Tech: ingenious spammers

Subject: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 12:35 PM

"I think that perhaps Cory Doctorow is right. The first true artificial intelligences will come not from some lab, but from spammers trying to past automated Turing tests."

from here:

"xrumer2.JPGXRumer is a Windows program that posts forum, blog, private message, and guestbook spam with the aim of boosting search engine rankings. It is able to bypass techniques commonly used by many websites to deter automated spam, such as account registration, CAPTCHAs, and e-mail activation before posting, however the older versions still had trouble with 'fancier' CAPTCHA. Not anymore.

"This time those evil Russian bastards have not only managed to crack Googles captcha, but they've also figure out how to beat those horrible 'click on the cutest cat' style CAPTCHA tests. It's amazing!"

CAPTCHA is that thing that's supposed to verify that you're human by having you read distorted text and type it in.

I find it depressing that humans expend so much energy and cleverness in order to rip others off.

(This feeling compounded by recent reports of stolen solar panels, wiring from streetlights, etc., etc., to say nothing of the peculiarities of the world's financial systems...)

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Rapparee
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 12:44 PM

Dump Windows, use Linux.

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Nick
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 03:16 PM

I find it depressing that humans expend so much energy and cleverness in order to rip others off.

Hobbes, Machiavelli or Rousseau - how little has changed over so many lifetimes. Same questions and still no answers. Great to be human

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Don Firth
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 03:41 PM

What has me curious is this:   why do I get spam that is not even addressed to me?

My e-mail address is a variation of my name, the "at" sign, and my internet service provider. But every day, I get heaps of spam—cheap prescriptions (lots of "V1*agra" and "Cia%1is," and my wife gets this stuff on her address, too), and sometimes offers to re-up our mortgage (we don't have one), and other such junk mail—that is addressed to "[e-mail]" or "[e-mail]," or some random combination of letters and symbols not remotely like my address, or anybody's address. I do have a spamblocker, but the stuff comes through anyway, at least as far as the "Suspect Mail" folder, right along with some political or other newsletters that are addressed to me.

How come we're getting this stuff if it isn't even addressed to us?

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: PoppaGator
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 04:01 PM

Don,

Your address (and mine and everyone else's) is probably part of a huge long list of "BCC" blind carbob-copy addresses on thoe spam messages.

When I get crap like that, the visible address(es) usually begin with the same letter as my last-name initial, or are similar to my e-address in some other way. My guess is that they send a copy of their pitch to every possible address starting with "A," another to the "B"s, etc.

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 04:13 PM

has anybody else noticed a huge increase in the Nigerian scam emails ?

they went quiet for a couple of months, but these days I am getting four or five offers a day to share 40% of $25,000,000.

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: john f weldon
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 04:23 PM

A one-in-million coincidence becomes certainty if repeated billions of times.

Once in a while, someone is expecting a package from UPS and by chance the UPS spam arrives. Once in a while someone is having trouble with their bank, and a spam arrives that purports to be from that very bank! Once in a while someone kisses an idol's foot and their loved one gets well.

The spammers have been with us for a looong time.

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 05:25 PM

I don't quite get your point , john f, or at least I don't quite get the relevance to the thread.

any chance of further elaboration ?

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Colin Randall
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 05:38 PM

The nearest I've come to being fooled seemed to emanate from the (UK) Inland Revenue or whatever it's now called. It was to tell me I was entitled to a fairly modest rebate - 100 pounds or so - and it came at about the right time after tax returns and from an address that seemed absolutely genuine, ie formed with all the right looking components

Only when I went to the official tax authority site did I realise that it was one of a group of known spam addresses

There's a good spoof of spam e-mails doing the rounds now that Nigerian investors have bid for Newcastle United but that's another matter. As a Sunderland fan, I can sit back and hope they really are dodgy, get control of the club and swindle them out of everything they've got

i'm not sure how we can make this a folk thread, though, unless someone offers lyrics and chords

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Don Firth
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 05:42 PM

Ah, so! Thanks, PoppaGator. That pretty well explains it.

They load up the double-barrelled shotgun, close their eyes, and let fly with both barrels, hoping that they'll actually hit something! Works especially well in a crowded room. . . .

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Barry Finn
Date: 02 Oct 08 - 06:38 PM

I got some spam from Congress yesterday. They asked me if I needed to remortgage my house they were offering a rate of 2.4%. The only catch was they wanted me to apply for 700 billion in their name & that they'd pay me back triple in 300 years. I could keep the house after the term ended.

I reported them to Barney Frank.

Barry

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Peace
Date: 03 Oct 08 - 02:37 AM

"they went quiet for a couple of months, but these days I am getting four or five offers a day to share 40% of $25,000,000."

Be careful. You are getting ripped off. They offered me 50%. But I haggled. Sharpen the old pencil there, Murray.

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Mr Red
Date: 03 Oct 08 - 09:24 AM

why do I get spam that is not even addressed to me?

surely your e-mail adress is in the header. (in Outlook right click and choose options) If not - blame your ISP - they have been hacked.

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: My guru always said
Date: 03 Oct 08 - 10:08 AM

I've had some wriggle past my spam-box recently that have requested 'read receipts', which obviously I've not sent. But this could catch the unwary....

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Girl Friday
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 10:13 AM

I've had one today perporting to be from Google Anniversary to say I'd won £500.000 . I clicked on it and found it to be an email to which I'm supposed to send a code that they gave me. Surely this is spam? I also received the official looking one from "Inland Revenue." I clicked on the link, but the page was blocked by my Norton phishing filter.

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: frogprince
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 11:16 AM

I think John Weldon's point is: millions of people receive these spams, including the phishing ones that counterfeit the sites of legitimate organizations. Out of all those people, the chances are that a handful of people are actually involved with the alleged organization, in one way or another, so that it is natural to expect a legitimate email from them. Given that, no mental "red flag" goes up. Even a few dollars here and there is good return to a scammer for a few minutes of putting together a new mailing, and all indications are that they're garnering more than a few dollars.

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: frogprince
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 11:28 AM

I've just now received the "refund from the IRS" thing a couple of times; I knew damn well the IRS wouldn't send me that by email, but I hit reply just to see what the return address would be. The IRS is using a Yahoo address; yeah, sure...

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 11:37 AM

Murray,

Odds are that if you send out enough spam to enough people, your spam message about a UPS delivery (for example) will correspond to a household that is actually EXPECTING a UPS delivery, so will unwittingly open it. Same with bank names, regular online sales places, etc. Eventually someone who actually is waiting on an Amazon transaction will receive a spam timed serendipitously to correspond with their willingness to open the message and read it or respond.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: ingenious spammers
From: GUEST,heric
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 11:44 AM

I am now getting spam which shows the sender as the correct name of business people I otherwise do commuicate with by e-mail at work. A female I know purportedly tried to sell me Viagra. A male I know tried to sell me an enlargement device.

I had previously seen something similar on internal addresses: A female boss tried to sell me something I can't even bear to describe.

If you check the properties of the sender's address, it is entirely different, but the name displays correctly.

I forwarded one of these (because it was funny), but the recipient's security software vaporized it instantly (without sending a notice of rejection.)