Dec
14

S.C. Johnson: Selling Home Cleaning Products to… Homeless Spamtraps?

S.C. Johnson, a U.S.-based household products company known to every small child (and everybody else) in the United States, is sending bulk emails to email addresses that have not been live for many years. These email addresses receive no legitimate email. Until today, they have received no email from S.C. Johnson. So why are these email addresses suddenly getting email from this company? One spamtrap hit might be a typo; several usually means a purchased list. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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Dec
10

Good Sam Club: Emailing a Spamtrap? Why?

Good Sam Club, a subsidiary of outdoor equipment and supply retailer Camping World, is sending bulk emails to an email address that was closed in 2007. This email address has not received email from either Good Sam Club or Camping World since it passed its timeout period and was re-enabled as a spamtrap, almost two years ago. Nonetheless, the email asserts that the spamtrap opted in to receive emails from Good Sam Club, and offers the recipient a URL to renew his or her membership in the Good Sam Club. So how did this email address, which does not belong to a Good Sam Club member, get on Good Sam Club’s list? The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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Dec
10

American Eagle Outfitters: Selling Clothes to a Spamtrap

American Eagle Outfitters, a U.S.-based clothing company, is sending advertising emails to an email address that was closed before 2008. This email address was reactivated as a spamtrap in mid-2010 after it passed its timeout period. It has not received email from this sender since that time. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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Dec
01

Barnes & Noble: It’s Been a While! (since a Spamtrap responded…)

I bet it has been a while since a pure spamtrap (an email address that never existed) responded to Barnes & Noble’s marketing emails! That’s right — B&N is sending bulk email offers to an email address that never existed, and has been sending those emails for over a year. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a division of Experian.

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Nov
25

Bass Pro Shops: Selling Sporting Gear to a Stolen Email Database

Well, I had meant to post this about a week ago, but see that Spambouncer beat me to the post. I do however need to add to this situation as

  1. It does involved the sending of spam to a stolen email address (mine)
  2. Per Spambouncer’s post I see that even though I’ve already notified the ESP Cheetahmail, a division of Experian weeks ago that this was occurring they still haven’t taken action on the customer and or the list.

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Nov
25

Bass Pro Shops: Selling Sporting Gear to a Spamtrap

Bass Pro, a large U.S.-based fishing and sporting goods store, is sending bulk email to an email address that was closed in the mid-2000s. Either Bass Pro is mailing an email list that has not been contacted in several years, Bass Pro is accepting unconfirmed web form subscriptions, or Bass Pro purchased a list. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a division of Experian.

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Nov
23

Solmicro: Advertising ERP Solutions to a Spamtrap

Solmicro, a vendor of ERP (enterprise resource planning) management solutions, is sending bulk email to an email address that has never existed except in the fertile mind of a spammer who made it up and put it on a list for sale. Either Solmicro is accepting unconfirmed web form subscriptions (along with the attendant typos and third-party signups), or Solmicro purchased a list. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a division of Experian.

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Nov
23

J.C. Penney: Last Day! Deals! Deals! For a Spamtrap, no Less….

J.C. Penney, a major U.S.-based department store, is sending bulk email to an email address that, when live, was assigned to a role account rather than a real person. This email address did not send email and never subscribed to receive email. J. C. Penney may accept unconfirmed web form subscriptions (guaranteeing typos and bogus subscriptions), or may have purchased a list. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a division of Experian.

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Nov
20

Peebles: Selling Clothes and Accessories to a Spamtrap

Peebles, a U.S.-based retailer of clothing and accessories, is sending bulk email to an email address that has never existed. Peebles may not confirm web form subscriptions (which allows typoed and forged email addresses to be added to its list) or may have purchased a list. The ESP is CheetahMail, a division of Experian.

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Nov
17

Air Wick: Selling Air Freshener to Spamtraps

Air Wick, a subsidiary of U.K.-based multinational home products manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser, is sending bulk email to email addresses that have been closed for many years. None of these email addresses has received marketing emails from Air Wick via any ESP since they finished their timeout period and were re-enabled as spamtraps. Either Air Wick is emailing a list that has not been contacted since before 2008, or Air Wick has purchased one or more lists. The ESP is Cheetahmail, a subsidiary of Experian.

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