# I am in computer spam withdrawl **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2002, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506 "2002-07-30T11:00:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Catgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@Catgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/1 "2002-07-30T11:00:51Z")
Okay i am i the only person in the world who doesnt get e-mail spam? 😕 I mean i hear a bunch of people complain about it and i think whats wrong with me ? Should i just thank my lucky stars that i am not on these peoples list? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Catgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@Catgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/2 "2002-07-30T11:03:17Z")
im almost sure that half of that post was illegible so just ask me what i meant ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/3 "2002-07-30T11:06:00Z")
How long have you had the email account; I used to think I was immune to spam but it just takes a little while for them to harvest your address. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/4 "2002-07-30T11:11:48Z")
People complain about spam email because it’s unsolicited, uses misleading keywords or phrases to catch your eye (forcing you to take time to filter genuine emails out), takes up valuable space in size-limited free webmail accounts, often features adult products that some find offensive, and is often not genuine (but is used to encourage you to reply, thereby confirming yourself as a valid email user whose address can be sold on to other mailers). You should be thankful you don’t get any. It’s not the end of the world, but it is irritating and once you start receiving junk mail it will only increase, never go away. Careful use of email (e.g. not using it to register on dubious websites, not leaving it unsecured in chat rooms or message boards etc) and a reputable email provider that does not sell email addresses (which Hotmail is often accused of but this has never actually been proven) and uses decent filtering software to reduce the amount of junk reaching your inbox could be behind your lack of spam email. ---
**Author:** ![Catgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@Catgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/5 "2002-07-30T11:15:18Z")
I have had this account for a couple of years . but i dont really leave my screenname out to solicitors , i have been called anti-social computer-wise ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/6 "2002-07-30T11:18:10Z")
You probably have also resistedforwarding (or not recieved many of) the ‘send this email to everyone you know’ chainspams; these are an address harvesting tool. ---
**Author:** ![Catgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@Catgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/7 "2002-07-30T11:20:07Z")
I only get those kinda things from my friends but i always delete them any way ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/8 "2002-07-30T11:54:18Z")
Would you like us to forward you some spam? You have the following categories to chose from: [ul] [li]Standard pornography[/li][li]Super-hot, steamy teen girl webcams[/li][li]Sex with goats and other assorted farm animals[/li][li]Re-financing your home[/li][li]A subsrciption to Viagra at 50% of the cover price[/li][li]Learn everything you need to know about your friends and neighbors via the internet[/li][li]How to make $9,000 a second simply by working at home from your computer[/li][li]Find out what websites your spouse and kids have been visting (Oh my God! It’s the farm animal website!:eek:)[/li][li]Please send me your bank account number so that I can deposit $600,000 in uncut diamonds directly into your account. This is not a scam, I swear[/li][li]Hot, horny housewives who want to screw YOU while thier husbands are away (I’m still waiting for a response to my email)[/li][/ul] and the newest one popping up in my inbox … [ul] [li]Lose your driver’s license due to a bad record? Get this international driver’s license that cannot be taken away from you no matter what you do.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/9 "2002-07-30T11:56:00Z")
Damn those Smiley priority protocols!! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/10 "2002-07-30T11:59:34Z")
We could also tell you how to make your penis so big it will make people sick, even though you currently do not have one ---
**Author:** ![Catgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@Catgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/11 "2002-07-30T12:04:39Z")
I think i will take the latter ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/12 "2002-07-30T12:13:51Z")
Don’t forget about increasing your breast size, though I don’t exactly have any. ---
**Author:** ![Catgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@Catgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/13 "2002-07-30T12:15:10Z")
trust me that is the LAST thing i need ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/14 "2002-07-30T12:22:44Z")
And you can find out anything you’d ever want to know about anyone. All you have to do is send us 50 bucks and maybe we won’t screw you over. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/15 "2002-07-30T12:46:06Z")
> [@](#): > > You probably have also resistedforwarding (or not recieved many of) the ‘send this email to everyone you know’ chainspams; these are an address harvesting tool. How are they “address harvesting tools”? It’s been said many times (using, for example, the “Bill Gates will send you $5,000 if you forward this mail!” e-mails) that there is no way to track forwarded e-mails. [Cite](http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/billgate.htm#micro2): > [@](#): > > No matter which incarnation of this silliness is received, the principle is the same: there’s still no such thing as an e-mail tracking program that will keep a tally of how many times a message is forwarded and then report the results back to a central tabulator. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/16 "2002-07-30T13:00:04Z")
Here are some prime ways of getting on spammer’s lists: Posting on Usenet Signing up with your email address on some websites or message boards (not this one, I hasten to add) Having an email address that is subject to a “dictionary attack”; that is; an address that is a common word or name, with possibly a digit or two at either end. Using chat forums or IRC Using a “free” email account (like Yahoo or Hotmail) and not opting out of all of their “promotions” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/17 "2002-07-30T13:52:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\* > How are they “address harvesting tools”? It’s been said many times (using, for example, the “Bill Gates will send you $5,000 if you forward this mail!” e-mails) that there is no way to track forwarded e-mails. \*\* Who said anything about tracking; here’s how it works: Person A is a Spammer who sends out urban legend or hoax virus warning or other chain type email to persons B and C person C foolishly forwards the message to persons D E F and G person E forwards it to H I J K L M and N person K forwards it to persons O P Q and R person O forwards it to persons S T U V W X and Y person Y forwards it to person Z who just happens to be a spammer I all of the people in the chain have not altered their default client settings, the entire previous text of the messages they received will be preserved on forwarding, so person Z is able to harvest the addresses of all of the people in the direct chain (A\*,B,C,D,H,K,O,S), plus all of the primary branches(F,G,I,J,L,M,N,P,Q,R,T.U.V,W,X) -even if you are like person F and you don’t forward a chainspam yourself, your address is still in the To: header of the messages that went from E to H at the same time and so can still potentially fall into the hands of a spammer. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/18 "2002-07-30T13:58:30Z")
I get endless hot sluts xxxx!!! and teen girls fucking!!! and endless invitations from Bambi, Tiffani and Kristi to come and spy on their lesbian college-girl webcam dorm fun. If you really want this, as well as several penis extensions, two tonnes of herbal viagra, half a dozen unclaimed lottery prizes, and the chance to give your life savings and more to some dodgy African money-scammers, then you are very welcome to my hotmail account. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/19 "2002-07-30T13:58:50Z")
\*I meant to add a footnote to the effect that person A will invariably use a bogus email address. the above is also meant to read "\*_If_ all of the people in the chain… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2002, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506/20 "2002-07-30T14:12:53Z")
Of course given the proliferation of these things, it’s also entirely possible that the message comes back to person A at some point and he reaps the benefits himself. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-in-computer-spam-withdrawl/121506.md?page=2)