MainSleaze

Best Buy, a large U.S.-based retailer of electronic goods, just sent a bulk email to an email address that closed in 2007. The ESP is ExactTarget.

A single spamtrap hit can mean many things, and in this case there are no special facts about the spamtrap or the circumstances that point to one thing or the other. So why post this? Because one spamtrap hit is not the same as no spamtrap hits; it is a data point. And although I have a good spamtrap collection, I am not the only person who has spamtraps, let alone the only person who uses email and is spammed from time to time. If this spamtrap hit was caused, not by a typoed email address (a possibility), but a list purchase or some other inappropriate form of email address acquisition, then inevitably I will not be the only one to see spam from this sender.

If others are also seeing spam from Best Buy, I want them speak up, not necessary here (although I welcome other reports in the comments) but to Best Buy and ExactTarget. That gives Best Buy the message that spamming people that never asked for their email is not acceptable. It also gives ExactTarget (which is a quite decent ESP and does not tolerate spam or spammers on its networks) the information it needs to do something about the problem.

Sending IP: 64.132.89.207

Spam Sample:

Actual Headers:

Received: from mta9.emailinfo2.bestbuy.com (mta9.emailinfo2.bestbuy.com [64.132.89.207])
        by <xxx> (Postfix) with ESMTP id <xxx>
        for <xxx>; Fri,  8 Jun 2012 16:xx:xx -0000 (UT)
DKIM-Signature: <xxx>
DomainKey-Signature: <xxx>
Received: by mta9.emailinfo2.bestbuy.com (PowerMTA(TM) v3.5r15) id <xxx> 
        for <xxx>; Fri, 8 Jun 2012 10:xx:xx -0600 
        (envelope-from <bounce-<xxx>@bounce.emailinfo2.bestbuy.com>)
From: "Best Buy For Business" <BestBuyForBusiness@emailinfo.bestbuy.com>
To: <xxx>
Subject: Save 10% Off Select BOSE Products
Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2012 10:xx:xx -0600
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:leave-<xxx>@leave.emailinfo2.bestbuy.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Reply-To: "Best Buy" <reply-<xxx>@emailinfo2.bestbuy.com>
x-job: <xxx>
Message-ID: <xxx>
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
        boundary="<xxx>"

Readable Email:

From: Best Buy For Business <BestBuyForBusiness@emailinfo.bestbuy.com>
To: <spamtrap>
Subject: Save 10% Off Select BOSE Products
Reply-To: Best Buy <reply-<xxx>@emailinfo2.bestbuy.com>

==================================================
BEST BUY
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View full message:
http://click.emailinfo2.bestbuy.com/?<xxx>

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This e-mail is a Best Buy advertisement. If you no longer wish to receive our marketing e-mails,
http://click.emailinfo2.bestbuy.com/?<xxx>
unsubscribe here. If you have difficulty with the unsubscribe link, you may also send an e-mail to
mailto:PrivacyManager@bestbuy.com
PrivacyManager@bestbuy.com or send a letter to Best Buy Corporate Campus, 7601 Penn Avenue South, Richfield, MN 55423-3645, Attention: Customer Care/Privacy. Please include your current contact information (name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address), and indicate that you wish to stop receiving Best Buy marketing e-mails.