It could get you in trouble at work:

I have a company supplied T-Mobile blackberry. Very unfortunately, when my phone wasn't working, one of the women in our IT department went to my T-Mobile account page to correct the issue and found a very graphic and clear picture of a woman's breasts. It created a terrible situation. No one – and I mean NO ONE - would believe me when I told them that I did not take the photo, nor did I put it there. I finally had to just drop it because the more I insisted that it wasn't mine, the more guilty I sounded. The problem here is that I am the head of the Human Resources Department. I wish it had turned out to be a funny situation, but it didn't take that path. For many other people, this could be humorous. In my situation, it wasn't.

It could arouse spousal suspicion:

I stumbled across this article this morning, and the same thing happened to me!!!!!!! I was actually sitting at the computer with my wife, looking at my bill and trying to add ring-back tones, and all of a sudden, there was a picture of some girls butt with a caption reading "kiss this". WTF!!?!?? She FLIPPED! To this day, she STILL talks about it! I can understand how she would accuse me of this, but I KNOW for a FACT this picture was never, ever on my phone!!!!!!! How does this happen?!?!

Or you could see something a little more graphic than what our original reader saw:

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am contacting you regarding the highly offensive pictures that have appeared on myTMobile home page. Please see the attached screenshots from last night. As of now, those photos still appear on my homepage whenever I access my account.

I have attempted to resolve this matter via the proper channels, ending in a conversation with TMobile tier-2 technical support. The answers I have received so far are unsatisfactory, and to be frank, somewhat condescending.

I was first told that I had somehow unknowingly uploaded these photos myself, or that I had left my phone unattended and a nefarious person of mystery had uploaded them via my handset without my knowledge. I use an unlocked handset that is not sold by TMobile, and thus do not have the software installed to access TMobile's proprietary MobileLife service. Additionally, I have never used the MobileLife service, nor have I accepted the EULA for the service. Therefore, it is impossible that I have uploaded these offensive pictures, or that someone did so using my handset without my knowledge.

Following that, I was told the photos must have been taken by the TMobile customer who first had this number, and were somehow leftover in the MobileLife folder attached to this number. Again, that is impossible- I have had my number since 2004. It was a Nextel number, then SunCom, then became TMobile when SunCom was purchased. It has never been a TMobile number before now.

Next, the technical support rep told me that this had never happened before, and that the user who took these pictures must have simply transposed digits of intended recipient's phone number. I pointed the rep to http://consumerist.com/5395978/reader-paid-my-t+mobile-bill-saw-some-boobs, indicating that this is not a rogue occurrence. She replied that, even after seeing this article, it still was not TMobile's fault and I should just delete the pictures and move on.

These are the offending pictures (the originals were sent to us as uncensored screencaps of the browser window, but we've cropped them and added cats to obscure the naughty bits).

Another reader wrote in:

just got a new iPhone. Unlocked it and then checked my account online. I thought it was just some weird fluke thing because they couldn't even put a picture up of my phone. Where did the pictures come from? I have no idea. I don't even what "MobileLife" is. My images were both wrong and Oh My God!

The reader who sent this one in said, "I've never uploaded photos to tmobile's website, this picture isn't
from my phone."

Additionally, after the Huffington Post picked up this story, they received a complaint and a different picture from one of their readers:

The question is, why is it only porn? Why aren't people seeing pictures of strangers birthday parties and goofy faces and so forth? And what is Tmobile going to do about fixing the problem? And how are they going to win their affected customers' trust back?

We've reached out to T-Mobile and passed these complaints and pictures on to them, and they've promised that they'll have a statement ready for us soon. UPDATE: T-Mobile's statement:

T-Mobile is aware of reports from a few customers who have seen inappropriate or unwanted pictures in their online "MyAlbum" section within their MyT-Mobile account. We are taking these reports seriously and actively investigating these issues.

Our initial analysis of the reports leads us to believe that pictures were likely sent to some customers' mobile number by a third party, whether the customers knew the sender or not. If a customer has not had picture messaging enabled on their handset, a picture sent to them may be delivered only to their online MyAlbum account. For this reason, some customers are surprised when they see the picture for the first time in their MyT-Mobile account.

We will continue to investigate the reports but if customers would like to avoid receiving picture messages in the future they can explore using T-Mobile's Message Blocking features which are accessed through their MyT-Mobile account online.

(Cat pictures: amboo who? and D.P. Rubino)

The plaintiff, Mohammad Kazemi, says he never authorized Payless to contact him via text message, but that at least 3 times between September 2008 and 2009 he received promotions from them on his phone.

From the SF Weekly:

Not only is this a pain in the ass, says Kazemi, a San Jose resident, but it's costing people money. Also, it forced Kazemi to read junk like this (repeatedly):

Psst ... Payless Insider, Ur the 1st to know BOGO starts today, 9/29! bUY 1get 1/2 off EVERYTHING 866 746 5923 or END3 to Opt-Out Txt fees apply Not @ Shopko

Complaint for damages and injunctive relief (pdf) [Courthouse News via SF Weekly] (Thanks to Sarah!)

RELATED
"Customer Gets Payless To Compensate Him For Text Message Spam"
(Photo: crschmidt)

Sanford Wallace, the man they sued, has been spamming people for as long as the Web has existed, and before that sent junk faxes.

