TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Spam Surge Drives Net Crime Spree


Re: Spam Surge Drives Net Crime Spree


Danny Burstein (dannyb@panix.com)
Fri, 29 Dec 2006 04:52:12 UTC

In <telecom25.428.5@telecom-digest.org> Dan Lanciani <ddl@danlan.com>
writes:

[ snip ]

> Interesting. I assume that a message with an image from someone I
> don't know is likely spam and bounce it with an appropriate error.

Unless you're doing this at the initial SMTP server contact, please
stop. If you're making the bounces based on the reply-to or return or
"from" addresses, those are quite likely forged, and all a bounce to
them is doing is making things worse.

_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, a little bit of guerilla (or do
you say 'gorilla') warfare always feels good. As many of you may know,
my bane in life is a dozen or more spams/scams each day from PayPal
imposters. Some of them are simple requests to 'confirm my identity'
least my PayPal account be closed, but lately they are trying a new
routine where I am advised that 'I have sent payment in the amount of
several hundred dollars' to some innocent bystander company, and 'if
this is in dispute, please contact the 'PayPal Team' by sending all
my identification to them, etc. What I have been doing is emailing the
innocent bystander company with a demand letter for 'full refund' of
the 'money sent to them in error' by PayPal. And as 'proof' that they
did get the money I enclose a copy of the shyster/huckster's letter in
which _he_ purports to be the 'PayPal Team'. I just use a template
letter I keep on file for it. Naturally, I also send the original
charlatan's letter to me (telling me [a] how my account is closed
pending correct ID or [b] advising me that some outrageous sum of
momey was paid on my behalf) to 'spoof@paypal.com' for their handling
as well. Last I noticed, PayPal and the innocent bystanders were
banging on each other pretty well. I suggest we all do what we can
to make internet commerce as difficult and discouraging as possible;
hopefully it will go away entirely sometime in the future. PAT]

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