# Spam Attack.  Literally?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-attack-literally/446581>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 23, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-attack-literally/446581 "2008-04-23T19:04:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jillyvn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Jillyvn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillyvn)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-attack-literally/446581/1 "2008-04-23T19:04:44Z")

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[SIZE=1]For the sake of transparency, I should state that I used to belong to the board a few years ago as Rebekkah (forgot my old login in info), and I’ve reupped as Jillyvn. So, this _technically_ isn’t my first post. I hope I haven’t broken a rule, if I did so it was unintentional and I’m happy to fix my error.[/SIZE]

Ahem.

A new trend in spam is causing mass hysteria (well, not really) in my office. Users are getting an email containing text simliar to the following:

> [@](#):
>
> Listen to me carefully, i don’t know what your name is, but i’ll find you and i’ll cripple you , because this is you who tempted her!!!
> 
> She has already gone to hospital, you’re next, this is evidence: [site deleted]

I saw the email, giggled and deleted it.

However… given the size of our office, and the relative majority of inexperienced computer users, people are clicking on this email and freaking out. This means that my beleaguered and beloved IT department had to send out a global email assuring my office mates that they were not, in fact, being threatened with bodily harm via anonymous emails.

Instead of offering me the golden opportunity to increase my penis size, spam is now threatening me?

On a second, and equally salient point: Spam can spell “you’re” correctly. Amazing.

What an interesting and strange world we live in.

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**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-attack-literally/446581/2 "2008-04-23T19:08:01Z")

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Clever ploy. Get people to do stuff with the aid of fear… where have I seen that work before?

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**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-attack-literally/446581/3 "2008-04-23T19:16:59Z")

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Not to hijack this thread, my dear, but this is not exactly the way you should do things.

I’m going to send you an email and we can discuss how we can merge up all of your stuff; you just can’t abandon an old name and start a new one like this. We’ll work it. Welcome back.

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**Author:** ![Jillyvn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Jillyvn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillyvn)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-attack-literally/446581/4 "2008-04-23T19:27:40Z")

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I suppose I’m amazed that it hasn’t happened before. Does it say something about our priorities that we were attacked via our greed impulse first? Since we’re no longer giving money to Nigeria, I suppose the next step is to threaten us with death.

O/T re: my user name.

I’ll message you, Tuba Diva… thanks for the head’s up. Apologies to everyone else.

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**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-attack-literally/446581/5 "2008-04-23T19:30:57Z")

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Extortion email scams: [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/31/MNGSCOVGGI1.DTL](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/31/MNGSCOVGGI1.DTL)

[http://www.fraudaid.com/scamspeak/nigerian/counterfeit\_check\_fraud/nigerian\_threats.htm](http://www.fraudaid.com/scamspeak/nigerian/counterfeit_check_fraud/nigerian_threats.htm)

[http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan07/threat\_scam011507.htm](http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan07/threat_scam011507.htm)