Court documents indicate that Wallace and an associate who was later dropped from the case spammed Facebook users with phishing messages. Those who clicked on the links and submitted login information to phishing sites allowed Wallace and his associate to then spam the phishing victim's friends, in turn generating more potential phishing victims. Facebook claims that Wallace also received payment for redirecting some spam recipients to Web sites that pay for referrals.

Facebook asked for damages of $7 billion under the CAN-SPAM act, instead of the only marginally less ridiculous $711 million the judge awarded them. In the end, it doesn't matter how much the judgment is, since Wallace declared bankruptcy a few months ago.

All is not lost—the spammer could also face jail time for violating a restraining order.

Facebook Wins $711 Million From Spammer [InformationWeek]

(Photo: ivanx)

I had been receiving text messages from Payless Shoes about special offers. I remember giving out my number to them (I know, I dont know why I did) but they never mentioned anything about text messages. Here's a letter I sent to them. I admit I was a little mean, but I was annoyed.

Dear Payless,

Please Stop sending me text messages. I have "opted out" two times already yet you still send them. My number is also on the do not call list and you are ignoring it.

As a matter of fact getting these so called "offers" actually reminds me NOT to shop in your stores.

To be honest, I would rather tie dead fish to my feet than buy anything at Payless ever again since you keep sending me these texts and ignore your customers requests.

My number is [redacted], do not send me text messages again.

-Peter"

They sent me this:

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting Payless Shoesource.

We apologize that you were inconvenienced by our message. Please rest assured that your comments have been forwarded to our marketing staff.

All of the phone numbers called during this marketing campaign were collected at the time of checkout in our stores. These numbers have not been bought or sold through any outside marketing firms. Your phone number has been removed from the data base.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback.

Katelin
Payless Shoesource Customer Support Center

That should have been fine, but I thought about it and well... I got a little snotty with them.

Katelin,

I understand that, and while its good news, I was wondering if Payless will re-pay me my fees for the text messages I received TWICE. I had opted out and got them again.

I think its 5 cents a word and it's 27 words. Thats $1.35 x 2 = $2.70. Plus I had to text "opt out" and that was an additional 10 cents.

Please, in these tough economic times it would mean a lot to me to pay me back my $2.80, since at NO TIME did your employee tell me BEFORE that my number would be used in this manner. Not to mention you name is "Payless" and I ended up paying $2.80 MORE upon visiting your store.

I'm awaiting your response.

Sincerely,
Peter

You're not gonna believe this...

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting Payless Shoesource.

I can send you a Payless Shoe Source Gift Card that can be used on www.payless.com and in any U.S. Store. Please reply back with your address if you would like to accept the Gift Card.

Thank you for your time.

Katelin
Payless Shoesource Customer Support Center

So, Im not sure what the amount is... I'm really hoping it's for $2.80, but I took the deal. Thought I'd share.

Hey, it never hurts to ask. We're not sure what insane cellular provider charges Peter 5 cents per word, though.

Update: Peter wrote back to us:

I think you're right about that pricing. I think it's $.20 a message. I honestly DON'T text and wasnt sure what it was.

Plus I had a bit of an attitude with them that was a little unwarranted. I'm not sure if Consumerist.com is interested but I don't mean to be a bully, I just dont like spam. So I sent them this letter.

Thanks again!
Peter

Katelin,

Thank you for your quick reply. I would like to take this chance to apologize for being rude. You have gone above and beyond and have kept a customer in the process.

Thanks again,
Peter

(Photo: crschmidt)

And no, you can't abuse the feature just to be a jerk:

No automated action will be taken as a result of reporting a user as spam (in other words, it can't be used to incite an angry mob against an account you don't like.) And once you report a profile it will automatically be blocked from following or replying to you.

"Help us nail spammers" [Twitter]

How shall this be determined? PCMag says:

To gather information about infected computers, Comcast receives data from Internet research groups like Spamhaus that specialize in identifying bots – data that includes lists of infected IP addresses. Comcast keeps an eye out for malicious bot behavior like spam, denial-of-service attacks, and repeated connection requests. All of that data is then aggregated to see if a customer's computer has been infected.

Comcast said it is the first ISP to provide this type of in-browser notification.

Comcast says:

A bot is a type of virus that allows an attacker to force your computer to perform actions, usually without your knowledge. Once a bot is in control of your computer, it can be used to send spam, host phishing sites or infect other computers. Online thieves use bots to collect personal data such as Social Security numbers, bank account information and credit card numbers. When this personal data is collected without your permission, it's often used to steal your identity, withdraw money from your bank account(s), and make fraudulent purchases on your credit card(s).

What do you think of this?

[Comcast Constant Guard]
Comcast Unveils Comprehensive "Constant Guard" Internet Security Program [Comcast]
Comcast to Warn PC Users If They're Infected [PC Mag]

The site's Jennifer Van Grove put together a funny, useful list of supposedly now-extinct Twitterfools, including porn site spambots, impersonators, slimy salespeople and username squatting, to name a few.

My favorite of the bunch is her analysis of the hashtag spammer:

Due to the popularity of trending topics, opportunistic Twitterers have discovered that they can potentially reach more eyeballs if they append a trending hashtag to their tweet. The activity is known as hashtag spam, and it's unfortunately pretty commonplace and often inappropriate, just look at Habitat's spam tactics as an example.

Thankfully, for those of you who "post multiple unrelated updates to a topic using #," or "post multiple unrelated updates to a trending or popular topic," your days may be numbered.

