Subjected to SPAM

Recently I received an email with a subject 'Concrete Vibrators' that was actually about concrete vibrators. I immediately imagined a very different product with a slogan like "highest quality, dependable flexible shaft, pneumatic, high cycle" and wondered what kind of batteries were needed. Bummer, concrete gets all the luck :)

The most recent issue of Verbatim Magazine had me giggling as I read the article Bogus E-mail Subject Lines about how spammers try to 'trick' you into reading their email containing, usually, pornographic web site invitations.

I'm especially fond of subject lines relating to "personal finance" since people who use credit cards or have mortgages are apparently, in the worldview of these folks, likely to be heavy users of pornographic web sites.

Well, Jim, if #perl and other geeks are any measure then the porno industry has studied the target demographic well since guys with a mortgage are likely married and seemingly more rabid consumers of porn than their unmarried brethren. There's nothing like the unattainable to fuel demand for the surreptitiousness of on-line porn.

Some of the best picks in the article are;

• Here Are The PICs Of Me Naked That You Wanted
• Guess who, bought a puter.
• Re: Hey
• Did you send this?
• Does it still hurt?
• You are giving me a complex
• hey :#@$
• ...and a number of others...

It is a disturbing trend that spammers are getting more aggressive and more creative. Did you get that email recently with "Sorry I missed Lunch" addressed to "Mike"? It most likely was an email address ping in the guise of a seemingly innocuous message.

Remember when there weren't ads at the beginning of a movie you just paid $9 for? or product placements in the movies? in just about every nook and cranny of available space? The internet will fill up just like the physical world has with a constant barrage of adverts and product placements. Get used to it.