# Extreme spam misspellings

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-spam-misspellings/272211>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 31, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-spam-misspellings/272211 "2004-10-31T23:34:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-spam-misspellings/272211/1 "2004-10-31T23:34:20Z")

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Can anyone beat what just turned up in my inbox: “cÎ…@LI…$”?

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**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-spam-misspellings/272211/2 "2004-11-01T00:17:35Z")

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Is that even supposed to be words? “Ci Ali S”? “Cialis”?

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**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-spam-misspellings/272211/3 "2004-11-01T01:46:08Z")

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(though more of a GQ answer)…

It’s to help get around spam filters (software that look at the contents of e-mail, to check for certain “patterns” that would indicate spam like content).

Though, I don’t understand WHO ON EARTH would buy VIC0D1N . I don’t go to doctors that can’t read (bad handwriting is a totally different case), I’m not buying drugs from folks that can’t spell them.

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-spam-misspellings/272211/4 "2004-11-01T01:50:40Z")

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It doesn’t matter if anybody actually buys anything or not. Provided the spammer can convince the purveyor of “c1@lis” to pay for the ‘marketing’ upfront, the spam is sent and perhaps nobody responds. No worry - the spammer has plenty more suckers to take money from.