Simviation Forum - Sorting Spammers

Sep 19^th, 2003 at 8:38am

ozzy72 Offline
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I found this little article in the Guardian Unlimited today, and I thought it might interest everyone who has ever had the joy of spam.....

Persistent email spammers could face unlimited fines under new legislation announced by the government yesterday.
From December organisations will need prior consent to send unsolicited emails to individual users, although sending messages to company email addresses will be exempt from the law.
The legislation has been welcomed by companies, who see it as the first step in the fight against the many millions of unwanted messages that clog up email servers around the country.
But anti-spam campaigners said the new laws would make little difference to individual users and will effectively legalise the spamming of company email addresses.
Spam, defined in the legislation as "unsolicited email sent without the consent of the addressee and without any attempt at targeting recipients who are likely to be interested in its contents", has been growing exponentially over the past few years. Brightmail, a company that produces filtering software for internet service providers, estimates that up to 50% of global email traffic last month was spam, compared with 8% two years ago.
The new legislation means that unsolicited emails or mobile phone text messages cannot be sent to users without their prior agreement or unless there is an existing customer relationship.
Any organisation in breach of these terms can be reported to the office of the information commissioner, which has powers to then take the organisation to the courts. In the first instance, magistrates can levy fines of up to £5,000. The organisation can also be referred up to trial by jury, where there is no limit to fines.
But the laws only apply to mail sent from within the EU, which accounts for less than 10% of the total spam sent.
Steve Linford director of the anti-spam campaigners Spamhaus said the fines were "laughable". Organisations intent on sending bulk emails to unsuspecting users would simply factor the fines into the cost of their work, he said.
More worrying, he said, was that the legislation stops short of banning unsolicited emails to individuals in companies.
The Department of Trade and Industry said: "It doesn't apply to business because in the consultations people felt email marketing was a useful business to business tool. We're not proposing to extend it ... but we'll keep it under review."
Derek Wyatt, a Labour MP and chairman of the all-party internet group, says the legislation is the right model to adopt but that problems will arise with different approaches around the world. Of particular concern is the US position - there Congress is on the verge of allowing unsolicited emails to everybody with users themselves having to opt out if they do not want to receive the messages.
Currently spam-mail comes from a relatively small group of individuals scattered around the globe. If mass emailing became legal in the US, the 23m small businesses there could all start sending bulk emails with no constraints. "That will cause an absolute nightmare," Mr Linford said. "It will literally end email."
As a result, a delegation of MPs, led by Mr Wyatt, will travel to Washington DC in a few weeks to try and change the way Congress is approaching the issue.
Mr Wyatt said the government had missed out on the opportunity to require filtering software to be installed on to computers. Mr Linford added that if opt in became law everywhere, then basically spamming would be banned. "At that point, we can mop up all the spammers using technology," he said.
So far Europe has led the way in anti-spamming legislation - Italy has made spamming a criminal offence carrying a maximum three-year jail term. Australia is set to ban spam in the coming months.

Net waste

· It is predicted that by February 2004 70% of all emails will be spam
· The vast majority of unwanted emails are sent by a core group of around 200 spammers who send at least 50m messages each a day. Their hit rate is one sale for every million messages
· The year-on-year growth of spam was 129% in 1999-2001, 261% in 1999-2002 and 300% in 1999-2003
· Adult material makes up 12% of spam filtered by Brightmail; financial help is offered by 14% of emails; improved internet access by 11%; products account for 20%; scams make up 10%; the remaining 33% includes health products, free holidays or offers of free psychic readings

· Top five spam emails according to Brightmail are:

1 penis enlargement
2 Viagra
3 prescription drugs
4 tech products
5 medical

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Reply #1 - Sep 19^th, 2003 at 10:14am

Wing Nut Offline
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This sounds a lot like what they did with the 'Do Not Call' list for telemarketers here in the US. You can sign up for this list and they can't call you. Unfortunately, charities and religious organizations are exempt, as is any company you have done business with in the last year. I think the rules are similar. This won't stop spam, but it may slow it down a bit. As for being allowed to send them to private companies. That should be a law before banning spam to private individuals. Business is business. Spamming a company is interfering with that business and adds for Viagra and lower mortgage rates have no place there.

