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Post unusual emails, questions about spam or worms, and things distantly related in this item.
79 responses total.
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?
IS THE GREX BBS BECOMES an advertising board?:-(
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.
I generally look at the headers and complain to whatever ISP they either sent from or relayed through.
No, they never give up on email addresses, because they never see the bounce notices.
I got one today entitled 'MMMMMM YOU TASTE GOOD' with no message - blank. It was sent to about 10 addresses all starting with kees.
This response has been erased.
Especially if the person you sold it to did something illegal with it, because as far as we're concerned, you'd still be the person liable.
I wonder if it would be possible to send fake bounce notices?
It's _possible_, but it won't do any good. The bounces will either go to a Postmaster as undeliverable, or into a bit-bucket mailbox. As polygon said, the originators never see the bounces.
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.
What might happen to someone who actually followed these INSTRUCTIONS and
believed what they said about the BILL? I reported this one as spam, to
the addresses listed in the full header, not the reply-to address.
I am tempted to call their 888 number to waste their time and money but it
is likely to get me on junk phone call lists.
From: udr@randbad.com
Subject: I may have found you 45 extra years.
<td><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
color="#999999">REMOVAL
INSTRUCTIONS: This message is sent in compliance with the proposed BILL
section 301, Paragraph (a) (2) (c) of S.1618. We obtain our list
data from
a variety of online sources, including opt-in lists. This email is sent
by a direct email marketing firm on our behalf, and if you would rather
not receive any further information from us, please <a
href="mailto:remove1635@xmarketing.org?subject=REMOVE">CLICK
HERE</a> and simply hit "SEND" and you will be removed. In this
way, you will instantly "opt-out" from the list your email
address
was obtained from, whether this was an "opt-in" or otherwise.
Please accept our apologies if this message has reached you in
error. Allow
up to 5-10 business days for your email address to be removed from
all lists
in our control. Meanwhile, simply delete any duplicate emails that
you may
receive and rest assured that your request to be removed will be honored.
If you have previously requested to be Removed and are still
receiving this
message, you may email our Abuse Control Center at <a
href="mailto:remove1635@xmarketing.org?subject=REMOVE">CLICK
HERE</a> or call us at 1-(888) 817-9902, or write to us at: Abuse Control
Center, 111 Pacifica #250, Irvine, CA 92618. </font></td>
This response has been erased.
The phone number listed above is a recording that gives one 30 seconds to leave your email address. Presumably for those people who don't have email so cannot mail in their email address. ?????? ///
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."
Funny. At least most of the Africans used spell checkers and would also know how to spell the name of their own country.
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.
Chinese and Korean spam is getting so bad that some of the blacklists are now blocking essentially the entire set of Chinese and Korean netblocks. Network admins there don't seem to care about cleaning it up.
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>
I've got an idea. How about everyone just start acting ethically? People selling mortgages could stop doing shit like this, and the people who write spam filters could find something else to do. Jesus, these damn spammers never stop.
That would require, you know, *working* for a living. Sheesh. You damn hippies.
Spamming costs the sender almost nothing, and some people will always respond favorably to any advertisement. So by basic market economics we'll continue to see more and more of it.
Greg, you got something against lying around and doing nothing?
#19 is hilarious.
#22> Which is why we need to find a way to cost these spammers something. Maybe we could start spamming them. >=}
re 23: Yes. I hate it. I can't stand the sweet, sweet pleasure of idleness. Really. I mean it. Why are you backing away?
Re #25: I'm of the opinion it should be as illegal as junk faxes are, and for the same reason.
Re# 26. I swear everyone in the office thinks I'm crazy after laughing at that. I should probably install some sort of noise filtration system so that others aren't bothered by my laughter.
I have started getting imitation Nigeria spams from other countries in Africa. This one has not bothered with a spell checker. What I found interesting is that there seems to be free email geared towards idiots like this - do they really get $5000 commission on every sucker? (See the very end). FROM Abba Johnson Email:abba_john1@hickorymail.com Dear Sir, I am pleased to get across to you a very urgent and profitable business proposal.I got your contact through the lome Directorate of commerce and industry here in lome Togo,in West Africa during my search for a credible reliable overseas business partner. I am the Administrative Manager of ASSITANCE SECURITY & FINANCE COMPANY in LOME-TOGO.The nature of the business is thus,We had a very rich customer a foreigner infact a lebanese resident in LOME-TOGO,he was a producer and an exporter,based here in lome-togo. He operates his business within the West Africa sub-region and middle east,He deposited two big Trunk Box with my company containing the sum of USD22.5 Million(Twenty two million five hundred thousand dollars)about six years ago.Unfortunately the man died fouryears ago in an ambush attack cross fire in the sierra leonian civil war as confirmed via reliable source. Until today non of his next of kin has come forward to claim the trunk Box containing the money despite our intensive advertisement in the media both locally and internationally for his next of kin to come forward and claim his estate.Now having noticed this I in collaboration