How can spammers be SO clever? Thread poster: Tim Drayton
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Tim Drayton 
Cyprus
Local time: 13:19
Turkish to English
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I have an e-mail address with my own domain. However, to keep it free from spam I only let regular clients have the address and advertised my Yahoo e-mail address on my website and at places like Proz. I changed this policy three days ago because of problems I have recently experienced with Yahoo. I have now posted my domain e-mail address at Proz and on my website, but nowhere else.
Not surprisingly the flow of spam has started. What surprises me, though, is that most of it so far has con... See more I have an e-mail address with my own domain. However, to keep it free from spam I only let regular clients have the address and advertised my Yahoo e-mail address on my website and at places like Proz. I changed this policy three days ago because of problems I have recently experienced with Yahoo. I have now posted my domain e-mail address at Proz and on my website, but nowhere else.
Not surprisingly the flow of spam has started. What surprises me, though, is that most of it so far has contained share tips.
Now, I do buy and sell shares, so it does not surprise me to receive this sort of spam - I get it at Yahoo. What I can't figure out is how spammers can know that I play the stock exchange just because I am advertising my e-mail address on my website and at Proz. I have not entered this e-mail address on any registration form at any website devoted to the markets. I regularly access such sites to follow news and prices and I understand that such sites probably set down cookies. These cookies may then retrieve my e-mail address when I access my e-mail account. OK - but I regularly accessed my unpublicised e-mail address before and I necer got this kind of spam. I accept that there is nothing I can do about it, but I wonder how spammers can know that this particluar translator who publicises his e-mail address also trades shares. It makes me feel a little paranoid. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | That has nothing to do | Jun 28, 2006 |
with the fact that you buy and sell shares. I keep getting those spam e-mails too, although I've never traded shares over the internet. Then again I never purchased viagra either and I'm flooded with those too LOL
| | | | | Dialogue boxes | Jun 28, 2006 |
Hi Tim
I'm unable to answer about "why these specifically" - but on a more general note, you don't have to post your email address on your website at all.
There is a dialogue box feature on your ProZ.com page and you can set one up for your website. In case it's hosted at ProZ.com, there is a feature called "CGIemail" that is quite safe (that is, much safer than "formmail"). It's a bit complicated to set up, but it's really worth the pain.
Florence
| | | | tazdog (X)
Spain
Local time: 12:19
Spanish to English
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| agree with Branka | Jun 28, 2006 |
Branka Stankovic McCarthy wrote:
I keep getting those spam e-mails too, although I've never traded shares over the internet. Then again I never purchased viagra either and I'm flooded with those too LOL
We get dozens of these "stock tips" every week, and we have never played the stock exchange, period. You might want to read this:
http://news.com.com/Its%20a%20bull%20market%20for%20stock%20spam/2100-7349_3-5818416.html
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| targeted spam | Jun 28, 2006 |
Not to mention all the adverts telling me I can have a bigger penis - last time I checked I didn't even have one!
| | | | | Spammers and Stocks | Jun 28, 2006 |
[quote]Tim Drayton wrote:
"Now, I do buy and sell shares,"
Forget that spam stuff. Now, let's get to the important stuff:
1. Do you do well?
2. If your reply to 1 is positive, got any tips?
| | | | Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 13:19
Turkish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | No mystery, then. | Jun 28, 2006 |
Thanks for the replies. I thought I was being specially targetted with these stock tip spam mails because I had a taste for dabbling in small-cap stocks. It seems they are just like Viagra ads - everyone gets them. As to share tips, I find whenever I tip a stock to anyone it always plummets, so I avoid doing so. I think it is an example of sods law.
| | | | FrederikDV (X)
Germany
English to Dutch
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| Traffic tapping | Jun 28, 2006 |
Hello Tim and everyone,
the "internet underworld" or a bunch of unscrupulous groups do exist. They can tap internet traffic in search of valuable information and they can insert extra information that will reach you. Popups and advertising can be (and are) sent to you. They can even completely redirect your requests to another web page.
So yes, it is possible that some people are monitoring traffic, saving IP addresses and e-mail addresses so they can later send you tar... See more Hello Tim and everyone,
the "internet underworld" or a bunch of unscrupulous groups do exist. They can tap internet traffic in search of valuable information and they can insert extra information that will reach you. Popups and advertising can be (and are) sent to you. They can even completely redirect your requests to another web page.
So yes, it is possible that some people are monitoring traffic, saving IP addresses and e-mail addresses so they can later send you targeted spam or other junk.
It is ironic that we are sometimes asked to sign NDAs but that files are sent to us in clear text over the internet. It would be one step forward for security to use encrypted communication (https for example) for e-mail and other internet applications in general.
This said, anything you send over internet through a normal http protocol can be read by anyone with the necessary skills, hardware and intentions that is on the path between you and the information you send or request.
Happy stock-gambling,
Frederik ▲ Collapse
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Since I started using g-mail I very rarely get any spam that makes it through the filter (maybe one e-mail a month). Of course, the filter needs to be trained, and you find some good e-mails going in the spam folder at first, but that doesn't take long.
Timothy Barton
www.timtranslates.com
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Kurt Porter wrote:
1. Do you do well?
2. If your reply to 1 is positive, got any tips?
I got some, but I won't tell before I will be sure
that they are useless..
Harry
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