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Reply #2 - Sep 19^th, 2003 at 10:19am

Scottler Offline
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Albany, New York USA

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Actually, the national do not call registry here in the US is modeled very closely after the NY State registry.

It is essentially nothing more than a dose of feel good medicine.

The telelmarketers can still call you, even if your name is on that list.

If you read the fine print, you're the one required to inform the telemarketers that you're on the list, and only then are they required to abide by your wishes. If they do not, then YOU are the one who has to fill out the form and then send it in to the state so that the state can pursue the matter.

However, if you leave even ONE field empty on the form, the case can not proceed.

The fields are things like the callers name, phone number, address, etc...

Try getting that information from a telemarketer, and you'll see how useless this list truly is.

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Reply #3 - Sep 19^th, 2003 at 11:10am

Iroquois Offline
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Ontario Canada

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Best way to stop telemarketers, get something like the Telezapper or an auto answer telephone. My parents run a business out of their basement so they recently decided to install an auto-answering telephone. What it does is it's one main box connected to four cordless phones for each of the office's employees. The box answers and says for so and so press 1, etc. Because most telemarketing calls are computer dialled, when the our computer picks up on the other end, theirs doesn't know what to do and just hangs up. It doesn't stop the calls but at least stops you from having to hear them.

I do not want to take a survay, I am not interested in time shares, and I don't want to subscribe to the Toronto Star thankyou. It does make me wonder, does this kind of marketing actually work. Well most marketing doesn't work too well to begin with (on me anyway) but I mean compaired to TV and radio ads.

I only pretend to know what I'm talking about. Heck, that's what lawyers, car mechanics, and IT professionals do everyday. Wink

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Reply #4 - Sep 19^th, 2003 at 10:39pm

BFMF Offline
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Pacific Northwest

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Telemarketers?

I pulled this from somewhere, probably here, so full credit to him or her.

Would love to have this much fun Grin

Quote:

Not my story but too funny to be left untold, its very long but worth it...

One thing that has always bugged me, and I'm sure it does most of you, is to sit down at the dinner table only to be interrupted by a phone call from a telemarketer. I decided, on one such occasion, to try to be as irritating as they were to me. The call was from AT&T and it went something like this:

Me: Hello

AT&T: Hello, this is AT&T...

Me: Is this AT&T?

AT&T: Yes, this is AT&T...

Me: This is AT&T?

AT&T: Yes This is AT&T...

Me: Is this AT&T?

AT&T: YES! This is AT&T, may I speak to Mr. Byron please?

Me: May I ask who is calling?

AT&T: This is AT&T.

Me: OK, hold on.

(At this point I put the phone down for a solid 5 minutes thinking that, surely, this person would have hung up the phone. Much to my surprise, when I picked up the receiver, they were still waiting.)

Me: Hello?

AT&T: Is this Mr. Byron?

Me: May I ask who is calling please?

AT&T: Yes this is AT&T...

Me: Is this AT&T?

AT&T: Yes this is AT&T...

Me: This is AT&T?

AT&T: Yes, is this Mr. Byron?

Me: Yes, is this AT&T?

AT&T: Yes sir.

Me: The phone company?

AT&T: Yes sir.

Me: I thought you said this was AT&T.

AT&T: Yes sir, we are a phone company.

Me: I already have a phone.

AT&T: We aren't selling phones today Mr. Byron.

Me: Well whatever it is, I'm really not interested but thanks for calling.

(When you are not interested in something, I don't think you can express yourself any plainer than by saying "I'm really not interested", but this lady was persistent.)

AT&T: Mr. Byron we would like to offer you 10 cents a minute, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

(Now, I am sure she meant she was offering a "rate" of 10 cents a minute but she at no time used the word rate. I could clearly see that it was time to whip out the trusty old calculator and do a little ciphering.)

Me: Now, that's 10 cents a minute 24 hours a day?

AT&T: (getting a little excited at this point by my interest) Yes sir that's right! 24 hours a day!

Me: 7 days a week?

AT&T: That's right.

Me: 365 days a year?

