Some "Remove me links" really work

(Traditional format)

Wed Dec 15 12:38:07 2004 Some "Remove me links" really work
Posted by Tony Lawrence
Search Keys: mail|spam
Referencing: http://techdirt.com/articles/20041214/163211_F.shtml

Techdirt reports that at least some spammers really will remove your name from their lists if you tell them to. Of course that's useless information along the order of "some lions won't maul you if you poke your finger in their eye". Most spammers probably use any "Remove me" replies as a way to build lists they can sell to someone else or use for some other campaign - sure, we won't send you any more fake Rolex ads, but we've got a live one to add to the Viagra list!

Brian McWilliams (author of Spam Kings) reports in Salon how he infiltrated that particular Rolex spamming outfit. You'll need to suffer through a brief ad to read the article, but it's worth the pain. As he explains, the "Remove" lists get published for affiliate spammers to view, supposedly to scrub their lists. Maybe some do that, but considering that any spammer is plainly lacking any trace of empathy for their fellow man, how likely is it that those lists wouldn't be misused?

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