If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, does it make a noise?

What is the sound of one hand clapping?
Does anybody look at this weblog?

I have to admit being somewhat of an ego tripper. I have written books and a whole slew of artiles. I love feedback from readers. But I have the feeling nobody reads this blog. I will continue the blog if someone comments on this posting or mails me at jay@jaycurry.con.

Thank you.

A Real Phisher! - 6 September 2005

A"Phisher"pretends to be a big company who for "security reasons" requests that you confirm or reconfirm your credit card number, bank account, etc. And then they rip you off, stealing from your bank or misuing your credit card.

Here is a Phishing letter supposedly from Amazon "Security Department"". I clicked the link but was linked to to www.webservers.com. I looked up this URL to find this registration information:

Registrant:
Web Server Systems 231 Market Place #180 San Ramon, CA 94583 US Domain Name: WEBSERVERSYSTEMS.COM Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Web Server Systems 231 Market Place #180 San Ramon, CA 94583 US 111-111-1111 http://www.emailaddressprotection.com [email]
Domain created on 14-Jun-2004 Domain expires on 14-Jun-2010 Last updated on 29-Aug-2005

Doesn't look much like Amazon to me. . .

Anway, here is the original Phishing email:



-----Original Message-----From: Amazon Security Department [mailto:payments@amazon.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 2:48 PMTo: jay@voice-of-the-customer.comSubject: Place or Update Credit Card on File


Amazon.com

Dear Amazon member,We regret to inform you that your Amazon account was been suspended for a period of 3-4 days,after that it will be terminated.During our regularly schedule account maintenance and verification we have detected a slight error in your billing information on file with Amazon. This might be due to either following reasons:
- A recent change in your personal information (i.e. change of address) - Submitting invalid information during the initial sign up process. - An inability to accurately verify your selected option of payment due an internal error within processors.
Your credit card on file with Amazon


Card number: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX (Not shown for security purposes)

Expiration date: XX/XX
Please sign in to your Amazon account and update your billing information:http://phaeton.webserversystems.com/~euro/amazon/amazon/index.html
If your account information is not update, your account on Amazon will be terminated.
Thank you for your time!Amazon.com Security Departament




-----Original Message-----
From: Amazon Security Department [mailto:payments@amazon.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 2:48 PMT
o: jay@voice-of-the-customer.comS
ubject: Place or Update Credit Card on File


Amazon.com

Dear Amazon member,We regret to inform you that your Amazon account was been suspended for a period of 3-4 days,after that it will be terminated.During our regularly schedule account maintenance and verification we have detected a slight error in your billing information on file with Amazon. This might be due to either following reasons:
- A recent change in your personal information (i.e. change of address) - Submitting invalid information during the initial sign up process. - An inability to accurately verify your selected option of payment due an internal error within processors.
Your credit card on file with Amazon


Card number: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX (Not shown for security purposes)

Expiration date: XX/XX
Please sign in to your Amazon account and update your billing information:http://www.amazon.com/gp/css/homepage.html
If your account information is not update, your account on Amazon will be terminated.
Thank you for your time!Amazon.com Security Departament

Hmmmm. . .Good Targeting Again - 23 August 2005

Hmmmm. . .they really know their audience--and mailing lists out there. Read it and weep.

-----Original Message-----From: sale [mailto:788sueoneuc@163.com] Sent: NoneSubject: jay¹úÄÚÓòÃû´ó½µ¼Û Ö»Òª68Ôª/Äê¡¢¸ßËÙ¿Õ¼ä60Ôª/

=?GB2312?B?6g==?=
To: jay@jaycurry.com
Content-Type: text/plain;charset="GB2312"
Reply-To: 788sueoneuc@163.com
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 14:34:03 +0800
X-Priority: 3
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200

域名1号网( www.ym001.com )向您提供下面服务：

域名注册 　虚拟主机 　主机托管 　整机租用 　建站套餐 　企业邮局 　网站建设 　网站推广

域名注册
.com 68元/年
.net 68元/年
.org 68元/年
.cn 68元/年
.com.cn 68元/年
.net.cn 68元/年
.org.cn 68元/年
.gov.cn 68元/年

虚拟主机 50M 100M 200M ...
静态主机 60元 128元 180元 ...
商务主机 180元 280元 ...
全能主机 180元 260元 320元 ...
......

主机托管 最低4500元/年 ...

整机租用 最低9200元/年 ...

建站套餐 ...

企业邮局
MAIL1 邮局总空间 200M 邮箱数量 20个 价格 350元
MAIL2 邮局总空间 400M 邮箱数量 40个 价格 700元
......

网站建设

网站推广

... ...

--------------------------------
更多信息访问“域名1号网”网站
http://www.ym001.com

Garble - 22 August 2005

Sometimes spam is simply a garble--filled with nonesense words (just to escape spam filters?).
Anyway, see if YOU can figure this one out.


-----Original Message-----
From: Damien Howell
[mailto:Lidia.Bean@simplybovine.com] Sent: Monday, August 22, 2005 4:23 AMTo: jay@jaycurry.com

Subject: August newsletter rèplÏcã wåtchèz. wodte

hello Jay
+-+-+-+-+-+
OMEGA
+-+-+-+-+-+
+++ huuuge variety... http://001.edvancedwanow42right.com/?fortunebard



or


n.ót.h.an.k.z.z.zzzz
%CUSTOM_REMOVEURL


leggings life animal,
if angle chloride and
shriek concept.

