Due to some unfortunate Windows user's address book being misappropriated by malware, my formerly unsullied primary email address is now under siege with a seemingly endless ( and increasing ) barrage of spam.
It's pointless to change the address. I've had it for years.It's impossible for me to track down everyone to announce a new one. Besides, changing it would be a exercise in futility. As soon as my spyware-infested contact entered my new addie into their address book, the cycle of pain would just renew.
I don't understand who in the hell opens these come ons, much less actually clicks through and purchases. Are people so desperate for attention that they actually open ecards from people they've never heard of?
Does anyone actually buy pharmaceuticals from spammers? You know, you probably have better quality control from your neighborhood street corner vendor. Think global. Buy local!
And I refuse to believe that anyone takes stock advice from unsolicited email. I'm sorry, that would be bona-fide proof that the Creationists are right and that Natural Selection is a load of hooey. There is no way someone that stupid could make it to breeding age without sticking a fork in an electrical socket or taking themselves out of the gene pool in some other ignominious fashion.
Spam is the digital equivalent of the 'Psst! Hey Buddy!' of the guy on the street corner who sells Rolexes. Honestly, if he asked for your VISA number, you wouldn't give it to him, are you going to now because he has a web site?
Clearly though, someone must be buying what the spammers are hawking, money is being made—they aren't doing it for shits and giggles—but who? How do we build a profile of the spam enabler?
Well, my guess is that the products that are hawked are the products that sell, so the simplest thing to do is look at a sload of spam and see what shakes out.
Fortunately ( ? ) , my WCMG email address is perfect for this. It's been published on the web for years and gets tons of the crap. The spam to legitimate mail ratio for that box is close to 100:1.
The spam folder currently has 1410 messages in it. ( I haven't cleaned it this week ) . So for you, I decided to slog through it all and categorize it. Talk about a Dirty Job, where's Mike Rowe when you need him?
What I learned is this: the average dolt that purchases from spammers is a drug-addled, overweight, little-dicked, impotent geek. I picture him as looking something like Danny DeVito in Batman Returns.
Being a geek myself, I'm compelled to present the results in a graph. So here is the final tally.
Everything Else 2.9 %
Stock "Tips" 3.5 %
Phish/Trojan Bait 3.8 %
Viagra 12.9 %
Software 14.8 %
Weight Loss 16.4 %
Drugs (non-Viagra) 21.6 %