If Twitter actually manages to get rid of the hashtag maniacs, it may be onto something. Twitter users out there, what else would you like to see the social networking site regulate to make it more usable?

10 People You Won't See on Twitter Anymore [Mashable]
(Photo: Bob Reck)

Good Day,

My name is Jim White, a member of the U.S. ARMY 3rd Infantry Division in
Iraq. I would like to share some highly classified information about my personal experience and the role which I played in the pursuit of my career serving in the U.S. ARMY. However, I would like to hold back certain information for security reasons until you have the time to visit the BBC website stated below. This will enable you to have insight as to what I'm intending to share with you. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm
Please get back to me after visiting the above referenced website to enable us to discuss the matter more. I'm uncomfortable sending this message to you without knowing if you are indeed with me or you decide to go public.

Sincerely,

Jim

Oh, well, by all means, send that highly classified information to my Gmail account.

The news story that "Sgt. White" wanted us to read, of course, was a BBC story from 2003 about a huge cache of currency ($100 million and €90 million) discovered in a Baghdad residential neighborhood. Ah, see what the scammers did there? By using an actual news story, if one that's six years old, it almost lends his story some credibility once he finally gets around to asking you to wire him your life savings.

Then, apparently someone used the Benin United Parcel Service to send me a package worth $1.5 million. Gee, I didn't think I had any relatives in Benin, let alone any who left me a big inheritance.

UNITED PARCEL SERVICE BENIN
ATTENTION ,Customer,
WE RECEIVED YOUR PARCEL IN OUR CUSTODY VALUED $1.5 MILLION TO BE SENT YOU AS SOON AS WE RECEIVED YOUR INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE FEES OF $350.00, KINDLY LET US KNOW AS SOON AS YOU ARE READY TO SEND YOUR INSURANCE FEES TO ENABLE US OBTAIN YOUR INSURANCE AND DELIVER YOUR PARCE TO YOU,
YOUR'S FAITHFULLY
MR. Daniel John.
TEL: 229-96340519
Respond to my direct email,upsexpresscourier@eze.co.za

Only $350 for insurance on a package worth several times as much as my house? SWEET.

(Photo: Fuzzy Gerdes)

Once you install the application, your friends in turn receive a notice that you commented on a photo of them. Ha ha! Self-replicating!

Here's the actual application screen, once it's installed:

The "Continue" button is part of the banner ad, not a useful part of the application. Not that sending a hideous 3D smiley is something you would want to do, anyway.

"Your Photos" [Application page]

For your late night amusement, here is the full text of the email that was sent to Taylor earlier this evening (never mind the strange date that indicates this email won't exist until either this September or December):

[Washington Field Office Banner with FBI Seal linking to FBI Home]
Anti-Terrorist and Monitary Crimes Division.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.
J. EDGAR. HOOVER BUILDING WASHINGTON D.C
12/09/2009

ATTENTION: beneficiaries,

We received an email, Just to let you know that the said fund has been confirmed in your name, the funds are right now in our custody in your name waiting to be release to you, we have verified and investigated that you are the right beneficiary to claim the funds, all we need from you is verification and proof due to the amount involved.

As a biggest security company here in Washington D.C we are to serve and to protect our citizen. The only advice we can give to you as at this time is to try your best to comply with the required document so that your funds will be release to you in your favor, this funds are rightfully yours. You can obtain the document from our branch Office in New Jersey.

We have done our verification on your FBI Identification Record with our Social Security Number, the only document remaining now is the Diplomatic Immunity Seal Of Transfer(DIST) Which should be issued to you from our branch Office in New Jersey, you are to contact the Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) New Jersey to obtain the above required document, find bellow their contact email address: ( fbi.vision2020@gmail.com) Contact this people immediately to obtain the document.

Furthermore, be advice that according to the United State Law and also the FBI rules and regulations, you are to obtain the document from the FBI in New Jersey where the fund was transferred to. Also Note that you are to take care of the Document to be issued to you right away, because due to how important and secured the document is, it is not issued just like that. You are to take care of the document by sending to the FBI New Jersey right away,That is the only way the FBI New Jersey will issue you the document, because they are going to issue you the Authentic/Original copy of the document.

You are here by advice to Contact them through the email address above to acquire from them on how you are going to send the fee to them. Note that you are to do this immediately if you really want your fund to be credited to your account and also if you don't want any action to be before you. We have already informed the New Jersey FBI about the present situation, so go ahead and contact them immediately. Your fund is now on our custody and will only be release to you with the confirmation of the required document. After that the fund will be release to you immediately without any delay.

NOTE: We have asked for the above documents to make available the most complete and up-to date records possible for no criminal justice purposes.

WARNING: Do not fail to produce the above requirement in the next 72 hours, legal action will be taken immediately by arresting and detaining you, justificated and if found guilty, you will be jailed. As terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering is a serious problem in our community today. The F.B.I will not stop at any length in tracking down and persecuting any criminal who indulge in this criminal act.

Faithfully Yours,
FBI Director
Robert S. Mueller, III

(Photo: faeryboots)

CSR: Hi, how may I help you Ms. [redacted]?
Me: Please take my number off your list.
CSR: I love you.
Me: Um.
CSR: Do you like spam?
Me: No…
CSR: I love spam, fried up all crispy with maybe a little mayo.
Me: What is this?
CSR: *click*

Megan adds,

Just got the strangest call from "cardholder services" from an undisclosed company. Got the recorded spiel about it being a final offer to lower my interest rates and to press 9 to speak with someone. I pressed 9 figuring I'd ask them to lose my number.

