replying to spam, whats the point

[breezer]

I thought we were asked not to reply to spam?

Then why do some people still do it?

spammers are people who make their spam post then go, so there is no point in posting a reply to spam since they will never return to read it.

Perhaps i should have called this post

"why do people ignore things they are told / asked/"

 

[NickStone]

Are you asking a question, Breezer, or just rolling your eyes? If my mother received spam she would reply to it, simply because she wouldn't realise it wasn't a personal message to her and she comes from an age when it was considered rude not to reply to letters. However, she doesn't have email - she tried once but she couldn't get the hang of it.

Another question to ask is why spammers send spam in the first place. As you say, they send it then go, so what's the point? I guess if you're a spotty adolescent with poor hygiene, bad breath and no friends, it's a way of assuming power (since they probably have none in other areas of their lives.)

 

[Nige F]

Are you asking a question, so what's the point? I guess if you're a spotty adolescent with poor hygiene, bad breath and no friends, it's a way of assuming power

works for me too.....K.D.F

 

[MarkBarl]

Don't be fooled into thinking that these are sent by spotty kids. Spam is big business.
Hypathecially. You send 10 million phishing e-mails to known emails, (that you have accumulated from those stupid circular emails that our women folk seem to love to circulate) asking people to submit their details for their bank account. Assume you get a hit rate of just 1/2% of people who believe it and fill in their details. That's details for 50,000 people. They can either flog this information for a couple of quid each, that's £100,000. Or use it themselves. Say on average they manage to steal just £50 from each person. That's 2.5 million quid.

Spread the word (Not via email ) never, ever, ever give out any personal financial details to anyone who asks by e-mail. Don't follow links in emails saying it's from your bank, always type the address for your bank directly into the browser. If in doubt ring your bank.

 

[Steve]

I keep getting them from Halifax. Thought 'id humour it, clicked the link. Looked very genuine, apart from the address wasn't halifax.co.uk or anything like it. I can see how some might be fooled. Dont think it was a secure page either (padlock or https), which would also put some off.

 

[JohnD]

You can inspect emails without opening them. If you are using OE,

right-click
properties
details
source

this also shows you the real URLs which may have been disguised.

It is also possible to copy and paste from here, for example if you want to send the spam content to the bank. this does not open any of the embedded links or pictures, which are used by spammers to detect that you have received and opened the mail, so confirming your email address as active and increasing its value to spammers.

 

[Steve]

The link I opened made Norton go mad anyway! It showed "fraudulent page detected!" Ace!!!

 

[Softus]

It is also a bad idea to reply to spam as when the topic is deleted any other posts within are also logged as spam.

I'm struggling to see why anyone would consider such a thing to be a good idea.

 

[breezer]

It is also a bad idea to reply to spam as when the topic is deleted any other posts within are also logged as spam.

no it isn't.

but yes, totaly pointless in replying to spam posts (but people still do it )

 

[Softus]

Yeah, I agree with you. For some reason though some people still reply to spam posts before they are deleted.

Um, I think you might have misunderstood me. I meant that I consider the following to be a strange, and not good, idea:

...when the topic is deleted any other posts within are also logged as spam.
_________________________

It is also a bad idea to reply to spam as when the topic is deleted any other posts within are also logged as spam.

no it isn't.

Please explain why you think that a Moderator of the site has the wrong understanding of what happens when a spam topic is deleted.

 

[kevindgas]

on a similar vein i have noticed a few pointless posts on here recently offering viagra etc but why do they seem to always post them in plumbing and heating? strange this internet thingy

 

[breezer]

Please explain why you think that a Moderator of the site has the wrong understanding of what happens when a spam topic is deleted.

Civil question, civil answer. Simple, this isnt the only forum that uses this software


__________________________________________________

on a similar vein i have noticed a few pointless posts on here recently offering viagra etc but why do they seem to always post them in plumbing and heating? strange this internet thingy

I figured that one out ( i think)

if they post spam in the first forum it will be obvious it is there, since it hardly gets posted in, so they post it else where so it "mingles in"

 

[Softus]

Simple, this isnt the only forum that uses this software

In that case I don't understand why you waited until now to point out that the moderators have given us a misleading reason for not replying to spam posts.
_____________________

It is only the spam post which is logged as spam...

M9, why does your post indicate that it was made at a later time than those that follow it?

And what is the [real] reason for the moderators' request that we don't reply to spam posts?

 

[breezer]

iits not to do with where the spam post is that you should not reply to it. but if i told you why the spammers would then figure something out.

The other reason is that 99.9% of the time the person who replies to spam is wasting their time, since the spammer is like a pidgeon.

They "drop their load" and dont look back.

so its pointless for example repeatedly posting the word spam after a spam post (some one did) or any other comment, as the spammer will not be back to read it

 

[Stivino]

And if I remember rightly, you replied to it too.