with the operations Manager have covered up this deposit all while to avoid the money going into the Goverments treasury as unclaimed deposit. Now we want you being a foreigner to be front as his next of kin and forward particulars and other relevant documents to be advised to you by us to attest to the claim.we will use our positions to get all internal documents to back the claims,every document to effect this process will be in accordance with our companys regulations and guide lines. The whole procedures will last only (10)working days to get the Box containing the money USD22.5M Dollars retrieved successfully without trace even in future As soon as I hear from you by indicating your intrest I will furnish you with the whole procedures to ensure that the deal is successfully concluded.25 % percent will be for you as foreign partner, while 10% percent goes for any expences we might encounter in the process.Trusting to hear from you soonest. Thanks for your understanding. yours sincerely Abba Johnson _____________________________________________________________ GET YOUR FREE E-MAIL FROM VERY IMPORTANT BUSINESS INDEX AT http://www.vibindex.com YOUR BUSINESS BEING HUGE OR SMALL IS NOT THE MEASURE OF YOUR SUCCESS, WHAT MEASURES YOUR SUCCESS AND GUARANTEES YOUR CONTINUITY IS HOW MUCH YOUR CONSUMERS KNOW YOUR BUSINESS. PARTICIPATE IN THE MARKETING PROCESS, WE WILL SHARE WITH YOU THE REVENUE. AND GET $5000 WITHIN FEW WEEKS. THIS IS WHAT THE WEBSITE WWW.VIBINDEX.COM PROVIDES _____________________________________________________________ Run a small business? Then you need professional email like you@yourbiz.com from Everyone.net http://www.everyone.net?tag
Another one of these - do they look this ridiculous to email programs other than pine? It was sent as html only. I clipped off the beginning html tag so it would not display as such to backtalk users - was that necessary? The person inventing this one must have used some program that inserted two words at a time. But why into nearly every word, not just the subject line? Do spam filters look for words in the message body, including things like 'week' and 'expected' or did someone simply overdo it by mistake? <b><br>St<!--This-->oc<!--is the-->k Expect<!--beginning-->ed to So<!--of the-->ar</br><br> Powder River Basin Gas Co<!--we think-->rp. (OT<!--end of-->CB<!--the world-->B:PRVB)</br><br></b> Ma<!--Mary had-->jor New<!--a little-->slet<!--lamb-->ter Ann<!--its fleece-->ouncem<!--was white-->ents and Huge New<!--as snow-->sletter Cover<!--and everywhere-->age for PRVB<br><br> This we<!--that mary-->ek, PRVB will be prof<!--went the-->iled by some major new<!--lamb was-->sletters<br> along with the release of sign<!--sure to-->ificant news regarding incr<!--go-->eased<br> reve<!--it followed-->nues for the Comp<!--her to-->any. There will be huge vo<!--school one-->lume, and a <br> strong increase in price for several days. These are the same<br> newsle<!--day which-->tters that profi<!--was against-->led NVEI two weeks ago. They brought<br> NVEI from $.68 to $1.79 in ten days. We know for certain that<br> the same groups are going to profi<!--the rules-->le PRVB this week.<br><br> We are ve<!--humpty-->ry proud that we can sha<!--dumpty-->re this information with yo<!--sat-->u so<br> that you may part<!--on a wall-->icipate alongside the many other Newslet<!--humpty-->ter<br> subs<!--dumpty-->cribers that recie<!--had a-->ve this inform<!--great-->ation. It is highly advisa<!--fall all-->ble<br> to take a pos<!--the kings-->ition in PRVB as soon as po<!--horses-->ssible, today before the<br> ma<!--and all-->rket closes, or to<!--the kings-->morrow.<br><br> [lots more of this, omitted] <b>Goo<!--fiddle-->d Luck, and watch PRV<!--the dog-->B fly!</b> </html>
I don't think people who use Pine are part of their target audience. People who are savvy enough to use a command-line email program are probably not statistically likely to buy stuff based on spam. Also, some of the recent versions of pine can be configured to render HTML email readably.
Try ignorning the bits between the < and > signs, and you get something like this: Stock Expected to Soar! The inline comments are supposed to fool spam filters, but be ignored by the HTML email client.
But who would filter out all the words that have <> in them, such as tomorrow? This one is a total puzzle to me, could it be some sort of worm? It came with four lines of bad English about trying a game. I reported it as spam to verizon.com and to abuse@alphasys.com.sg, whence I got back an automated message saying they would never see my email. From johntan@alphasys.com.sg Thu Apr 18 21:08:23 2002 Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 20:01:30 -0500 From: johntan <johntan@alphasys.com.sg> To: keesan@cyberspace.org Subject: A very excite game [Part 1, Text/HTML 6 lines] [Unable to print this part] [Part 2, Application/OCTET-STREAM (Name: "install.exe") 0 bytes] [Unable to print this part] [Part 4, Application/OCTET-STREAM (Name: "MailList") 1.2KB] [Unable to print this part]
I think that's a virus.
A friend sent me a warning of a new version of KLEZ - is it that? The last three copies of KLEZ were removed before they reached me by some helpful place along the path. MailList sounds like a worm.
Yes, there's a new version of Klez. It's supposed to be a major pain to remove. It uses random subject lines but the basic infection vector is still the same.
The February version came to me in three flavors of subject line.
This one has about a dozen it uses randomly.
Just a note to say that I am receiving an increasing number of the "Klez" virus (officially W32/Klez.B or something like that). It has an attachment of about 100k. I think it might even run automatically in Outlook without having to open the attachment. Klez picks up random pieces of text as subject lines, and even finds a random name and email for the "From:" line. In other words, if your name and email address appears in a file in an infected computer, Klez is likely to generate email that appears to be from YOU even though your machine is not infected.
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