The Spam Remains the Same
(Apparently it is more believeable to tell someone they are the long lost distant relative of Frederic Chopin, at left. It would be too over the top to say Beethoven).
Do you believe it?
Remember spam’s “greatest hits?” Every day it seems that you are winning the lottery in a foreign country, or are the last known relative of an oil tycoon. It morphed from the version that was going around about a dozen years ago now that you were in Princess Diana’s will. I have been named as Frederic Chopin’s long lost heir through my mother’s side before as well. I have learned to hit “spam” on many of these messages, but sometimes they sneak by my spam filters. Now, they are getting more creative. Some of these similar love notes are being left as comments on my blog!
The spam filters don’t catch them as they appear to be real messages, not just a spattering of links to various unrelated sites. (By the way, my favorite spam comment of all started out with, “Stop Oval Haired Woman.” Was this referring to a gal with an assymetrical 80s hairdo, a bad Toni home perm or is she a newscaster with helmut head? Oh. And who could forget the comment on my Targus review post that asked me what I thought about baby acne. Just the right plausible/odd ratio to get me to click. Ha-ha. I didn’t. )
The story remains the same. Someone is in trouble and somehow, I am the only one who can save the day if I would only send a certified check, accept a certified check, or give out my banking details. My response remains the same, in not responding.
However, sometimes I receive them with phone numbers and addresses from some out of the way island. Perhaps I should forward their information to missionaries in the area to check to see if they really exist or are really in trouble? Maybe I will go onto a forum and ask someone from that country to look up who their next door neighbor is, alert them to the situation, and have them knock on their door, unraveling the whole scam….and of course helping them with that heart condition they are having which caused them to reach out to me as the last traceable heir of their family in case they die. Oh well.
