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Wasting Time with Junk E-Mail
In
recent times, I've found myself receiving e-mail messages asking me to
post links on various pages available from this server. So far, one
hasn't been in regard to anything I've actually written, and
neither one was even remotely relevant to the pages in question. (That's
why I didn't say "people have sent me", because I doubt any people were
involved once the actual copy was written. Being that far off the mark
strongly suggests automation and software is involved somewhere.)
The usual
junk mail I receive generally comes from sellers of lasers and laser
safety equipment in the Pacific Rim and probably as a result of my
hosting a mirror of the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ. The rest generally
comes from some very misguided Russians and I have no idea what it's
about, being as I don't know any of the Russian language.
Here's the first set of those messages. (Both of these arrived in late April of 2017.)
Hi,
I
remember being a kid and feeling overwhelmed with fire safety lessons -
they were taught at home AND at school, and they were a subject of many
a PSA that came on television when I thought I was tuning in for
something a little more light-hearted. But as I’ve gotten older, and
through the work I do for senior wellness, I appreciate how much it was
emphasized during childhood.
And the learning shouldn’t stop once we grow up!
Fire
safety is an important - and frankly, a lifesaving - topic, whether
we’re talking about fires that start in the home or those that ignite
outside. With that in mind, can you do me a favor, and look over the
information below? If you see anything you think is helpful on the
topic, I’d sincerely appreciate you adding it to your site - maybe this
page (http://greyghost.mooo.com/repairfaq/sam/audiofaq.htm), or one
that you think would be more appropriate!
[table of links and titles removed mainly for space reasons]
As I
said, I don’t think this is a topic we talk about enough, so if you’d
like something more in-depth to share on your site, let me know. Maybe
I could write a story on fire safety for you, or send you additional
information to share?
Thanks in advance!
All the best,
Richard
Richard Wright
2885 Sanford Ave SW #35235 / Grandville, MI 49418
P.S. If you’d rather I didn’t reach out in the future, please send me an email letting me know!
I can't quite figure out the
angle here. Most junk mail is sent in the hope of making a profit in
some direct ("click these affilliate links!", "buy some illicit pills
that are probably fake!", "you've won a million dollars in the Nigerian
lottery!") or indirect ("visit this web page that I've festooned with
all manner of advertisements!") way. All of the links I removed point
to disparate sites on the web, whose maintainers almost certainly have no involvement in this. (Certainly
neither FEMA nor the University of Wyoming would be involved in such
dubious behavior.) They're not bounced through any kind of tracking
system along the way. (A possible screwup on the part of the sender?)
(A possiblility that came to mind
about a day after I'd first written this page was that of a spammer
"improving" the quality of their collected addresses. It works: there
are a lot of people who think that "unsubscribing" from a message they
never signed up to receive will actually result in that happening. If
someone did reply to what looks like a fairly normal message, it could
confirm that their address is good and should remain on the list.)
2885 Sanford Avenue SW in Grandville,
MI, assuming Google Maps and Street View is accurate, is a building
that looks to consist of multiple business suites. One of these seems
to be a mail scanning service -- mail sent to a particular box at that address is digitized and made available to someone. Obviously whoever that is would much rather we didn't know who they are. This address seems to attract more than its fair share of dubious activities as a result.
Searching the web
(again, as of this writing) doesn't turn up very much, other than a
church whose contact form is being abused by spammers of all sorts.
I'd have probably thought nothing
more of it, were it not for something niggling at me, saying "this
looks awfully familiar". And sure enough, going back to my inbox, I
found another one! Sent about a week prior to the first, this one read
much the same way:
Hello there,
While the world continues to do a better job of acknowledging the needs
of those who are disabled, accessibility continues to be an obstacle.
Just because someone is physically challenged doesn’t mean they should
have fewer resources. In fact, they should have more!
In my own research, I have found a wealth of information that I think
needs to be shared with others. Let’s help eliminate the
needle-in-the-haystack situation and put this information out front and
center. What do you think? Can I count on you to help me share these
resources? Maybe here: http://greyghost.mooo.com/cdrepair/?