I am so confused. Is anyone else getting these types of bizarre calls? I'm wondering how they knew my name and what the motivation could possibly be.

The only thing we can figure out is that the killer from Student Bodies is on the loose again (watch from :20 to :55 if you dare). Don't have sex if you're a teenager and you should be okay.

The apps were all from Khalid Shaikh. Several were rip-offs or news aggregators that didn't work properly. MobileCrunch has the story:

Khalid's apps were of questionable value and quality. He has told us over the phone that he is not concerned about creating particularly valuable apps. Instead, he says, he's going for "less product value" and "more monetization." So, instead of developing one or two apps and charging $0.99, Khalid prefers to create hundreds of apps and charge $4.99. The vast majority of his apps simply provide topic-specific news on a given subject. Apps such as "US Army News" and "Skin Care Updates" cost $5, and aggregate articles from various internet sources. He has mastered SEO on the App Store, and uses the App Store's search as a way to target users (or victims, depending on how you look at it). Many have questioned the value of the apps he produces, and there's a small contingent of developers who are absolutely furious about his business. Rightfully so, it seems: a review of an app titled "WWE Updates" reveals that the user isn't just getting updates of World Wrestling Entertainment; he's also getting breaking news about Michael Jackson.

Those who yearned to have Michael Jackson news interspersed with their John Cena exploits must be devastated by the news.

Apple bans App Store's 3rd-most prolific developerMobileCrunch, via [via IntoMobile]
(Photo: Scott_Wallace)

Look at all the hoops he's jumped through so far—for a cereal company! Anthony does not want your Fruity Pebbles, Post! He is not interested in your Grape Nuts! Go away!

On June 23rd of 2009 I contacted Post Foods, LLC using the phone number listed on the "contact us" portion of www.postcereals.com. I spoke to someone who would not provide me with a full name and informed him of my repeated attempts to stop receiving email advertisements from Post Cereal to my Gmail email address.

These attempts included using the link located at the bottom of the unwanted email. However that link leads to a page that displays an error stating

"The page you are attempting to access cannot be found. Please contact Post Customer support at customersfirst@postfoods.com".

I have sent an email address to "customersfirst@postfoods.com" informing them of the error and my desire to be removed from their mailing list. However the link still does not work and I continue to receive email advertisements from Post.

I have also tried replying to the originating address of the unwanted email but this results in an email message stating

"You cannot reply to this email. But we do want to hear from you. Please share ideas, comments and questions through our Talk to Us page. http://www.postcereals.com/honeybunchesofoats/TalkToUs.aspx

Want to Unsubscribe?
Just use the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the original email."

My previous attempts even included phone calls to Post Foods. I once received a call back from someone who asked me to verify certain aspects of the unwanted email and I eventually forwarded a copy of the email to this person. The caller said that someone would call me back, but as of July 30th 2009, this has not happened.

At the end of the June 23rd phone call I was told it would take 4 weeks for the email advertisements to stop. I agreed to this but still continue to receive unwanted advertisement emails from Post.

Poll Everywhere screwed up their mail merge and sent out a personalized "it was great seeing you!" email to *|FNAME|*, aka Jose. He wrote back and pointed out that he hasn't answered to *|FNAME|* since, well, ever.

The response he got back from Poll Everywhere's CEO was:

Hi Jose,

Just wanted to apologize and say that we know your name is not *FNAME* :) Oops.

We're so bad at this spamming thing... We don't even know how to do a proper mail merge!

Jeff

Even better, compare the before and after opt-out notices from the bottom of Poll Everywhere's emails:

BEFORE
We're emailing because you signed up for an account at Poll Everywhere as *|FNAME|* *|LNAME|*. We send really short news like this about twice per year. If this bugs, you can unsubscribe. We understand.

AFTER
We're emailing (and poorly, at that) because you signed up for an account at Poll Everywhere as Jose Castillo. We send really short news like this about twice per year, and we usually know how to use "technologies" like "mail merge". If this bugs you and you don't like being referred to as *|FNAME|*, you can unsubscribe, because we totally *|COMPASSION_WORD|*.

Nicely done, Poll Everywhere! You took the snarkiness out of our mouths, and now we feel compelled to like you. As far as Jose is concerned, "Thanks to Jeff and the folks at PollEverywhere for being human beings and having some fun at their own expense. I will use them again."

"Screw Up, Say You're Sorry, Be Funny, Win Over Your Customers" [think jose] (Thanks to Anthony!)

Here's the exact message that he received:

From: Amazon Fraud Check
Date: Sun, Jul 26, 2009 at 1:39 PM
Subject: Account Closure: please read
To: Subscriber

Greetings from Amazonfraudcheck.com.

Please take the time to read this message - it contains important
information about your Amazon.com account.

At Amazonfraudcheck.com, we routinely perform reviews of orders and customer
accounts to protect our customers. After careful review of your
account, we believe it may have been accessed and used by a
third-party to make purchases without your permission, but it appears
they did not use your credit card to make these purchases. It seems
that someone obtained your personal account and/or financial
information elsewhere, and used it on Amazon.com to access your
account.

