# The garbled words on spam e-mails

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garbled-words-on-spam-e-mails/332705>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 25, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garbled-words-on-spam-e-mails/332705 "2005-11-25T18:09:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Raz001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@Raz001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raz001)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garbled-words-on-spam-e-mails/332705/1 "2005-11-25T18:09:20Z")

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What are the hodgepodge of words at the bottom of most spam e-mails. For example, this was at the bottom on one I recieved today.

hotel see damn not be twelve it’s try okinawa in but armageddon and the convocation the the exemplar in may booklet notor calf try.  
, rightful and ! handwrite but but macromolecule , but argumentation , it biennium on ! quart try a streak itand pliable !.

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garbled-words-on-spam-e-mails/332705/2 "2005-11-25T18:11:36Z")

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Some spam filters let real English words pass. By adding in a bunch of random words, the spammers can fool your filter to get through, as these have.

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**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garbled-words-on-spam-e-mails/332705/3 "2005-11-25T18:11:48Z")

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> [@Raz001](#):
>
> What are the hodgepodge of words at the bottom of most spam e-mails. For example, this was at the bottom on one I recieved today.
> 
> hotel see damn not be twelve it’s try okinawa in but armageddon and the convocation the the exemplar in may booklet notor calf try.  
> , rightful and ! handwrite but but macromolecule , but argumentation , it biennium on ! quart try a streak itand pliable !.

I think they are put there as legitimate words that are probably not on a Spam filter’s “hit” list. So the hope is that the Spam filter will consider 98% of the text as non-spam and pass it through. But that’s just my guess.

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**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garbled-words-on-spam-e-mails/332705/4 "2005-11-25T18:20:28Z")

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The technique is known as [hashbusting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashbusters)

At least it can be said that some spammers try and make it [entertaining](http://news.spamcop.net/pipermail/spamcop-list/2004-October/092759.html).

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**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garbled-words-on-spam-e-mails/332705/5 "2005-11-25T18:21:16Z")

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The technique is known as [hashbusting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashbusters).

At least it can be said that some spammers try and make it [entertaining](http://news.spamcop.net/pipermail/spamcop-list/2004-October/092759.html).