Spammers, Scammers, and the Filters That Protect Us
It never ceases to amaze me, the things that show up in my mail
box. As an AOL member, I have use of some of the finest spam
filtering technology in the world, but I still get at least
three of the following, each week: The Nigerian Scam,
Unsolicited Hot Stock Tips, New Mexico Oil Strike Announcement,
and Sexually Explicit Come ON's.
Do you think they could let me send and receive important
business letters? Nooooo! Mention SFI, or have a link to an
Affiliate Gateway in your signature block, and suddenly, you are
considered a garbage eating dog spammer! Some things just aren't
meant to be easy, but there are a few things we can do to work
around these problems.
Spam Filters
I'm not going to get into this subject too much, except to say,
they are some of the finest and most frustrating tools on the
Internet. Any time someone sends an unsolicited commercial
message, it should be blocked by the filter. Spam filters assign
points to different aspects of a message. Too many points, and a
message is filtered out. Where problems arise is when the filter
fails to distinguish between legitimate commercial messages and
those that are unsolicited.
There a couple of things that can be done to help insure that
important messages are delivered.
1. Don't use affiliate gateway links in your signature block.
Your message will be delivered. However, the in bound filter
will assign points if a reply has that link in it. The reply
stands a good chance of being blocked by the filter.
2. Avoid using all capital letters in the Subject Line of your
message. The spam filters will assign several points to your
message for this. If too many points are accumulated, it goes in
the trash.
Recognize a Scam
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the Nigerian Scam, or one
of the many variants. Some rich oil executive or a bastard
prince has just died a tragic death. If you would be so kind as
to sign a legal document stating He is your long lost cousin,
and that You are his only surviving relative, You will be paid
20% of the money safely stashed away in a foreign vault. Blah!
Blah! Blah!
This scam has been around for years. However, many may not know
that the Nigerian scam is actually an effort to collect your
personal information for the purpose of stealing your identity!
Once these cyber crooks have a person's personal information,
i.e., Name, SSAN, DOB, Bank account info, they will
systematically clean your clock! Not only will they empty any
money from your bank account, they will also apply for and
obtain bank loans, credit cards, and checking accounts in your
name.
By the time you discover what has happened, you could be left
holding the bag for thousands of dollars in debt. Your credit
rating will be destroyed and you might have to deal with legal
problems and bill collectors for years to come.
The moral of the story is obvious. If it sounds too good to be
true, it is. And, it should be obvious that the Nigerian Scam is
an attempt to involve you in a fraudulent act. If you lie down
with this dog, expect more than just fleas. Expect to be spayed
or neutered!
Hot Stock Tips and Oil Strikes
These have been showing up in my mail box for the past few
months now. Again, this is an effort to prey on weak minded and
vulnerable people. When someone out of a job, or in need of a
quick fix to a financial problem, reads this, they figure, "what
the heck, things can't be worse than they are now." WRONG!
If you send in your credit card information, You are a fool! You
and all of your hard earned money will soon be parted. The same
with the New Mexico Oil Strike. Does anyone really believe that
companies like Halliburton need your thousand dollars to process
the supposed largest oil strike outside of the Persian Gulf?
One more thing about these two scams. Be careful when you click
on the OPT-OUT links at the bottom of the page. A couple of
these scammers have gone to new heights to steal your personal
information. Their Opt-Out links actually lead to a data
collection form.
You are led to believe that tyou need to complete the form in
order to opt out. Actually, your info was just stored in a data
base, and you can expect to receive several more spams/scams,
only now, you really are Opted In and the spam filters wont be
able to stop this trash from arriving in your mail box.
Conclusion
Spam Filters are terrific tools, I just wish they could filter
out the scammers and let the legit stuff through. Until the
technology can be developed to the point where it can
distinguish between honesty and flim flam, We will all have to
be on our guard. Use a bit of common sense when opening your
mail. Be careful with the opt out links. They should be simple
and automatic. Never give data of any kind to someone you
suspect of being illegitimate. And finally, get your sexual
kicks with your significant other. Leave that trash completely
alone and spend your on line time in the pursuit of more
important things. Earning a second income, writing an article,
or learning how to build your own site come to mind.