Robert Weiner
NOVEMBER 3, 2011
This one caught my eye for a second. I thought, "I don't remember booking anything with American lately." The lazy spammer didn't even bother to include any graphics to make it look official. Sender: American Airlines (information-no77537@aa.com). Subject: Your Order##91991988. Text: Dear Customer, FLIGHT NUMBER 984. ELECTRONIC 746879098. DATE & TIME / NOVEMBER 17, 2011, 11:53 PM.
Robert Weiner
NOVEMBER 7, 2011
Like the American Airlines spam , this one didn't bother to include any graphics to make it look official. Further, it shows plainly that the link goes to www.usps.com.ww062.com (note that the domain is ww062.com). Some scammers are just lazy. Sender: auto-notify@usps.com. Subject: Delivery Confirmation. Text: Dear Customer, We attempted to deliver your item at 11:02 am on November 5, 2011 and a notice was left.
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Robert Weiner
NOVEMBER 10, 2011
I'm planning a new workshop on selecting donor databases, focusing on the question, "Why is this so friggin' complicated?" Some initial thoughts: The maxim "Fast, cheap, or good -- pick two" is true. You want the technology to be forward-looking but also want to avoid shiny object syndrome. You want to make a reasonably quick decision, but also need to get input and buy-in from stakeholders.
Robert Weiner
NOVEMBER 30, 2011
I wrote recently about spam in the form of blog comments. There's been a deluge recently, and I want to call out some that look like they could be legit. Fortunately, my anti-spam filters (Akismet and Bad Behavior) caught them. I assume that most of these are planted for search engine optimization rather than to get people to click a link. For instance, the first one is promoting a financial planning site -- who would hire a financial adviser based on this kind of marketing?
Robert Weiner
NOVEMBER 21, 2011
Some of the lamest spam I see comes in the form of comments on my blog posts. Some sounds convincing, but my spam filters (Akismet and Bad Behavior) are incredibly good at catching them. (It's particularly entertaining when the spam is trying to link to one of my spam of the day posts.). Here's an example. This one's a transparent ad for a weight loss program, but often I have to look harder to figure out what's going on.
Robert Weiner
NOVEMBER 16, 2011
Who in their right mind would click on a thing like this? It came from a stranger in another country with a blank subject and an unintelligible Quote of the Day. I guess I answered my own question -- someone who isn't thinking. And what kind of gifts are they giving away? It's a mystery, but there are only 207 of them so act now! Sender: Mwiza Mireille (kamwiza@yahoo.fr).
Robert Weiner
NOVEMBER 9, 2011
This one seems both farfetched and lazy. They didn't bother with graphics or try to disguise the sender's email address or the destination of the hyperlink. And how many people would think they need an EIN (Federal employer ID) in the first place, much less a new one? I'd hope that accounting staff would see right through this, but I guess one should never underestimate people's gullibility.
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