[table of links and titles removed mainly for space reasons]
I appreciate you taking the time to help with making the world more accessible to others, and I thank
you for your consideration.
Best,
Martin
Martin Block
2885 Sanford Ave SW, Grandville, MI 49418
P.S. If you’d prefer not to be contacted in the future, please send me an email to let me know.
Here again the URLs don't
point to any kind of a referral or tracking service through which
monitoring could take place. Another web search turns up two results instead of just one. Only two of the URLs featured in each message point to the same sites: Redfin.com and a Dodge dealer in La Grange, Indiana. Neither site appears to have been compromised, and the articles referenced are still up on both sites.
Both messages were delivered with
plain text and HTML versions. There's nothing insidious in the HTML
version that I can see. Each one came from a different domain, though
the ownership information is cloaked identically between the two.
So...here again, I'm completely
baffled by the purpose of these messages. They're very obviously junk
mail, but what's the angle of the scam they're trying to pull? One
message seems to suggest that they'd like to write something for hire,
but the other says nothing about doing this. There's also this
from Spamhaus, although it pains me to even mention them, since I think
they are really kind of arrogant in the "all of the power and none of
the responsibility" sense. (Mind you, I hate spam and junk mail as much
as the next guy. I just don't care for the way in which Spamhaus
insulates itself from any responsibility or liability, even when their information
is wrong.)
Now, I'd have really figured that was the end of whatever-this-was, but in late November of 2017, it happened again! This message talked about disaster safety for people with disabilities and read as follows:
Hi,
As a
home-educator to my own special needs child (my youngest has autism), I
periodically help other families by taking in their children during
class time. I have at least two students I’m fortunate enough to teach
semi-regularly who not only have a cognitive disability, but also a
physical one.
Living
in California, where we’re known for having earthquakes and wildfires,
I can’t help but think about what would happen if a natural disaster
were to occur while one of these special students were under my care.
I’ve done a lot of research and consulted with their parents to make
sure we’ve done all we can to make sure that everyone — regardless of
their physical abilities — has a safety plan.
Since
this info can be a little difficult to find, and since you already have
so many great resources on your site already, can I trouble you to add
the following list of articles to this page:
http://greyghost.mooo.com/cdrepair/? (Or if not that page, one with
similar information?)
Disaster Safety for People with Disabilities: What to Do When Emergency Weather Strikes
Disaster Preparedness For Seniors By Seniors
Grants for Home Modification: 16 Resources for Homeowners with Disabilities
Safe travels: Disaster preparedness on the road
Family Communication Plan for Parents
Emergency Power Planning for People Who Use Electricity and Battery-Dependent Assistive Technology
Emergency Preparedness for People With Disabilities — Guide and Checklist
I really appreciate your support!
Thanks!
Jenny
Curiously, the majority of these received to date mentions my "offbeat CD repair tips"
page as the "most appropriate" place to put these links. Maybe you know
something about this that I don't? I'd certainly be interested in hearing your take on this,
or any other page on this site. (No, I won't post links to other sites,
unless of course they are relevant to the subject being discussed. Nor
do I do link exchanges.)
...but wait, there's more!
Now I'd have really figured
that would be the end of this, but it wasn't! This time around, they
came around to suggest that I add "some resources" to my mirror of Sam Goldwasser's Notes on the Troubleshooting and Repair of Audio Equipment and Other Miscellaneous Stuff, like so:
Hi there,
I’m
touching base on the fire safety info I sent you that I hope you’ll use
somewhere on your site. As I mentioned before, I think if you add the
following resources (or even just a few of them) alongside the fire
safety info you already have on your site (like on this page:
http://greyghost.mooo.com/repairfaq/sam/audiofaq.htm ), your readers
will really appreciate it!
Kitchen Fire Prevention: A Hazard in the Home
National Fire Protection Association - Lesson Plans
The Ultimate Guide to Fire-Safe Landscaping
The Restaurant Kitchen Fire Prevention Checklist
Fire Safety for Seniors
Thanks very much for promoting awareness on this important topic and for your time in sharing these!