We have closed your account effective immediately because of this
possible unauthorized account activity. If this recent account
activity (new shipping address) was authorized by you, please click the link
below to verify your account information, after that we will
reactivate your account.
Reference* http://www.amazonfraudcheck.com

It is important to know that Amazon.com accounts can only be accessed
by those who know personal, specific information about you and your
account — such as your email address, Amazon.com password, physical
address, credit card information, and other details. As mentioned
above, it appears someone obtained some of your personal account
and/or financial information elsewhere and used it on Amazon.com to
access your account.

In the future, you can protect your Amazon.com password and account by
following some of these safety tips:

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—

1. Choose a good password: Use at least 8 characters and a combination
of letters and numbers. Do not use single dictionary words, your name
or other personal info that can be easily obtained, or a password that
contains part of your email address.

2. Password protection: Avoid using the same password at multiple
sites or for your email account. Do not share your password with
others.

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—

Please know you will need to open a new account when you place future
orders with us. We strongly suggest that you follow the safety tips
listed above for increased password and account protection.

Please accept our most sincere apologies for any resulting
inconveniences, and feel free to contact us if you have any further
questions or concerns by writing to account-alert@amazonfraudcheck.com.

Sincerely,

Abdul Hakeem
Account Specialist
Amazon.com
http://www.amazonfraudcheck.com
=========================

Under the guise of fraud prevention and repair, they're committing Amazon fraud. Slick, huh?

If you receive a similar e-mail, forward it to spoof@amazon.comso Amazon can deal with the phishy impostors.

The Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, or MAAWG, ha ha, conducted "800 interviews with computer users in the United States and Canada who said they were not 'security experts' and who used email addresses that were not managed by a professional IT department." A little over half of respondents admitted to clicking on "what they felt was spam," but for a variety of reasons, including by accident, to contact the company, or our favorite response, because they're not sure why.

But the horrific part comes on page 16 of Part 2 of the report, which you can download here (pdf).

It says that 12% have responded to spam because they were "interested in product/service."

On page 38, the survey breaks down the "yeah I clicked on it" group by age, which is fun to look at if you have presuppositions about how certain age groups treat spam. For example, the 65 and older crowd seems less likely to want to buy erection pills, but more likely to send a note to the company; while the 18-24 crowd has a strong desire to "see what would happen" if they clicked. (As usual, I trend with the seniors: I went on a weird anti-spam kick in, oh, 2000 or so and responded to every spam I got for about three weeks asking to be removed from any mailing list, before I figured out that I was making the problem worse. *sigh*)

"A Look at Consumers' Awareness of Email Security, Part 1" [MAAWG]
"A Look at Consumers' Awareness of Email Security, Part 2" [MAAWG via Metafilter]
(Photo: mray)

I recently joined a Meetup.com group for local knitters because my actual friends stubbornly refuse to take up knitting. This afternoon, the following message came through:

Hey, I saw that we were in the same group. I just wanted to ask you to check out my diet blog and tell me what you think of it. It's my story of how I lost 40+ pounds after having 3 kids! My link is http://www.marciasweightloss.com if you have any questions feel free to message me back, Thanks!

Hey, funny how "Marcia" lives in San Diego when this group is based in New York. And how her blog looks like dozens of other acai scam blogs I've seen.

Edit: Meetup acknowledge and explained the problem this afternoon. Good for them!

Unfortunately, Meetup groups aren't the only venue for spam. Messages similar to this one have started appearing on Freecycle lists across the country:

SUBJECT: [OFFER] My Leftover Colon Cleanse Product SEALED - Downtown

I got the results i wanted from using this, and I have some
left over which I don't really need it anymore. (It's for
losing weight if you didn't know already)

Some moderators see what's up and let it through; others don't. You can guess how this works—anyone who e-mails asking for the free product gets a link to a site where they can get their very! own! free! trial! Similar scams are run with spammers purportedly giving away video game consoles, computers, and iPods. The poster claims that the item is gone, but if you just click here and fill out some offers, you can get your very own Dell laptop or Wii, for free!

RELATED
Careful, Those Free Acai Products Might Come Attached To A Delicious Scam
Should You Detox Your Colon?
Easy Weight Loss And Free Cash: A Dubious Product Online Marketing Empire Revealed

(Photo: George Arriola)

On his blog post about the event, he describes how Pro Softnet Corp brushed him off when he called to complain:

called iDrive's parent company Pro Softnet Corp and their operator kept pushing me to voicemail when I asked to be transferred to a supervisor. I have a feeling I'm not the first to call in and complain.

After SkokieGuy's comment below, we headed to the iDrive Lite website (the company provides a link on the iTunes App Store info page) to look for any information about contact scraping. We found none. We checked out their privacy policy and it doesn't address this practice at all. Here's their Terms of Usage for all iDrive products, but again we couldn't find any assertion of their right to access your contacts and spam them.

"iDrive spammed my Gmail contacts" [Aviary.com]

The FTC does some well-earned bragging on its site about the court decision, on a 2007 case against spammers from Canada and St. Kitts.

The FTC charged that the operation used spammers to drive traffic to Web sites selling an extract of the hoodia gordonii plant it claimed would cause significant weight loss, and a "natural human growth hormone enhancer" it claimed would reverse the aging process. The FTC alleged that these claims were false or unsubstantiated, and charged the defendants with deceptive advertising in violation of federal law. It also alleged that the spammers sent e-mail that contained false "from" addresses and deceptive subject lines, and that they failed to provide a required opt-out link or physical postal address.