AT&T: Yes sir.

Me: I am definitely interested in that! Wow!!! That's amazing!

AT&T: We think so!

Me: That's quite a sum of money!

AT&T: Yes sir, it's amazing how it ads up.

Me: OK, so will you send me checks weekly, monthly or just one big one at the end of the year for the full $52,560, and if you send an annual check, can I get a cash advance?

AT&T: Excuse me?

Me: You know, the 10 cents a minute.

AT&T: What are you talking about?

Me: You said you'd give me 10 cents a minute, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. That comes to $144 per day, $1008 per week and $52,560 per year. I'm just interested in knowing how you will be making payment.

AT&T: Oh no sir I didn't mean we'd be paying you. You pay us 10 cents a minute.

Me: Wait a minute here!!! Didn't you say you'd give me 10 cents a minute? Are you sure this is AT&T?

AT&T: Well, yes this is AT&T sir but......

Me: But nothing, how do you figure that by saying that you'll give me 10 cents a minute that I'll give you 10 cents a minute? Is this some kind of subliminal telemarketing scheme? I've read about things like this in the Enquirer you know. Don't use your alien brainwashing techniques on me!

AT&T: No sir we are offering 10 cents a minute for.....

Me: THERE YOU GO AGAIN! Can I speak to a supervisor please!

AT&T: Sir I don't think that is necessary.

Me: Sure! You say that now! What happens later?

AT&T: What?

Me: I insist on speaking to a supervisor!

AT&T: Yes Mr. Byron. Please hold on.

(So now AT&T has me on hold and my supper is getting cold. I begin to eat while I'm waiting for a supervisor. After a wait of a few minutes and while I have a mouth full of food...)

Supervisor: Mr. Byron?

Me: Yeth?

Supervisor: I understand you are not quite understanding our 10 cents a minute program.

Me: Id thish Ath Teeth & Teeth?

Supervisor: Yes sir, it sure is.

(I had to swallow before I choked on my food. It was all I could do to suppress my laughter and I had to be careful not to produce a snort.)

Me: No, actually I was just waiting for someone to get back to me so that I could sign up for the plan.

Supervisor: OK, no problem, I'll transfer you back to the person who was helping you.

Me: Thank you.

(I was on hold once again and was getting really hungry. I needed to end this conversation. Suddenly, there was an aggravated but polite voice at the other end of the phone.)

AT&T: Hello Mr. Byron, I understand that you are interested in signing up for our plan?

Me: Do you have that friends and family thing because you can never have enough friends and I'm an only child and I'd really like to have a little brother...

AT&T: (click)"

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Reply #5 - Sep 19^th, 2003 at 11:17pm

Cherokee_6 Offline
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Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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when a telemarketer calls I like to get their first name and use it many many times in the conversation...

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Reply #6 - Sep 20^th, 2003 at 3:23am

Professor Brensec Offline
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more inches, Adam?
SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA

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I get rid of telephone marketers the same way I get rid of 'Door to door reps". I hate 'em!.

"Are you selling anything?"

If the answer is "Yes" or anything that sounds like the beginning of a spiel:

"P*** off, or I'll have you killed!"

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Reply #7 - Sep 20^th, 2003 at 4:13am

Hagar Offline
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My Spitfire Girl
Costa Geriatrica

Posts: 33159

Dealing with telemarketers. Easy. I'm ex-directory. If someone I don't know calls I ask where they got my number & tell them never to call me again. I rarely get troubled now.

Same with strangers who ring my doorbell.
"Are you selling/promoting something?"
"Well, err, yes."
"I never deal on my doorstep. Goodbye."

These people work to a script which is learned off by heart. If you interrupt their flow they're fixed. LOL

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Reply #8 - Sep 20^th, 2003 at 5:16pm

Wing Nut Offline
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Hoy-Hoy!

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Them: Hi, Mr Ryan, this is **** with **** and we have a great offer for you today...

Me: You're with****?

Them: That's right, could I interest you in ****?

Me: Oh, you're the people with that thing!

Them: That thing?

Me: Yeah, you know, that THING!

Them: What thing is that?

Me: The Click!

Hangs up...

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