response 1 of 79:

Mar 23 16:30 UTC 2002

Yesterday I wrote the site where I made the mistake of posting a request for
175' of aluminum angle a year ago, asking them to remove my posting, and today
I got yet another aluminum-related unsolicited mail.  Anyone else want to
attend and 'choose not loose'?  The guy who posted after me wanting two
sheets of aluminum to put on the bottom of his truck bed was probably also
invited to participate.  Does Dubai perhaps use cheap petroleum to refine
aluminum ore?

From: TCFM <tcfm@terra.net.lb>
Subject: Alumex 2002

    [The following text is in the "windows-1256" character set]

 Attn : The Managing Director

If you need to expand, it is the right time to do it. We are offering you
the way to have a market share in this booming market. Time is Money & It
is Moving Fast. It is your chance to choose and not to loose. 

Sub : ALUMEX 2002

Dear Sirs,

We are pleased to invite you to participate in ALUMEX 2002, The Second
International Aluminium Exhibition and Conference for the Middle East,
which will be held along side with The Middle East Metal and Metallurgy
Exhibition MEM 2002 from 10 - 12 December
 2002 at Dubai World Trade Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

This international event will enjoy the support and sponsorship of :

* Ministry Of Petroleum & Mineral Resources - United Arab Emirates.

* VDMA - German Machinery And Plant Manufacturer's Association ( Metal Company)


 What VDMA said about ALUMEX & MEM?

After the participation of German engineering federation (VDMA) in the
first edition of MEM, VDMA said "The Gulf region is for the German
companies being involved in the metallurgical industry of increasing
interest . ALUMEX / MEM 2001 was good start and could be developed to an
interesting platform not only for the aluminium industry but for the metal
industry in general, particularly if this scope is going to be extended to
all metal processing technologies. 

Why Dubai:

Dubai is the unquestionable hub of all business activities in the Middle
East. 

Dubai has a progressive industrial climate that is inviting international
business. 

Dubai offers easy to comply formalities for the international business
community. 

Dubai has excellent amenities to complement corporate functioning like
transportation , IT,etc. 

Dubai has one of the world^Òs finest Free Trade Zones.

Dubai envisages breathtaking strides into the next millennium with rapid
growth on the cards. 

Who should exhibit at ALUMEX '2002

Every one interested to open a new market for his products or services in
the Gulf countries, Middle East, Asia and dealing with : 

Exhibits


 * Die-casting                                   * Tolling Slabs

* Foundry                                        * Billets

* Extrusion                                      * Deoxidants

* Raw Materials                             * Aluminium Systems

* Machinery                                    * Surface treatment

* Equipment                                   * Products

And all other services and materials related to Aluminium Technology,
Machinery, Fabrication and Products. 

Who will visit the exhibition

More than 7000 professional visitors and trade buyers from UAE, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt,
India, Pakistan, Iran and some other neighbouring countries, will be
visiting Alumex 2002. 

Participation Fees

Option (1) : Raw Space :

Rate US $ 265 / M2 (Minimum Space 3x6 = 18 M2).

Option (2) : Equipped Space : 

Includes Wall Panels, Carpets, Lighting, Sign Boards, Table & Chair . 

Rate US$ 295 / M2 (Minimum Space 3x3 = 9 M2).

Complimentary Services to all exhibitors

* Free listing on the exhibition web site.

* Free listing in the exhibition official catalogue.

* Welcome cocktail party

* Exhibitor badges

* Invitation cards

* Stand clearing

* Security

I hope this invitation will meet with your approval, looking forward to
hearing from you soon. 

Thanking you, with best regards.



Jinan Zeidan / Mrs.

Branch Manager

Trans Continental Fairs Management

Tel  : +961-1-30 70 55

Fax : +961-1-30 64 74

E-mail : tcfm@terra.net.lb

Please, if you are interested in participation kindly, inform us to
provide you with the exhibition website. 