Thank you,
Jen
Jennifer McGregor
P.S. If you would prefer I didn’t reach out in the future, please send me an email letting me know. Thanks!
(editor's note: don't do that -- it's how they know they've got a live one!)
This one actually had an earlier message quoted within! I looked
through my records and finally found it in my junk mail folder (where
it undoubtedly belongs).
Hi,
I think
it’s great you already have so much fire safety info on your site. I
thought you may like to add some additional resources, and below are a
handful that I think are very informative that you’re welcome to use
(maybe they can be added on this page:
http://greyghost.mooo.com/repairfaq/sam/audiofaq.htm). Fire safety is a
year-round topic, so it’s always a good time to make sure this type of
info is up-to-date!
Kitchen Fire Prevention: A Hazard in the Home
National Fire Protection Association - Lesson Plans
The Ultimate Guide to Fire-Safe Landscaping
The Restaurant Kitchen Fire Prevention Checklist
Fire Safety for Seniors
I appreciate your time on getting these in front of your site visitors!
Thank you,
Jen
Jennifer McGregor
P.S. If you would prefer I didn’t reach out in the future, please send me an email letting me know. Thanks!
(editor's note: nope, you still shouldn't do that -- unless you fancy being on every spam list in the world!)
Fire safety info. Nope, you definitely won't find any of that here.
It's not over yet, though!
The most recent addition to this whole strange saga was a letter from
someone who apparently found this page and didn't stop to consider what
it's actually talking about. Instead, they added their entry to this
already surreal tale.
Hi there,
I
notice you include fema.gov's article titled, “How to Prepare for a
Wildfire”, on this page of your website:
http://www.uxwbill/weird-junk-mail/
Considering only 39% of Americans have $1,000 in emergency savings, damage from a wildfire could devastate their finances.
With a
number of communities recently affected by wildfires across the
country, we wanted to share our guide that outlines the plans and
precautions necessary before, during, and after a natural disaster. We
also included four unique emergency disaster plans, specifically one
for a fire, that can be downloaded as a printable PDF checklist.
I'm including a link to our guide here: <deleted>
Will you add a link to our guide on your webpage mentioned above?
Thank you,
David Lafferty
The Simple Dollar
1525 4th Ave. | Seattle, WA 98101
This one actually had a remotely situated image below the signature
line, probably in a misguided effort to determine who actually read
their message and thus had a valid e-mail address. That's a trick that
hasn't worked for years in any popular e-mail client software. I'd imagine most webmail systems are even immune to it by now. You'll notice more than a few similarities to the earlier messages above.
They also did what you are not supposed
to do and visited this site using the uxwbill domain. Seriously, the
only way you're supposed to be visiting this site is by way of greyghost.mooo.com.
Don't ever use any other domain name to access these resources, because
you may find yoursefl dealing with someone other than myself.
I
don't have any idea who David Lafferty is, assuming he even exists (and
I'd bet that he doesn't, at least not in terms of having authored this
e-mail message). I'd also be willing to bet the real The Simple Dollar
web site (and isn't that just an awkward phrasing) knows nothing of
this e-mail. Looking at the address given by way of Google Earth shows
some kind of a shopping center with visible store fronts for Vans and
Dr. Martens shoes. It appears that other businesses are located within
this property, and that office space is also available there.
So...what's next? (as I wrote at what was once the tail end of this page)
More of the same, of course! In late April of 2019, I got another one!
This one talked yet again about fire safety and preparedness, with
another pile of links:
Hi!
I just
wanted to say that I admire all of your efforts to make your site a
go-to resource for people looking for information about fire safety and
preparedness. Whether a fire-related emergency occurs within our homes
(like from faulty electrical wiring) or starts outside of them (as with
wildfires), it really feels like this is a topic that is always timely
and that people should always stay aware of. In that spirit, if you’re
looking for new information for updating your site’s fire safety page
(I noticed this one in particular -
http://greyghost.mooo.com/repairfaq/sam/audiofaq.htm), here is some
that would make a good addition:
The Ultimate Guide to Wildfire Safety
Camping and Fires: Safety and Tips
15 Fire Safety Tips for Kids They’ll Never Forget
Fire Safety at Home - The Ultimate Guide for Parents
Do You Have a Pet Emergency Preparedness Plan?
