• circuit city death watch

    Circuit City Turns To Unrelentingly Optimistic Junk Email As The End Nears

    Reader James forwarded us an unsolicited email from Circuit City that we had to post because it's just so chipper about the fact that they've resorted to spamming him out of desperation. It cheerfully proclaims, "Now you'll be the first to hear the latest news," before informing him that he'd been "chosen" as one of their "best customers" to receive spam. More »

    10:25 AM on Fri Nov 21 2008
    By Meg Marco
    9,811 views, 39 comments

    Most discussed friendlynerd: I got that yesterday too! There was an unsubscribe link, but it required signing in and all other sorts more »

  • spam

    FTC Busts Giant Spam Operation, Enlarges Penis

    Yesterday the FTC announced that they busted a worldwide spam operation that was responsible for "billions of e-mails in recent years," mostly selling prescription drugs, diet pills, and "male enhancement" products. Who actually clicks on those emails, you wonder? FTC agents, that's who!
    As part of their inquiry, FTC staff made undercover purchases from the sites. No one asked the clandestine buyers to provide verification of a prescription and the shipped drugs did not include doctors' instructions or dosage information, officials said.
    More »

    8:15 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
    By Chris Walters
    6,373 views, 46 comments

    Most discussed Ein2015: Gmail has really solved my spam problems. :) more »

  • timberland

    Timberland Offering Up To $150 To Recipients Of Its Text Message Spam

    Did you receive text message spam from Timberland between 2003 and last month? If so, you may be eligible for $150 in we're-not-admitting-guilt apology money from them, according to Info World:

    Under the terms of a preliminary settlement agreement, [Timberland and e-commerce company GSI] will pay $7 million into a cash fund to reimburse those who received the messages, according to KamberEdelson LLC, one of the law firms that helped bring the suit.

    More »

    4:51 PM on Wed Sep 24 2008
    By Chris Walters
    5,023 views, 11 comments

    Most discussed timmus: Wow -- $150 in cold cash? THESE lawyers are who we need to represent us against Visa, TransUnion, etc. more »

  • spam

    Court Changes Mind, Strikes Down Anti-Spam Law

    The Virginia Supreme Court agreed to reconsider its original judgment on the state's anti-spam law, which made it illegal to send email using an anonymous email address or IP address. Their new decision: prohibiting anonymously sent emails is a violation of the First Amendement.
    The court noted that "were the 'Federalist Papers' just being published today via e-mail, that transmission by Publius would violate the [current Virginia] statute."
    More »

    2:50 PM on Fri Sep 12 2008
    By Chris Walters
    2,692 views, 36 comments

    Most discussed johnva: I have to disagree with this reasoning. While certainly anonymous speech should be permissible, it shouldn't necessarily be permissible VIA more »

  • confessions

    How Marketers Trick Your Secretary Into Opening Fax Spam Floodgates

    Joe used to work at a multi-million-dollar fax spam company. Since it's illegal to cold call fax, here's the trick they would use to start fax-spamming a company and be covered in case of legal action. It's all about pretexting the secretary. Here's how it works: More »

    6:04 PM on Thu Sep 4 2008
    By Ben Popken
    19,201 views, 88 comments

    Most discussed enriquez the water bottle: Another crazy scam that I dealt with at work before involved copy toner. Apparently, someone calls, says they deal with more »

  • junk faxes

    "How Do I Stop Fax Spam?"

    Harry keeps getting spammed via his fax machine. Frankly, we think fax machines stopped being relevant or useful in about 1998, but until the rest of the world catches up to our way of thinking, here are some ways you can try to limit the damages. More »

    4:14 PM on Wed Sep 3 2008
    By Chris Walters
    11,544 views, 47 comments

    Most discussed UnStatusTheQuo: If you can find a number, do the following: 1). Obtain a black piece of construction paper. Make it 8.5 inches more »

  • scams

    Getting Nigerian Email Scammed, A First-Person Story

    Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you responded to one of those Nigerian scam emails, offering fabulous riches for just a small amount of work? Here's the story from an unsuspecting college student who totally fell for one. An impecunious immigrant to this country from rural China, he made the perfect target for "Dr. Mike Johnson." The good doctor was looking to hire some employees. The job? Cashing Traveler's Cheques and forwarding the money on to Nigeria... In other words, the job was to be a victim of check fraud. Here's the story... More »

    10:45 AM on Thu Jul 31 2008
    By Ben Popken
    18,992 views, 110 comments

    Most discussed Advertising Guru: Even after all the publicity surrounding these scams, we still have encountered clients who did not know about them and more »

  • follow ups

    Feazel Roofing Responds To Misleading Junk Mail Accusations

    Last week, we wrote about a roofing company that had sent out a "Defective Roof Notice" to potential customers. The blogger who received the junk mail thought it was deceptive, and so did we. To make matters worse, he wrote a complaint to the company and was ignored—but a few weeks later a fake "customer review" appeared on his site that was traced back to Feazel. Now the owner of Feazel Roofing has responded and apologized for the junk mail:

    Obviously, the real message got lost in “sales language” – the piece went way overboard, and I should not have allowed it. Therefore, it was my mistake, and I sincerely apologize.

    More »

    12:22 PM on Wed Jun 18 2008
    By Chris Walters
    5,948 views, 25 comments

    Latest by revmatty: @muffinpan: Odd thing about the used car salesman trope. I've bought 5 cars from used car dealers and 3 more »

  • scams

    Roofing Co Sends Misleading"Class Action" Junk Mail, Fakes Customer Reviews Online

    Update: The owner of Feazel Roofing has responded and apologized for the misleading nature of the junk mail.
    Blogger HolyJuan was annoyed with a piece of junk mail he received from Feazel Roofing, because it was written in such a way that it could (intentionally) mislead homeowners into thinking the roof inspection being offered was somehow official, required, or necessary. In fact, it was simply an attempt to drum up new business for the company—but when you lead off with "DEFECTIVE ROOF NOTICE" and then mention class action lawsuits in the first paragraph, it's hard to claim marketing innocence. HolyJuan complained about the letter on his blog, and a few weeks later an anonymous "customer" posted a rebuttal full of praise for Feazel Roofing—from the IP address of the company, naturally. More »

    2:18 PM on Wed Jun 11 2008
    By Chris Walters
    7,527 views, 31 comments

    Latest by BathroomDuck: Sounds like this company has nothing better to do than sit around roofing each other. more »