  [Part 2, Text/HTML (charset: Unknown "windows-1256")  162 lines]
  [Unable to print this part]

What character set is Windows-1256, Arabic?

response 3 of 79:

Mar 24 03:34 UTC 2002

Best bet for unsolicited mail?  Delete it!  Do not *click here to be 
removed from our mailing list*  They will forward your address to 
someone else with the hope that you will buy from there.  If you don't 
respond, they will think that your address is defunct.  It may take a 
while, but it does work.  Trust me, I've tried it.

response 5 of 79:

Mar 24 12:17 UTC 2002

No, they never give up on email addresses, because they never see the
bounce notices.

response 9 of 79:

Mar 24 20:43 UTC 2002

I wonder if it would be possible to send fake bounce notices?

response 11 of 79:

Mar 24 23:06 UTC 2002

here's a good one from http://www.thespamletters.com


Subject: Re: Unable to pay your supplier?
To: gzqug@mail.ru
From: Jonathan Land <jland@incomplete.net>
Date: 01/16/2001


ATTENTION BUSINESS OWNER/OPERATOR 15 

From time to time, most companies experience a cash flow problem. These
problems can range from temporary cash crunches with the inability to pay
trade creditors and suppliers within the granted credit terms to more serious
problems including bankruptcy and liquidation. 

--------

My fucking GOD! I can't tell you what an appropriate time your letter comes
at. The company I work for is experiencing such a cash flow that all the
employees didn't get paid on time again for the 12th pay period in a row. The
entire staff is eating Ramen this week. Ramen is the name of the new Japanese
intern. She drew the short straw, but the whole thing was rigged anyway,
which, in hindsight, makes me think we could have been up front with her since
the Japanese culture is rich in the tradition of pre-arrangement for important
life-"decisions" ranging from marriages to careers and whatnot. I was going
to say that it was a dog-eat-dog world out there, but it reminds me how sad
we've all become. 

But life goes on - We're in the process of fattening Brent up on shredded
paper (we're getting him high on Sharpie marker fumes and telling him it's
pasta), but it's totally hopeless. He couldn't gain weight if he held a cinder
block. 

At first I thought I was the only one having my pay withheld, and I
desperately needed cash because that new Titanium Apple PowerBook is just
soooo cool and I need it more than anything, food and shelter inclusive. So
I was turning tricks by the water cooler (actually, the place that the water
cooler will go when we can afford one), which led to the uncomfortable
situation of collecting no money whatsoever after whatever deed was required
of me was done. All for naught. You should have sex with all of my co-workers,
it was like naught for naught, but that's neither here nor there. It just
pisses me off that all I got out of the experience was some sort of venereal
disease. I can't be sure which one because no one's paid up the health
insurance in months... not that I can afford the co-pay now anyway. 

Well, enough of me blathering about my petty gripes, let's get down to brass
tacks. Actually, that's how we killed Ramen (thumb tacks really), and it took
FOREVER to get the job done!!! Oh well, my stomach isn't arguing, and any
humanitarian thoughts I once had are long dead as well. 

I work for a Large (note the capital) corporation, that I probably shouldn't
name until you answer a few questions of mine regarding confidentiality. As
it is, I'm writing this from my home account because if we receive your aid
it must be very discreet. 

We're a public company that's in a bit of a bind right now. We're pretty well
respected, but we owe money all over town link a petty hustler. You mention
that "We keep our clients out of the legal system", I'm just curious exactly
how you do this and if it is, in fact, legal in-and-of-itself to go this
route. The confidentiality issue is that we have to come out of this looking
like the company rebounded on its own, without the help of an outside agency.
Like a congressman's illegitimate mixed-race child from horseplay during their
first marriage, you must remain completely out of the picture. You will be
compensated extra for this... if you can help us out and we get money to
compensate you with. 

So what do you think? I'm looking forward to hearing from you, 

Jonathan Land
Search Engineer, Yahoo, inc. 

-----------

If you own or operate a company with a cash flow problem, we can help. Brown
& MacMillan is a national consulting company specializing in reducing problem
debts for companies of all sizes. Since our inception in 1994, we have helped
hundreds of companies including small "mom and pops" to large multi-national
organizations. We keep our clients out of the legal system so they can
concentrate on their business enabling a large savings in both time and money.