A Guide to Senior Fire Safety
What You Need to Know About RV Fire Safety
As you can see, this list covers safety surrounding the different causes of fire, and I sincerely hope it helps!
Thanks!
Bradley
bdavis@ <removed>
Bradley Davis {disasterweb.net}
700 N. Valley St. ǀ Anaheim, CA ǀ 92801
Also, please send me an email if you don’t want me to contact you again - thanks!
Here again, I'm at a loss to explain the reasoning behind this message,
unless they're looking to confirm they "got a live one" when someone
replies to the e-mail asking not to be contacted again. The linked web
sites all belong to third parties, and aren't redirects through any
kind of tracking or information collection link. 700 North Valley
Street in Anaheim, California is the location of the "Tri-Freeway
Business Park". The DisasterWeb.net site doesn't really contain
anything more than a bunch of links off to other sites. As if the site
itself didn't look suspicious enough already, it also has a number of
contact forms whose only purpose is likely that of putting your e-mail
address on every spam list in the world. (I can't prove that, but it
seems highly probable.)
Of course, like many things on this site, this page ended up slumbering
for a good long time. During that time, a few more wandered in, like
this one in 2020. This time around, I deleted the messages from a
phone, so the message below is a few levels deep. "Chris", "Jesse", and
"Rachel" would periodically send me a message begging for my response.
These all went the same way, in the form of increasingly persistent
messags asking me to link to their web site.
On Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 4:25 PM, Rachel Cook <> wrote:
Hi William,
I noticed that you have a broken link to a website called National.com.
That site was first published way back in 1996 but unfortunately, it is
no longer a working website.
You link to National on this page: http://www.walshcomptech.com/repairfaq/REPAIR/F_sambook.html
We recently published an article that explains what happened to the
site. I think it's an interesting story, and it could be useful
to your readers.
Here's the article if you want to take a look: <removed>
Would you consider swapping out the broken link for our article? It would really help.
Cheers,
-Rachel
--
Rachel Cook
5 Ross Rd
Durham, NH 03824
By the way, if you didn't like receiving this message, please just
reply with something like "please don't email me any more", and I'll
make sure that I don't.
This group of messages contained a linked image, which is yet another
tactic by which e-mail authors can try to determine whether or not you
read their message. Any vaguely recent e-mail client won't load remote
images unless given the go-ahead, and only in haste or by a user
lacking in knowledge is that likely to happen. Any link to national.com
(formerly National Semiconductor) is broken by virtue of the fact that
Texas Instruments bought them out several years ago. I'm not sure why
that would be an "interesting story". Companies buy one another out all
the time, and it certainly wasn't a secret.
Needless to say, no, I won't swap out the link. Both reasons are obvious, even if one is a bit difficult to find.
I have no idea if this is related to any of the previous messages here.
My guess is that it could be, if only peripherally so. 5 Ross Road in
Durham, NH appears to be an unassuming residential property, outside of its asking price ($436,000!) when it was for sale. I doubt the people living there know anything about this, so please don't harass them.
I am, of course, not the only person to have gotten such messages. Someone did actually write to "Rachel", and while they didn't go into any detail, received what they described as an apology.
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Copyright © 2017-2020 by William R.
Walsh.
Some rights reserved. Terms and conditions governing your use or reuse
of this material may be found at the top level page. By the way, I
actively report any and all unsolicitied commercial e-mails ("spam")
sent to any e-mail address published in a page on this system.
Last updated on
November 19th, 2020. Previously updated on May 27th, 2019, November 28th, 2018 (almost a whole year after the prior update on November 29th, 2017), and 05/28/2017 (to fix the bad link pointing to my "contact" page,
as discovered by LimestoneFormation some time prior). Never let it be
said that I don't get right on reports of problems and mistakes on this
site. 