The amount of spam being generated all over the world shows no sign of going down. If I had access to the stats, I’d be able to tell you that [a very large number under 100] % of all mail is spam. Okay, so I do have access to the bloody stats but I’m too lazy. Now moving on, in times like these you’d think that one must follow some basic rules of the Internet. No, I’m not talking about clearing your browsing history after each session. The rule I’m talking about is – ‘You should not give out your e-mail address on public bulletin-boards, forums etc’. But do people listen? NO.
These days I’ve been wasting entirely too much time on Orkut and I must admit, if I were a spammer I’d be laughing all the way to the bank right now. On Orkut, there are babe-magnets (everyone likes to think he is one) and there are spam-magnets. Specimens of the latter can be found hiding in all sorts of places here. All you need is bait to make them come out and walk right into your trap.
The people on this particular social-networking site are not exactly the brightest bulbs on a Christmas tree. But how stupid can you get? I came across a thread in a community, saying –
‘Hey guys instead of wasting time using net why not we start earning for free using iinternet, if u are interested then scrap ur email ids i will send u the info which is needed’.
That’s the exact unedited text. And you think people will fall for that? Of course they will, silly. At the time of writing, this thread has already received 85+ replies. I’m no one to question the integrity of a person, and maybe there really is some money to be earned through this. But posting e-mail addresses in public is surely one of the dumbest things you can do on the Internet. And this is not an isolated case. There have been more. Another one was something like this –
‘I have yahoo password crack software. Reply your email here, i will send you’
This was also a booming success. What’s even funnier is, when someone with a sane mind tries to warn people not to reply with their e-mails, no one actually listens. After a couple of warnings, the wannabe saviour mutters a few choice expletives at the imbeciles and disappears.
So, if you’re a spammer and looking for an easy and no-risks-involved method for harvesting e-mail addresses, look no further than Orkut. Get an account, lure people with honey-coated promises of jobs, free stuff and what-not, then coax them into parting with their mail-IDs.
Easy as pie. 😉
A Little Lunacy! 