent it to you. This action will return the addresses of everyone you know,
to the Spammer.
It really sucks, because you can have your email harvested from a spammer,
even though you did nothing to "provoke" it. It takes advantage of new
people on the Internet, who believe that these messages matter.
Usually the themes are related to clean jokes about the differences between
the sexes, or some religous message.
This runs in the same vein of actual spam, where they "offer" the chance to
"Opt out". Any response back to the spammer only allows the spammer to place
a flag against your email address as being active and valid.
Here is a message I got over the weekend. It was rather strange.( and please
do not go to this web site)
BEGINMESSAGE
SUBJECT: Your Adopt and Alien code
Hey! You recently tried to adopt an alien, so here's the next step.
Visit http://www.alien-adopt.com/cgi-bin/adopt.fcgi?step=check and enter
this
code exactly as it appears:
981327117
PLEASE NOTE: This code only needs to be entered once, at the address given
above. After that, log in from http://www.alienaa.com using the password you
provided. (which is brett111)
- Webby
--------------------
At the Alien Adoption Agency, we hate spam. No unsolicited email is ever
sent
out from the AAA. This is an automated email. You will not be signed up for
any
services without explicit consent from this email address (in the form of a
code
that is mailed that must be entered in order to open an account.) If you are
currently a member and no longer wish to be, simply ignore it, your alien
will
automatically be deleted and this email address wiped from our database
after a
two week period of inactivity has passed. Please note that any replies to
this
message will automatically be deleted
ENDMESSAGE
I did nothing to "provoke" this message, yet it appeared that I did request
to "adopt an alien". I have never been to this web site (I checked my
history list just in case I had forgotten).
This technique allows them to verify a valid Email address, without having
to listen for any returned mail, which usually ends up being thousands of
messages. The web server is logging my visit, and if I enter in the code as
outlined, they now know that I did get the message, and that I am somewhat
gullible.
Since they specifically state that they do not send out unsolicited email, I
would be hard pressed to accuse them of Fraud.
Anyway,
These sorts of messages are still being sent because they are successful. I
have very little sympathy for those spammers who declare that they have the
right to send me junk mail like this.
For me, its not about the annoying message they intend to get across to me
that wastes time in my life, it is the deceptive practice of flatly lying to
me, with the intent to pile on more lies, if I believe the first one. I find
it strange that Congress does not see this as being illegal.
Nerd From Hell
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doug Pensinger [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Sunday, February 04, 2001 10:02 PM
> To: brin-l
> Subject: Brazilian Rainforest
>
>
> Alberto, This is the preamble to an online "petition" I
> recieved this from a
> friend. I was wondering if you knew wether or not it is
> valid (it sounds
> suspicious to me.) Thanks,
>
> Doug
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
> << Brazilian congress is now voting on a project that will
> reduce the Amazon
> forest to 50% of its size. The area to be deforested is 4
> times the size of
> Portugal and would be mainly used for agriculture and pastures and for
> livestock... All the wood is to be sold to international
> markets in the form
> of woodchips, by multinational companies... The truth is that
> the soil in the
> Amazon forest is useless without the forest itself. Its
> quality is very acidic
> and the region is prone to constant floods. At this time more
> than 160.000
> square kilometers deforested with the same purpose, are
> abandoned and in the
> process of becoming deserts. We cannot let this happen in
> silence. Copy the
> text into a new email, put your complete name in the list
> below, and send to
> everyone you know. >>
>