A disappointment to everyone out there who secretly hoped a spam-inspired diet would trim your flab. In the end, the only thing the spam artists knew how to slim down was its own bankroll.

Court Orders Spammers to Give Up $3.7 Million [Federal Trade Commission] (Thanks, Brett!)
(Photo: O Pish Posh)

West Bloomfield, Mich. residents Scott Bradley, 38, and Alan Ralsky, Bradley's 64-year-old father-in-law, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, money laundering and violating federal anti-spam laws, both face $1 million fines and up to six or seven years and change in prison.

"They got their man," Richard Stiennon chief research analyst at IT research firm IT-Harvest, told SCMagazineUS.com on Tuesday. "The majority of spam is produced by a very small number of people, but these guilty pleas send a message out to other spammers. They will take their money and run."

When Ralsky was originally indicted, stock spam stopped, Matt Sergeant, senior anti-spam technologist at MessageLabs, told SCMagazineUS.com on Tuesday.

Ralsky was one of the world's most prolific spammers for a long time, Sergeant said. But eventually the law caught up to him.

"It's illegal," Sergeant emphasized. "There are fines and consequences."

Many in the anti-spam community had almost given up hope that law enforcement would pursue spam operations, Sergeant said.

"This case shows that the FBI is keen on pressing and prosecuting violators," he said.

Our Nigerian friends who constantly offer us business deals, however, remain at large.

Guilty plea for Detroit "spam king" [SC Magazine]
(Photo: moxythecat)

As you may expect from phone spam, the techniques used are intentionally misleading:

[The credit card] robocalls generally begin with recorded messages that include statements like: "There are no problems currently with your account, however it is urgent that you contact us concerning your eligibility for lowering your interest rates to as little as 6 point 9 per cent." or, "This is our final attempt to reach you since you've not responded to our other calls to discuss your credit card debt." The automated message invariably does not include the name of the company, but may claim to be with Card Services or Card Holder Services. Complainants note to BBB that they now believe the calls were designed to deceive them into thinking their credit card company was contacting them.

After the initial recorded message, consumers must dial another number to be connected to a live person. The live "operator" usually starts the sales pitch by asking for the consumer's credit card number and whether the consumer is interested in lowering their interest rates. From there, callers begin closing the sale, asking if the consumer is willing to pay – usually from $700 to $1,000 - to have their firm contact the credit card company and negotiate lower rates.

If you want your interest rate reduced, you can do the same thing the robocallers do: call the number on your card and ask to speak to a CSR, then ask about lowering your rate.

"BBB, Schumer Warn Consumers of Robocalls Promising to Lower Their Credit Card Interest Rate" [BBB]

RELATED
"Meet Leverage Connections, King Of The Robocallers"
"Meet The People Behind The Car Warranty Robocallers"
(Photo: atp_tyreseus)

Sullivan writes:

Few would argue that credit card firms have the right to e-mail account statements or other notices to customers. But the e-mail to which Kevin objected strains the definition of "account communications."

The e-mail offered Kevin a chance to transfer balances to his Capital One card at a teaser rate of zero percent for 12 months. At the bottom of the e-mail, the firm stakes its claim that the notice isn't spam.

"This e-mail was sent to (you) and contains information directly related to your account with us," it says.

Sullivan notes that these e-mails are akin to the convenience checks that credit card companies send in order to encourage customers to transfer balances, and are probably more secure, but that doesn't make them any less annoying.

What do you think? Are e-mails like this really account communications, or marketing?

Bank says its e-mail too important to be spam [MSNBC] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)

(Photo: sfxeric)

Let this serve as a warning: don't sign up with tagged.com, and warn anyone in your life who you think may be susceptible to this kind of scam.

The text of the message looks like this:

[Name redacted] has added you as a friend
Is [Name] your friend?

Click Yes if [Name] is your friend, otherwise click No.
But you have to click!

Please respond or [Name] may think you said no :(

Guilt-tripping me with a frowny face? That's low. Now, the e-mail claims that either your friend wants to share pictures with you or has added you as a friend, but neither is true. The site has simply harvested your entire address book.

This behavior is item F under their Terms of Service:

E) Notice Regarding Commercial Email

MEMBERS CONSENT TO RECEIVE COMMERCIAL E-MAIL MESSAGES FROM TAGGED, AND ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THEIR EMAIL ADDRESSES AND OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION MAY BE USED BY TAGGED FOR THE PURPOSE OF INITIATING COMMERCIAL E-MAIL MESSAGES.

It's the only item in all caps, so you know it's important. Caps lock: cruise control for importance.

The e-mails asking you to sign up for Tagged include a URL to block all future e-mails from the service. That address is http://www.tagged.com/no_more_conf.html?blckd=youremail@here.net.

Tagged.com [McAfee Site Advisor] (The company considers the site "safe," but look at the user complaints)
Tagged [Snopes.com]

It's not like there's a shortage of Spam cookbooks out there as it is, but Hormel is offering exciting new uses for the stuff.

Sales of canned foods, especially canned meat, have been rising in the recession as people limit their food spending because they usually cost less than fresh fruits, vegetables or meat, said Marcia Mogelonsky, an analyst with research firm Mintel.

"They're an alternative to just eggs or a sandwich or whatever," she said. "It extends a meal. It adds a protein."

...

