Former Spammer Reveals Secrets in New Book

StonyandCher writes "A retired spammer is looking to make money from a tell-all book rather than fleecing people dependent on pharmaceuticals and people with gambling problems. In this Computerworld article 'Ed', a retired spammer, predicts the spam problem will only get worse, aided by consumers with dependencies and faster broadband speeds. From the article: 'He sent spam to recovering gambling addicts enticing them to gambling Web sites. He used e-mail addresses of people known to have bought antianxiety medication or antidepressants and targeted them with pharmaceutical spam. Response rates to spam tend to be a fraction of 1 percent. But Ed said he once got a 30 percent response rate for a campaign. The product? A niche type of adult entertainment: photos of fully clothed women popping balloons ... "Yes, I know I'm going to hell," said Ed."

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photos of fully clothed women popping balloons

[klenwell]

It's the only kind of adult entertainment fully endorsed by my church and my local clown guild.

Wow!

[gstoddart]

But Ed said he once got a 30 percent response rate for a campaign. The product? A niche type of adult entertainment: photos of fully clothed women popping balloons ... "Yes, I know I'm going to hell"

I've never gotten such spam.

I'm surprised it was only 30% -- that kind of thing is bound to pique the interest of a whole lotta people.

(Oh, come on, admit it, you're googling it right now, aren't you? Oh, maybe I'm going to hell too ;-)

Cheers

I don't believe in an afterlife...

[Nimey]

...but part of me wants there to be a very special hell for spammers (and people who talk in the theater).

ob ATHF

[SCHecklerX]

Enjoy!
http://www.vimeo.com/78881 [vimeo.com]

Re:Let me guess...

[HalifaxRage]

The book is not too bad, but it's kind of hard to read since the words constantly vibrate and change color.

fully clothed women popping balloons

[tsbiscaro]

Pics anyone?

Re: Actually...

[Anonymous Coward]

Watching her inflate the balloon too much... you know it's gonna pop, you know she knows it... but she just keeps going... <<shiver>>

Earn thousands with ads like this one

[goombah99]

Earn thousands with ads like this one...send three dollars for instructions.

This was an actual ad that frequently ran in the national enquirer

Re:Rule #1 - spammers lie.

[Hoi Polloi]

He bought a list of men who subscribed to "Macy's Balloon and Blimp Fetish" magazine.

Re:OS

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, he did, a Beowulf cluster of them, while eating hot grits, and he had nat port stickers on the cases, and he had a full collection of OMG PONIES and he called himself the "I for one welcome our obligatory overlords" and his business plan was
1. spam
2. ???
3. Profit!!!

I for one wish there was a -6 beating a dead horse mod
I also wish i had the ability to delete /. accounts for people who continue to beat the dead horse...

Re:I don't believe in an afterlife...

[slimyrubber]

> "Yes, I know I'm going to hell," said Ed."

Aren't _all_ sales person?

Re:Wow!

[A_Non_Moose]

I've never gotten such spam.

I'm surprised it was only 30% -- that kind of thing is bound to pique the interest of a whole lotta people.

(/user looks up from bubble wrap section)

I (pop) haven't either (pop) but, honestly, (pop!pop!) have no interest in the (pop!pop!pop!pop!) subject.

Now, clad in bubblewrap (pop), and the eventual popping (pop!pop!) is another subject (pop!pop!).

Re:A Gimp Suit ?!?

[ettlz]

No doubt there'll be some troll along shortly claiming that the GIMP suit is clunky and hard to use, and that they prefer a PhotoShop suit.

Re:Let me guess...

[Red Flayer]

Speaking of pop-ups...

It's hard to go into a bar and explain your job to a woman by saying "I advertise penis enlargement pills online," Ed said. "It doesn't go down very well."

Of course it doesn't go down well, it's enlarged. Sheesh.

Re:OS

[Anonymous Coward]

I for one wish there was a -6 beating a dead horse mod

I, for one, welcome our dead horse-beating, spamming book writing overlords.

Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you think that he ran Windows? Not likely. No way was this guy going to help his competitors.

Re:Wow!

[Anonymous Coward]

Psst... you forgot tho click the "Post Anonymously" checkbox...

Not my Church.

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

While there is nothing immoral in the pictures, but part of the sin lies in the objectification or women. If you're still objectifying them, its still wrong.

brought to you by the local morality guide.

Re:Wow!

[Anonymous Coward]

Oddly enough, if you combine the two fetishes (GPs male-only fetish and your female equivalent), you get something entirely normal and even a recommended practice to avoid pregnancy and STDs....

Re:Not my Church.

[Adambomb]

And the People for the Ethical Treatment of Balloons.

Re:Let me guess...

[Anonymous Coward]

I found the book to be nothing but garbled text, images, and unrelated passages from works of popular fiction ... I just assumed it's all an attempt to get past my bayesian filters.