# another damn e-mail scam **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-damn-e-mail-scam/243634 "2004-05-05T13:49:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-damn-e-mail-scam/243634/1 "2004-05-05T13:49:59Z")
I have gotten 4 of these messages in the past two days all from different people but all from [msn.com](http://msn.com). I haven’t gone to the site cause I’m afraid they’ll put some trash on my computer. So has anyone else gotten this and how do I stop getting these? I \*\*d out the web-link so no one goes there by accident, but left in the trailing stuff in case it gives someone a clue about what’s up with this site. By the way the random goofy spacing is in every one of these stupid e-mails Hello, > [@](#): > > We appreciated your patience in the processing of your mortg age applica tion. You have been appro ved. To > qualify for the lowest rate possible at this time, please finish-up business on our secure & approved site. > Thank you. > > http://\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*/?partid=dmps > > Yours Truly, > Martin J. Brockins > CEO - Just-In-Time Mortga ge Loa ns ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-damn-e-mail-scam/243634/2 "2004-05-05T14:04:14Z")
I get about a dozen of those a day. WAG: I believe there was some sort of anti-spam legislation passed recently, which is pointless, obviously and does nobody any good at all, since we all get as much spam as ever. I believe the weird spacing and punctuation conventions are to throw off spam filters the ISPs use. Most spam filters, if not all, (I have no idea) tend to scan e-mails for certain key words, such as “Viagra” or “mortgage.” By inserting a space or a comma in a weird place, the same word does not trigger the spam filter. As for getting rid of them, my understanding is that there really isn’t a way. If you click on “unsubscribe,” you’ve just told the spammer that he/she has hit a valid e-mail address and you’ve just opened Pandora’s Spam Box. There may be good spam filters we can download or buy, but I have little confidence they’ll do any good. I’d guess you’d have to enter every single space and punctuation combination for every key word before they’d really work… and who has time for that? Perhaps someone a tad more computer-savvy will come along and offer better solutions or explanations. Until then, just do what I do and delete. Certain ISPs will allow you to click on a “report as spam” button, which makes me feel better until I stop to realize there’s no way anyone at my (huge, corporate conglomerate but NOT AOL) ISP could do anything about the massive volume of spam reported to them daily. ::shrugs:: Just ignore it and delete without opening. P.S. For what it’s worth, I’ve been getting lots of e-mails that say, “Hi I’m Jenny and someone told me we should hang out. Go to my web site, where I don’t like to wear a lot of clothes. It’s FREE!” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-damn-e-mail-scam/243634/3 "2004-05-05T14:25:14Z")
You can’t get out of receiving them. All you can do is tell your elected politicians that current anti-spam legislation is an ineffective, pointless, sad and pathetic joke. What ever you do, don’t click on the links. There’s no knowing what rubbish/spyware/viruses await your browser at the other end. The id part of the link may well also identify you uniquely, meaning you’ll be marked out for even more similar emails. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-damn-e-mail-scam/243634/4 "2004-05-05T16:35:51Z")
Well, actually you could set up your email spam filters to auto-forward all your spam to your legislators’ email addresses along with a brief blurb about the effectiveness of their anti-spam laws so far. I’ve been considering that 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-damn-e-mail-scam/243634/5 "2004-05-05T18:23:05Z")
If you use Outlook or Outlook Express, I recommend SpamBayes [http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/](http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/) You’ll still get the damn emails but they’ll be filtered off into their own folder. It’s not perfect, but pretty friggin’ good. And it’s free. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-damn-e-mail-scam/243634/6 "2004-05-05T18:27:50Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Well, actually you could set up your email spam filters to auto-forward all your spam to your legislators’ email addresses along with a brief blurb about the effectiveness of their anti-spam laws so far. I’ve been considering that > > 😃 Is there something in the Patriot Act where your legislators might feel threatened by your forwarding such emails and have you detained? While I ask this partly in jest, is this poosible? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-damn-e-mail-scam/243634/7 "2004-05-06T00:18:59Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > P.S. For what it’s worth, I’ve been getting lots of e-mails that say, “Hi I’m Jenny and someone told me we should hang out. Go to my web site, where I don’t like to wear a lot of clothes. It’s FREE!” :rolleyes: Oh yeah, I got that spam, “for a good time URL 86.75.30.9”