We typically reduce our client's accounts payable and other debts to less than
20 cents on the dollar! In fact, our settlements rarely go higher than 35
cents on the dollar. Furthermore, we put our clients in a no lose situation.
We always give them the opportunity to accept or reject any settlement we
negotiate for them. If they do not like the settlement we negotiated, we
charge them nothing. If they accept, our fee is based on a small percentage
of what we saved them over the original amount owed. Therefore, we don't
charge by the hour, never charge a retainer, but only get paid when you accept
a satisfactory settlement that we have negotiated on your behalf. 

If your creditors are constantly calling your company for payment, or have
even retained a collection agency or attorney, I strongly urge you to fill
out the form below and fax it back to us. Just imagine what your cash and
working capital positions would look like in a few short weeks after an 80%
reduction of debt. You have absolutely nothing to lose. 

response 15 of 79:

Mar 27 15:04 UTC 2002

Here's a new one. Well, I guess it's not really new, rather a variation 
on the Nigeria scam, but mildly amusing nonetheless.


From: "Glorja Stojiljkovic" <glostoj@yahoo.com>
To: <danr@qtb.com>
Subject: Hello

I need your help. 
 I am the wife of VLAJKO STOJILJKOVIC, one of the  people indicted at 
the Hague War Crimes  Tribunal in Hague. The indictment is politically  
motivated. It was for the package the  western worlkd has provided 
Yogoslavia.  Slobodan and my husband had kept some funds, to enable 
them take care of rebel problems. However, now the country they  
protected has turned against them.I need to transfer the money out to 
safety.  The funds are in excess of 64million (in Swiss Francs and US 
dollars).They will have to  be paid into off shore accounts. They are 
not in  Yugoslav.  Can you help? Are you capable of handling funds? 
Are  you trustworthy? I can  offer you 30%. Will that be ok? i will be 
also needing you expert advice on business oppurtunity,emigration and 
purchasing of housing for family living. I am grateful.  Glorja. 


Somehow I don't think "Glorja" will be needing my "expert advice."

response 17 of 79:

Apr 10 19:15 UTC 2002

I have started using spamcop.net to report my spam -- at least the worst
cases.

Essentially you sign up for a free account, and get an email address to
forward the spam to.  If you have done this right, you get a URL to a page
which analyzes the headers and decides who to complain to; it also keeps
track of things like open relays.

It's interesting to see, e.g., the pseudo-legit promo about second
mortgages was routed through China and Korea, is full of forged addresses,
etc., pretty much proof that it's all a fraud.  But all you have to do is
click on the "Send Spam Reports Now" and you're done.

response 19 of 79:

Apr 11 15:54 UTC 2002

Interesting approach by a spam obviously designed to get past keyword
blocking on words like MORTGAGE LENDERS BROKERS, which are broken up by
HTML comments containing different words:


   Mo<!--mommy-->rtgage Lend<!--daddy-->ers & Bro<!--bro and
   sis-->kers...<p>

   ...Compete For Your B<!--baseball game-->usin<!--granny-->ess<p>

   Qu<!--starter-->ickly and Easily find le<!--map-->nders /
   bro<!--directions for mom-->kers offering the BE<!--train tracks-->
   ST Rat<!--start-->es & Te<!--lolipop-->rms for your situation<p>

   Equ<!--yas-->ity Line of Cr<!--no-->edit  D<!--jon-->ebt Con<!--grandpa
   jo-->solidation Home Improvement Ref<!--jogging-->inancing Second
   Mo<!--orange juice-->rtgage <p>

   Good Cre<!--loli-->dit - Bad C<!--kite flyers-->redit - 
   Ban<!--mine-->kruptcy - Fo<!--nonni-->reclosure<P>

   100's of Le<!--99999-->nders / 1000+ Programs / 100<!--999988877-->%
   F<!--098-->ree Ser<!--siuhsisg-->vice<p>

   <A HREF=http://210.51.251.243/al/74205/index.htm>
   Click Here To F<!--starter-->ind The B<!--end-->est Dea<!-009-->l On
   Your Next Mo<!--mine-->gage</A>

response 21 of 79:

Apr 11 16:54 UTC 2002

That would require, you know, *working* for a living.  Sheesh.  You damn
hippies.  

response 23 of 79:

Apr 11 17:55 UTC 2002

Greg, you got something against lying around and doing nothing?