This year, the campaign focuses on customers who may be having trouble coming up with ideas for new meals each night, said Dan Goldman, senior product manager for the Spam family of products. Hormel is suggesting easy updates - like including Spam in pasta dishes - that offer uniqueness, he said.

Uniqueness. Yeah. That's the word I'd use.

New ads present Spam as spark for lively meals [AOL News/AP]

(Photo: catastrophegirl)

Alex received this message from a spammer purporting to be from the "Central Bank of Nigeria," promising him a $2.8 million in exchange for...well, nobody really knows what he's been hired to do.

From: Mr Dave Walker
Date: Sun, May 24, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Subject: Your Atm Debit card Payment
To:

—
The Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), working in relationship with HSBC
London has concluded to issue you a VISA CARD with which you can access
your contract amount 2.8 million USD This card center will send you an ATM
card which you will use to withdraw your money in any ATM machine in any
part of the world, but the maximum is FIVE Thousand Five Hundred United
States Dollars($5,500) per day. So if you like to receive your fund in this
way, please let us know by contacting the ATM payment department and also
send the following information as listed below:Contact Mr Dave Walker at
mrdave.walker6@gmail.com with the below details for claims.

1. Full name
2. Phone and fax number
3. Address were you want them to send the ATM card to (p.o box not
acceptable)
4. Age
5. occupation
6. Nationality
7. country of residence

Best Regards.
Mr. Dave Walker
+2348051131534

I guess this is a little more plausible than the normal Nigerian fraud script involving a huge wire transfer that needs to get out of the country ASAP. Thanks, Mr. Dave Walker. Withdrawing $5K per day from an imaginary ATM card sounds like a much better way to make a living than writing. I'll spend the proceeds on the micropony with a glittering pink mane that I've had my eye on.

(Photo: selmer)

Okay, we're being a little dramatic there, but Classmates.com is part of the cesspool of the Internet, a faux-legit site that uses any shady tactic it can to acquire and keep members, regardless of any genuine interest they may have in the service. We don't know if you can truly successfully unsubscribe from their junk emails because we're not sure they'd ever honor such a request, but here are two other options.

1. Cancel your membership completely.
Recommended. This PC Mag article says you'll have to call them, go through a quick menu tree, and then you'll get a live operator.

That still may not remove you entirely from their system, so your other option is to

2. Set up a filter so that you never see another email from Classmates.com again.
Also recommended. Of course, you can set up a filter in most email accounts so that any communication from the classmates.com domain can be caught and removed before you ever have to see it. (Make sure you check out the email addresses on some recent messages from them to verify the domain name they're using.) We also suggest changing your email address in your account settings at Classmates.com before you cancel the account, so that you can create a more robust filter that will catch anything they send regardless of which domain they use.

(Thanks to Amanda!)
(Illustration: Lentini)

First, here's Max's story:

About a month ago I purchased some tools from sears. At check out, I was told that if I gave my email address I would be sent a $10 gift certificate via email. A friend of mine who was making a purchase at the same time was told the same thing. We both gave our email addresses in order to receive the gift certificates, but neither of us ever did. I thought maybe my address had been typed in wrong, but thought it unlikely that both of our addresses were incorrect. I checked my spam folder frequently, and did not see anything.

Today I received an email advertisement from Sears with all of the new summer deals. So, apparently Sears got my correct address after all, but instead of sending me the $10 gift certificate I was promised, I've been sent junk mail.

Was this an error on the part of the cashier for telling us we'd get a gift certificate, or does this promotion actually exist? Was there a computer glitch that prevented the gift certificate from being sent? Or is it Sears policy to lie to customers in order to get their email address?

We actually suspected it was the work of a rogue (or just confused) cashier who told you the wrong thing, so we contacted Sears to find out. It turns out, we're partly right: yes, Sears does offer a $10 incentive, but it's not a gift certificate. A Sears rep told us,

I believe they may be speaking of a standard offer we have on the site when you give us a valid email [and receive] a $5 coupon for online and $5 coupon for the stores with a min $50 purchase each.

So you see, Max, it is $10 you can apply to Sears purchases, but with a few more limitations that you were led to believe.

On the plus side, anyone else who wants those $10 in coupons can also sign up via the link above, but of course remember you're agreeing to receive email from Sears in exchange for the coupons.

(Photo: justj0000lie)

According to the Los Angeles Times, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mark Warner (D-VA) have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the scammers, and they expect that charges will be filed in a few days. The FTC also added an auto warranty scam alert on its website, with a link to report the caller.

After a Reddit user got the phone number for the company and posted it online for all to see, we figured that the car warranty scammers would be subjected to all the fun things we read about on Encyclopedia Dramatica. That apparently wasn't enough, though, and the robocalls continued, eventually interrupting Senator Chuck Schumer during a meeting. We're hopeful that with the FTC taking it seriously, these robots will finally be defeated.

(Photo: Jeff Sandquist)

I've gone through the website unsubscribe process at least a couple of times, I've sent ‘UNSUBSCRIBE' emails twice to the address they've listed, and I've even spoken on the phone with a Hilton CSR whom assured me that it would be ‘taken care of'.

I'm at my wits end here, Consumerist. How do I make it stop???

You could always send them a written letter with your request, and point out that they're in violation of the law—"When you receive an opt-out request, the law gives you 10 business days to stop sending email to the requestor's email address"—and that they can be subject to "fines of up to $11,000" per violation. We have zero faith that the FTC will actually pursue Hilton, of course, but maybe by including this information, you can get their attention and prove to them that you're serious about wanting them to stop.

