Spammers have reached a new level of EVIL

The BBQ Pit
1

I checked my e-mail addresses for the first time today, and was stunned by what I saw on my AOL master screen name’s account.

Like a lot of AOL users, I have more than one screen name. But the different screen names are used for different purposes. Two of the screen names are “public” screen names, meaning that I use them at places where it is likely that a spammer will find it and use it for annoying me with a new message about how I can have barnyard fun. Two other screennames are private names, which I use exclusively for the purpose of e-mail with friends and family, and I never…never use them anywhere else.

The plan works…the private names never receive spam, but the public name does…and I have incoming e-mails blocked on the public names, except for one of them in case the SDMB moderators ever need to write me. That address receives a considerable amount of spam daily, which I must scrape out periodically to prevent the mailbox from becoming full. It is at that address that today’s tale of woe begins.

Today I discovered a new horror in spam. Instead of sending individual e-mails out to various addresses, this spammer has used the captured e-mail addresses as the basis for a listserv subscriber list. Earlier today my Utlanning address was automatically subscribed to a listserv for some kind of music video company. The subscription notice was sent out to countless numbers of individuals, causing widespread confusion everywhere. Because it is a listserv, whenever they reply to the spammer, they also reply to everyone else on the list. Including me.

In just a few short hours, this public e-mail box has received over 200 e-mails. It is out of control. There is mass pandemonium.

I broke my usual rule of never responding to spam, but I did in this case to follow their instructions for unsubscribing to the newsletter. If it doesn’t work, the e-mail address will have to be shut down to all Internet e-mails entirely.

The person responsible for spawning this blithering mess is Steve Richards, head of marketing at SoBeVideo, located in Miami, Florida. SoBeVideo is apparently a label representing a band called “Raraavis and the Fantasy Horns”, and the first newsletter is about hyping this band. In his newsletter, Steve “Unclefelcher” Richards cheerfully confesses that he got my e-mail address from a music website (which is odd, since I don’t frequent music-related websites at all), and that I am an “opt-in subscriber”, which I guess is spammer-speak for someone subscribed to a listserv against their will.

Mr. Richards, you festering mass of putridity, this trick of yours is a new low for spammers. I hope your company fails and drags you under with it. I hope you develop a terrible nerve disease that never allows you to speak, write, or communicate with anyone ever again, because it is clear that you should never touch a computer again. Go felch a dead dolphin.

God help us if this “opt-in” subscription for listservs spreads.

2

Apparently he’s spammed quite a few people on the SDMB. There’s a thread in ATMB about it. I, personally, am gonna give Mr. Dicks a call on Monday. I’m gonna bet that he’s gonna say that he had NO IDEA that this sort of thing was frowned upon. I’ve already fired off an angry letter to all of the addresses that I could find in that email, including one to the NY Jazz and Blues Society, who reviewed the band in question.

3

I got spam from Raraavisband. I unsubscribed, and got two more letters. I sent an email to the administrative contact (Yep, I think it was Steve) and also left a voicemail threatening legal action and infestation of his underwear with fleas if he didn’t stop the spam immediately.

Fucking bastard. Email is for me to communicate with those I love. It’s not for people to try to sell shit to me.

And no, no matter how many times you ask, I WILL NOT BUY A FUCKING X-CAM!

4

I’ve now read the threads in ATMB and GQ about this spammer. I didn’t realize they were there…I just went straight to the Pit to write my OP after cleaning out my public e-mailbox. Didn’t realize that so many other Dopers got hit as well.

Doesn’t change my opinion of Mr. Richards, though. He subscribed me to a fucking LISTSERV against my will, and that’s just low.

5

I got about 20 of those fucking Raraavisband newsletter emails today. The subject line was “You’re using my old email address.” The sender was badrats@badrat.com. God, I was pissed. Then there were people sending responses asking how the hell they got on the list and to unsub them.

Oh, yeah - this is evil. Fuckers. :mad:

Sheri

6

Yep, got that one too, along with half a billion “out of office” autoreponses and four or five people responding to the auto responders saying “WTF are you talking about??! I never e-mailed u!!!” :rolleyes: I finally responded to the mailing list telling the spammers how intelligent I found them, hoping that some of the people freaking out would get a clue. Funny, I never got a copy of my e-mail from the mailing list…

7

I was wondering where the fuck the Raraavisband shit came from! Ooooo. Someone is going to die for this. Probably only in effigy, though. Man.

8

There’s a new variant. It says something like “Please read this important message.”

There’s a link in it, but I didn’t click it.

I noticed Scylla’s email address as one of the people who also received the same message.

Schmucks.

9

Spammers must die. I don’t think I’m being too harsh, do you?

Slight hijack- Cargogal? I’m with you. The sad thing is that, before they spammed everyone and his camel, I would’ve been perfectly willing to buy one of their cameras. They certainly seem to be well-designed, and their price is good. Now, however, I’ll be going to their competition. X-Cam will NEVER get my money. How’s THAT for advertising?

10

Man this pisses me off. That was my only address that I had left that didn’t get spam !

I bet he won’t know what hit him, though, judging by the average Doper’s knowledge, persistence and how he just pissed off a whole bunch of 'em :smiley: hehehe ! DIE SUCKER !

11

I got that garbage too! I had seen a name that looked familiar on one of the responses and thought “…Straight Dope…?” And came here to rant. Looks like someone beat me to it.

12

Now it’s hit my hotmail account. While that’s my spam-catcher, it’s also my publicly accessable account, including the one I use for SDMB, and We Are Not Amused.

13

He got me too, at Earthlink account-- him and Mr. Badrats (or “Asshole”). When I opened my mail this morning, the first thing I thought when I saw all those replies was “Oh crap, did I hit reply-all on something I shouldn’t have?”

My Hotmail account got the one about Dirty Flea Bitten Whores today, too. Who could say no to that?

14

I think a good idea would be to have everyone hit post to a thread, so we can see if there is some correlation in the victims. He might not have found this by accident, it may have been a troll who made a list of people he pissed off and handed it over. He may have subscribed people to it.

15

I got it on the old email i don’t check often. I hadn’t changed my email listed here to it yet (even though i posted about it), i only gave that address out to the SDMB, the temp board, Opalcat’s board, and ARS technica. It has never gotten spam before in a year and a half.

16

I got hit too, on my Yahoo account. I simply cleared my inbox and am waiting to see what happens. If I get another spambomb like that, Steve Richards is going to get a telephone call. That’ll get followed up with a patented NastyGram™ from Zappo, Attorney at Law and whatever else I can drag out of my bag of Nasty Lawyer Tricks.

17

I got hit too. I tried to unsubscribe, noteing that I hadn’t subscribed in the first place, but it made things worse. Is there anything we can do to make it stop?

18

Although I’m not getting any of the emails you guys are sending in response, many other people are - so responding to badrats seems to make the problem worse.

Check the ATMB thread frequently - the admins are on the job, and we’re posting information over there to try and work out the common feature between those hit (other than SDMB membership).

BTW, the first time I emailed Steve I got a rapid response; he hasn’t responded at all to my second email.

19

Jesus, I got 50 “you’re using my mail adress” and all those “I won’t be at the office ones.”

20

I’m on the list too. Could it be because I visited alanismorrisette.com?