A.P. Lawrence

Some "Remove me links" really work

(Traditional format)

Wed Dec 15 12:38:07 2004 Some "Remove me links" really work
Posted by Tony Lawrence
Search Keys: mail|spam
Referencing: http://techdirt.com/articles/20041214/163211_F.shtml

Techdirt reports that at least some spammers really will remove your name from their lists if you tell them to. Of course that's useless information along the order of "some lions won't maul you if you poke your finger in their eye". Most spammers probably use any "Remove me" replies as a way to build lists they can sell to someone else or use for some other campaign - sure, we won't send you any more fake Rolex ads, but we've got a live one to add to the Viagra list!

Brian McWilliams (author of Spam Kings) reports in Salon how he infiltrated that particular Rolex spamming outfit. You'll need to suffer through a brief ad to read the article, but it's worth the pain. As he explains, the "Remove" lists get published for affiliate spammers to view, supposedly to scrub their lists. Maybe some do that, but considering that any spammer is plainly lacking any trace of empathy for their fellow man, how likely is it that those lists wouldn't be misused?

Psst: wanna buy a watch?

Comments /Blog/B1187.html
CommentsBlog1187 :

"As he explains, the 'Remove' lists get published for affiliate spammers to view, supposedly to scrub their lists."

And, of course, spam laws have had a positive effect. <Sarcasm Intended>

--BigDumbDinosaur

Add your comments

Why no "Digg this!" etc.?

On-Line Poker for cash prizes
Play LEGAL poker and win cash
$50,000 FREE Tournament August 31st!

Enter your email address for automatic notification of new posts here
(be sure to whitelist 'feedburner.com' if you use spam filtering)

Phone and Email Support at Monthly rates

Have you tried Searching this site?

Unix/Linux/Mac OS X support by phone, email or on-site: Support Rates

This is a Unix/Linux resource website. It contains technical articles about Unix, Linux and general computing related subjects, opinion, news, help files, how-to's, tutorials and more. We appreciate comments and article submissions.

Publishing your articles here