But the faster, more permanent solution is to take the power away from Hilton and make it so that you never see another communication from them unless you want to.

If you don't already have a free Gmail account, set up one, then log into your Hilton account and change your email address to a "Gmail + alias" like so:

Now you can set up a custom filter in Gmail to immediately trash all future Hilton spam, and it's entirely under your control, and to hell with Hilton's broken spam compliance implementation.

Mark is probably rolling his eyes at this point, because he already knows this, but we're sharing it with the rest of our readers too. Just add a plus sign and whatever you want after your real email handle and it will still be routed to your default Gmail inbox, where you can then filter it out using regular old filter rules.

If you use a + alias for each commercial entity where you have an account, you can easily route annoying businesses to the trash folder without needing their cooperation at all—and you can turn on access again whenever you want.

Note: Several readers w/more tech experience than I have pointed out that the + alias trick isn't unique to Gmail; lots of email providers allow for this.

(Photo: SDCDeaCerte)

First, Terry wrote us the following:

I would love to know how to stop junk mail from State Farm. Over the last month I have received 13 different solicitations from local agents. No one seems to know how to stop this madness! Glad State Farm really takes this whole green thing seriously!

We asked him who he'd contacted at State Farm, and he told us an agent and corporate via their website. That's when he received the following response:

Dear Terry,

Thank you for contacting State Farm regarding our Privacy Policy. No, but there are ways you can reduce the number of solicitations you receive from companies with whom you do not have a customer relationship if they are members of the Direct Marketing Association. You can write to the following addresses: · For marketing solicitations received by mail, write to: Mail Preference Service, c/o Direct Marketing Association, PO Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008. · For marketing solicitations received by telephone, write to: Telephone Preference Service, c/o Direct Marketing Association, PO Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014. You may also contact specific companies and ask that they do not contact you either through direct mail or telephone solicitations. This will not stop calls relating to your existing relationship with the company. Certain states may have state-run programs whereby individuals can be placed on a "do-not-call" list to avoid marketing calls from businesses with whom they do not have an existing relationship. Your state will provide details on how to be placed on such a list. The Privacy Policy can be viewed online at If you have further questions regarding the State Farm Privacy Policy or would like to indicate your do not share preference, please call the State Farm Privacy Information Line at 800-865-6035.

State Farm Insurance®
Internet Support Representative

Then, earlier this week, he contacted us again:

Ahhhh....three more today (see pic).....I guess the madness will never stop!

 
 

Watch out for "helpful" websites, too:

Also, be highly skeptical of unknown Web sites with the words "swine flu" in the domain name. Online security firm F-Secure reports that dozens of new swine flu domain names were registered in the last few days. F-Secure said some of these sites are already offering ways to "protect your family from this crazy flu."

"Watch out for swine flu scams" [MSN Money] (Thanks to HogwartsAlum!)
(Photo: Dan4th)

So who's behind the robocallers? Here's a list compiled from WirelessWeek and ComputerWorld articles. The first two were the ones involved in the $50k settlement with Verizon; the other three have been named in a similar, unrelated suit filed in New Jersey Superior Court.

• National Auto Warranty Services
  100 Mall Parkway
  Wentzville, Missouri, 63385
  800-649-1856
• Explicit Media - based in Florida; website says they're out of business
• Dealers Warranty (dba Federal Auto Protection) - based in Missouri
• National Dealers Warranty - based in Missouri
• Tele Europe, B.V.
  Papaverweg 34 34 West Higgins
  1032KJ Amsterdam 1032KJ Amsterdam
  Tel. 0206367275 0206367275

"Verizon Files Another Suit Against Telemarketers" [WirelessWeek] (Thanks to CZ!)
"Verizon pursues illegal autodialers" [ComputerWorld] (Thanks to Rob!)

RELATED
Joyful Heart Foundation
'Velveteen Rabbit' Robocallers Pay $25,000 To Settle Lawsuit
"Who The Hell Are These People Calling My Cellphone About A Car Warranty?"
(Photo: atp_tyreseus)

See a screencap here.

Dear Windows Live User,

We are contacting you regarding your communication preference settings for Windows Live and MSN.
Currently, your settings do not allow Microsoft to send you promotional information or survey invitations about Windows Live and MSN. We would like to communicate important product updates to you, so if you would like to change your settings, please visit your account profile here to change your preferences.

Sincerely,
The Windows Live Team

Note: You can also change your Account settings by going to your browser and typing in: http://account.live.com. After logging-in to your account, look for 'Additional options' and click 'Marketing preferences'. Then uncheck the top preference box and click 'Save'.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in, and to Kevin for the screencap!

Photo: CarbonNYC

"New Bill Looks to Clamp Down on Mobile Spam" [InternetNews via mocoNews]
(Photo: nate steiner)

Sarah writes,

I had been on the Dove email list for some time and finally decided to unsubscribe today. I don't use their products any more and have no need for the email newsletter. Imagine my surprise when I clicked on 'Unsubscribe' at the bottom of the email:

Hey Unilever, how about a single one-click opt out option that removes the subscriber from every channel at once? Then, for those who want to micro-manage their relationship with you, they can click through to this page. Maybe you're just trying to be helpful, but we can imagine such a huge opt out hurdle stops a lot of people from going through with it once they hit this page.