by Jae Baeli

Created on: November 28, 2008

How Spammers Really Make Money

Whenever my email box fills up, I have to wonder: what are these spammers thinking? Do they really believe that anyone will click on that link to buy what they are selling? Do they not know they are among the most hated individuals in the history of humankind? Well why would they care, when this type of business is anonymous, and also virtually free to market? One thing I do know is, if I get another mail about the size of my penis I'm going to scream. But, you think, they MUST be making money. Someone MUST be clicking those links. Otherwise, why would they continue to do it?

Well hold on to your skippy knickers, gang. Most of the money made by spammers has little to do with you buying one of their products. Spammers can make plenty of money selling addresses they've gleaned from websites, various open proxy servers and open SMTP relays. That just means they get it through the same channels you get your email.

And spammers make money from all those pop-ups. Have you ever found yourself on a site that turns out to be a series of pop-up pages? It doesn't matter that you close them. The spammers have already got what they need-it's an "ad impression" which means the page was, theoretically, viewed by someone, and they get paid every time that happens.

Then there's all the downright fraudulent spamming. I'm sure all of us has at one time or another gotten one of those pleas from some Nigerian representative, telling us they need to borrow someone's account to deposit a large sum of money and in return, you will get paid a large fee for providing that account. If you fell for this, you deserve to lose your money. Sorry. But that's just stupid. NEVER give out your information for a credit card or bank account to someone you don't know. That doesn't mean legit companies like your electric bill or phone bill sites. It means anytime you are ASKED for you information for any reason whatsoever, and you don't know who the asker is, don't do it. The fraud extends to all these pyramid schemes, chain letters, and any sort of multi-level marketing.

Another thing to watch out for are what is called pump-and-dump stock activities. You are encouraged via email to buy a penny stock and when enough people do this, those who own this stock then sell it while the price is high. And you are left with...well, a stock worth a penny.

And don't forget the bane of all inboxes: those who entreat you to try their product which will make your genitals perform better

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>