# Peculiar new spam trend

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-new-spam-trend/239501>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 11, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-new-spam-trend/239501 "2004-04-11T22:40:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-new-spam-trend/239501/1 "2004-04-11T22:40:46Z")

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Has anyone else noticed the new trend in the titles of many spam mails?

Instead of the usual gobbledygook, the spam mails are now titled with a sequence of four words that appear competely unrelated and random.

For instance, here are the titles of the last three spam mails I have deleted:

“put hook dear touch”  
“brush shame elastic false”  
“kettle look start square”

Weird.

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**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-new-spam-trend/239501/2 "2004-04-12T00:03:09Z")

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> **[Cuba Tightens Grip on Net Access](https://www.wired.com/2004/01/cuba-tightens-grip-on-net-access/)**
>
> Cuba further restricts access to the Internet by prohibiting Cubans from using their regular phone lines to connect to the Net. A new law authorizes the Cuban phone company to use technical means to prevent such access.

Sometimes I get one word subject lines, and I wonder whether they thought _that_ word would get my attention, or it was randomly generated. We may never know for sure.

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**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-new-spam-trend/239501/3 "2004-04-12T05:54:38Z")

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I sometimes get lists of words either in the subject or in the body of the message.

Sometimes the message is the spam bit and then a screen or more of words with little relation to each other, if any.

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**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peculiar-new-spam-trend/239501/4 "2004-04-12T12:20:37Z")

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> [@iampunha](#):
>
> I sometimes get lists of words either in the subject or in the body of the message.
> 
> Sometimes the message is the spam bit and then a screen or more of words with little relation to each other, if any.

I’ve gotten a few of those.

My theory on why this trend is starting is because by using real words they are better at getting by the spam filters. Computer programs that mass e-mail people from lists are very easily programmed to put random words in the subject line.