Feb
24

January 2015 ESP Spam: Some Notes….

I see that Atro Tossavainen graphed the spam that we saw in January. Atro and I manage a substantial spamtrap collection together, so I have seen what he posted about. Nothing there surprised me except the hugely disproportionate amount of spam Topica sends to our spamtraps. I’ve blogged twice about Topica, and in the last blog recommended blocking their /22 because of the amounts of spam and probability that little or no non-spam email is sent from them any more. However, I did not realize that we were seeing twice as much spam from Topica as from ExactTarget, which sends several orders of magnitude more email than they do.

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Aug
02

Neimen Marcus: The *Oddest* Confirmation Email Ever?

Neiman Marcus, a high-end U.S. department store, just emailed a number of spamtraps. The Subject header asks for them to confirm their email address. The message body thanks them for having confirmed their email address. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a division of Experian.

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Jan
19

QVC: Verifying Email Addresses that Never Responded to Email

Today video and e-commerce retailer QVC sent what appears to be a re-engagement or verification email to a pristine spamtrap. The spamtrap probably got onto QVC’s list because the user typoed the real email address when subscribing. The email indicates that the user has not responded to emails “recently”, and asks for the user to indicate whether they want to stay on QVC’s list. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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Dec
06

Investor’s Business Daily: For Spamtraps With IRAs?

U.S. business newsletter Investor’s Business Daily just sent an advertisement to a spamtrap that, as far as I can tell, has never existed at all. (The domain has never as best I know had a deliverable email address.) The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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Dec
02

Victoria’s Secret: A New Perfume Collection for a Spamtrap?

U.S. women’s intimate apparel boutique Victoria’s Secret is once again sending email advertisements to one of my spamtraps. This follows a somewhat more serious spam outbreak from this company in late summer, when they hit a number of my spamtraps. At the time I did not blog about it because Spamhaus listed them. (I usually try to warn companies about spam before it gets to that point.) The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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Sep
12

Nordstrom: More High-End Clothing for a Spamtrap

Seattle-based department store Nordstrom is sending email advertisements to a recently re-enabled email address that closed in 2005. This spamtrap almost certainly never existed at all; the domain never had more than three or four live email addresses. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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Aug
29

VistaPrint: “Everything Must Go”?

Vistaprint, which should need no introduction to anybody who hasn’t been hiding in the woods for the past decade and has email, just sent spam to a spamtrap that cannot have been live after 2006. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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Aug
20

Redbox: Confirming Subscriptions? YES!

Redbox, a popular U.S.-based movie and game rental service with trademark red kiosks at many gas stations and minimarts across the country, is actively confirming subscriptions to its service and mailing list. Over the past couple of months a number of my spamtraps have received confirmation requests from Redbox via its ESP, Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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Aug
19

dELiA*s: Clothing for the Fashionable Spamtrap

The online storefront for dELiA*s, a women’s clothing store in the United States, is sending email advertisements to a spamtrap that closed several years ago. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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May
29

Tractor Supply Company: Selling Farm Supplies to a Spamtrap

Tractor Supply Company, a Tennessee-based company that sells farming supplies both online and in stores, just sent an advertisement email for the first time to an email address that, if it ever existed, was closed in 2004. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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