Weekend Musings 20 + 21 August 2005

A lot of people have asked me"Do you have a spam filter?"

The answer is "Yes--and I am happy with it!"

It used to me Spamnet, but they changed the name, for whatever reason, to Cloudmark.

It is a coopeative venture: when I block a spam it is recorded centrally for the benefit of all. My span goes automatically to the folder I choose--in my case to the Deleted folder, so I can get rid of the junk immediately. I know have 496 spams in my Deleted folder. I now check out what I have to sift through the trash to find nuggets for this blog.

My spam filter is about 95% accurate. I hardly every get something marked as spam which is legitimate, and 95% of the spams end up automatically in my Deleted file.

Try it out--www.cloudmark.com. Full disclosure: I have no relationship--economic or otherwise--with Cloudmark other than being a happy customer.

Shotgun Approach - 18 August 2005

Some spammers just don't give up. I got three almost identical spams today--from allegedly differently people, with different subject headers.

Here is from Loren:

From: Loren Butts [mailto:pullin@yebox.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 3:59 PMTo: jay@jaycurry.comSubject: Lowest rates in 45 years

Hello,

We tried contacting you awhile ago about your low interest morta(ge rate.

You have been selected for our lowest rate in years...

You could get over $420,000 for as little as $400 a month!

Ba(d credit, Bank*ruptcy? Doesn't matter, low rates are fixed no matter what!


To get a free, no obli,gation consultation click below:

http://www.p8refi.net/?id=a67

And then from Carrie:

-----Original Message-----
From: Carrie Downey [mailto:cereous@yebox.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 4:02 PMTo: jay@jaycurry.comSubject: Catch the new low rates

Hello,

We tried contacting you awhile ago about your low interest morta(ge rate.

You have been selected for our lowest rate in years...

You could get over $420,000 for as little as $400 a month!

Ba(d credit, Bank*ruptcy? Doesn't matter, low rates are fixed no matter what!


To get a free, no obli,gation consultation click below:

http://www.p8refi.net/?id=a67

And to keep plotically correct racial and sexual balance, from Chang:


-----Original Message-----

From: Chang Jacob [mailto:felixw@mailAccount.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005 8:04 AMTo: jay@jaycurry.comSubject: Approved low mortage rate

Hello,

We tried contacting you awhile ago about your low interest morta(ge rate.

You have been selected for our lowest rate in years...

You could get over $420,000 for as little as $400 a month!

Ba(d credit, Bank*ruptcy? Doesn't matter, low rates are fixed no matter what!


To get a free, no obli,gation consultation click below:

http://www.p8refi.net/?id=a67

Loan Request??? - 15 August 2005

Gee, they reacted a month late to my loan request. Problem is I never made a loan request. No doubt they were banking on my Alsheimer-strength memory. . .

-----Original Message-----From: Nelda Egan [mailto:idiotic@mamma.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 12:23 PMTo: jay@jaycurry.com

Subject: Re: Loan request

thank you for your loan request, which we recieved on 07/19/05,we'd like to inform you that we are accepting your application, b a d credit ok, we are ready to give you a $260,000 loan for a l o w month payment.approval process will take only 1 minute.please visit the confirmation link below and fill-out our short 30 second form.http://www.amlomain.com/2/?j=artemych

Weekend Musings - 13 + 14 August 2005

Blogs are exploding in the virtual universe. Any many marketeers claim that blogs will become an important marketing communications instrument.

I don't believe it!

Marketing communications need consistency in content and tone of voice. A blog is a personal medium which shouldn't be written by one person, not by a committee of marketing nerds.

Sure, some ego-tripping CEO's have a blog to tell about their lives and companies. That's fine. But how long will they keep it up before turning it over to the marketeers???

I believe blogs are becoming an anti-marketing communications medium whereby angry and frustrated customers can vent their spleen.

Content Analysis - 12 August 2005

I was away for a few days in Stockholm. When I returned I had 223 spams waiting for me.
I decided to use this for a short "content analysis" to see who is mailing what. Thomas Nesbit based his bestseller Megatrends on a content analysis of publications to predict what's trends are shaping society.

Maybe a scientific content analysis of spam could tell us something

Here are the results of my informal content analysis:

Loans and mortage offers: 46%
Penny stock hypes: 18%
Fake watches, handbags: 14%
Viagra and other medicines: 11%
Menswear (penis and sperm enhancers): 7%
Music: 4%

From this one could conclude that we are in for a market crash and debt crisis!

Lazy Spam - 11 August 2005

Writing spam--or any kind of direct response communications--can be hard work. You have to make a personal appeal to the receiver and get him/her intersted in your proposition--or "offer" in DM terms. You can't let the brochure do it.

This spam writer was either tired or lazy. Because she just sent a spam telling to click a link. Not very exciting or appealing. . .especially when the letter appears to be sent to "clara" and not "Jay".


-----Original Message-----From: francisco perchinski [mailto:deadradrevs@fratemail.com] Sent: Friday, August 12, 2005 11:54 PM

To: jay@jaycurry.comSubject: FW: tyesha

clara

http://uk.geocities.com/Wayne_Crafton/?LL=The.chronic_paain_is_sttressing.y