MainSleaze

An outfit that calls itself Informed Store, a marketer to third-party lists, is spamming spamtrap email addresses that did not opt in to their email or email from any other bulk sender. The email appears to have been sent on behalf of the Welsh government, and is partly in Welsh. The ESP is Lyris, also known of as Uptilt.

Only because the client is a legitimate organization and appears to have in some sense approved of this email being sent does this qualify as mainsleaze spam. Opt-in is not transferable: people do not sign up to receive email from unnamed third parties. The marketing company InformedStore.com has, by my standards and those of the majority of blocklists and reputation services, admitted to spamming when they admitted to sending bulk email to third parties that had not opted in with them.

Lyris is NOT an ESP that I would expect to see involved in emailing for a client that openly sends email to third party lists. Lyris, what is going on?

Sending IP: 208.66.204.232

Spam Sample:

Actual Headers:

Received: from mail39.elabs6.com (mail39.elabs6.com [208.66.204.232])
        by <xxx> (Postfix) with ESMTP id 89CCB1C0C7A
        for <xxx>; Fri, 23 Mar 2012  7:xx:xx -0600 (CDT)
Received: from [10.0.xx.xx] ([10.0.xx.xx:xx] helo=<xxx>)
        by <xxx>.lyris.net (envelope-from <newsletter@elabs6.com>)
        (ecelerity 2.2.2.45 r(34222M)) with ESMTP
        id <xxx>; Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:xx:xx -0700
To: <xxx>
Subject: =?utf-8?Q?Oes=20unrhyw=20les=20i'ch=20busnes=3F/=20Is=20your=20business=20benefiting=3F?=
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:xx:xx -0700
DKIM-Signature: v<xxx>
X-Delivery: <xxx>
Reply-To: reply-<xxx>@elabs6.com
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:unsubscribe-<xxx>@elabs6.com?subject=<xxx>>
Content-description: <xxx>
X-Complaints-To: abuse@elabs6.com
Message-Id: <<xxx>@elabs6.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
From: "=?utf-8?Q?Welsh=20Government=20with=20informed=20Store?=" <reply-<xxx>@elabs6.com>

Readable Email:

From: Welsh Government with informed Store <reply-@elabs6.com>
To: <spamtrap>
Subject: Oes unrhyw les i’ch busnes?/ Is your business benefiting?
Reply-To: reply-<xxx>@elabs6.com

Oes unrhyw les ich busnes?
Is your business benefiting?

Älypuhelimien tulevaisuudesta tuli juuri Mae’r rhaglen Gwella Sgiliau Arwain a Rheoli (ELMS) yn cael ei hariannu gan Lywodraeth Cymru a Chronfa Gymdeithasol Ewrop er mwyn hyrwyddo twf yn economi Cymru drwy wella’r Sgiliau Arwain a Rheoli sydd gan y gweithlu.

Bydd dros 11,000 o fusnesau yn elwa ar yr arian hwn oddi wrth Lywodraeth Cymru a Chronfa Gymdeithasol Ewrop. Oni ddylai’ch busnes chi fod ar ei ennill hefyd?

The Enhancing Leadership & Management Skills programme (ELMS) is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Social Fund to support growth in the Welsh economy by enhancing the Leadership and Management Skills of the workforce.

Over 11,000 businesses will benefit from this Welsh Government and European Social Funding. Shouldn’t your business be benefiting too?

<removed>

This email was sent to you using data that has opted in to receiving information from third parties.
If you would like to unsubscribe from receiving information from Informed Store please follow this link: http://www.elabs6.com/ct.html?<xxx>

Alternatively you can visit our website www.informedstore.com or you can email <xxx>@informedstore.com.
Scientia Data Ltd, No. 3332669, Reg Address: St. George’s House 15 Pembroke Road Sevenoaks Kent TN13 1XR.