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- That same day, I got a spam trying to sell me a copy of Floodgate
- software, a notorious spamming program. I copied the spam to my word
- processor and did a few swaps. I changed "Floodgate" to "The Pig Spittle
- Drinkers' Toolkit," "email" to "slobber bottle," "program" to
- "pig-drool-extraction device," and "software" to "salivary-gland
- stimulator." Here's what I sent back to the spammer:
-
- SPECIAL: Buy the latest
- version of The Pig Spittle
- Drinkers' Toolkit before
- May 21st and receive a list
- of 30 slobber-bottle
- swappers who have millions
- of slobber bottles to swap
- with you as you build your
- database.
-
- HERE'S WHAT OTHER PIG
- SPITTLE DRINKERS' TOOLKIT
- USERS SAY.....
-
- "The Pig Spittle Drinkers'
- Toolkit is truly a dream
- come true! By following the
- instructions in the book, I
- was able to develop a list
- of 2,400 slobber bottle
- addresses in less than one
- hour. Furthermore, the
- technical support is
- outstanding. This
- pig-drool-extraction device
- will put me on a level
- playing field with the big
- boys. They don't teach this
- stuff in business school!"
-
- "This salivary-gland
- stimulator works fantastic
- - I'm so busy now I can't
- keep up with the orders and
- inquiries! Thanks!"
-
- "I ordered the
- pig-drool-extraction device
- and haven't stopped running
- with it since. With your
- support, (at the drop of a
- hat), with the finest
- pig-drool-extraction device
- ever released for public
- use, I started my dream
- business, a bulk
- slobber-bottle business.
-
- "If a 'dummy' like me can
- use this salivary-gland
- stimulator, anyone can!
- Great tool!!!"
-
- [snip]
-
- Soon, my friends and I were mutating and resending almost every spam we
- got. Most of the spammers wrote back saying they were mystified and
- expressed dismay that anyone would want to hurt their wonderful home-based
- business, apologized profusely, and promised that they'd get to the bottom
- of the nefarious campaign to defame their good name.
-
- This was our intent: to make them think that someone had intercepted their
- spam and was ruining their good name with wacko faux-spam. Only once did
- the spammer retaliate by flaming the messenger. Here's the original spam
- that a friend received:
-
- This is a great opportunity
- for your business. How
- would you like to get
- 200-300 responses per day
- from your advertisement? At
- Selective Marketing we make
- it happen for your
- business. Selective
- Marketing is a bulk email
- advertiseing (sic) company
- that generates hundreds to
- thousands of responses for
- your business.
-
- [snip]
-
- Here is his reply to the spammer:
-
- WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS
- DISGUSTING SATANIC FILTH?
- ALL FORTY-SIX MEMBERS OF
- 'CHRISTAIN VIRGINS AGAINST
- INTERNET SEX' RECEIVD THIS
- DISGUSTING PIECE OF HATE
- MAIL AND I DEMAND THAT YOU
- PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION! WE
- ARE CONSULTING OUR LAWYERS
- NOW TO SEE IF LEGAL ACTION
- CAN BE TAKEN!
-
- JOHNATHON JILLIAN DAVES
-
- This is a great opportunity
- for your penis. How would
- you like to get 200-300
- penises per day from your
- penis? At Selective
- Marketing we make it happen
- for your penis. Selective
- Marketing is a bulk penis
- advertising company that
- generates hundreds to
- thousands of penises for
- your penis.
-
- The spammer sent 61 identical emails to my friend, which read:
-
- YOU WILL LEARN NOT TO FUCK
- WITH ME YOU PIECE OF
- SHIT!!!!!!!!!
-
- (My friend said it took him "all of 30 seconds" to save the messages in
- a folder.)
-
- If you want to play the Mad Lib Mutated Spam game, here are some tips.
- (Remember, some of this stuff might get you in trouble with the long
- tentacle of the law, so proceed at your own risk.)
-
- 1. Usually, spams do not contain valid email addresses. But there are a
- couple of ways to get a real address. First, you can look up the
- spammer's domain name on InterNIC's Whois database. That'll yield a
- couple of email address you can use. The other way is to visit the
- spammer's Web site, which is often listed in the spam. If it isn't,
- just try typing the spammer's domain into your Web browser, and see if
- anything pops up. As a last resort, you can fax or snailmail your
- mutated message to the spammer, as they usually list their phone number
- and mailing address in their desperate quest to get their sebum-coated
- hands on your money.
-
- 2. If you have an AOL account, create a special email address (you are
- allowed up to five different addresses per account). I send most of my
- Mad-Libbed spams through an AOL address used exclusively for
- antispamming. That way, if the spammer flips out and decides to mail
- bomb you or forge your name on obscene Usenet postings, it won't
- matter. This also works with Web-based anonymous email services like
- HotMail.
-
- 3. If you're technically adept, you might want to try "linking two
- spammers to each other," as another friend suggests. By "sending
- mutated mail to other spammers," says my Mad Lib buddy, "maybe they
- will start suspecting each other of mutual spam mutating, and spamming
- will enter a new era of conspiracy and distrust."
-
- If you get any especially good results from playing Mad Lib Mutated Spam,
- please tell me about it!
-
- [Mark Frauenfelder]
-
- Send mail to Mark Frauenfelder at mark@wired.com
-
- Illustration by Dave Plunkert
-
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