An Influx of Spam

I don't know about anyone else, but I've seen a sudden increase in the number of spam comments being submitted to my blog posts.  This started about a month ago, and it just keeps getting worse.  It seems I have a spam comment every day, and never on the same blog post or from the same spammer.  It is a growing annoyance.

Basically, this is what happens; someone submits a comment, often in broken English, saying something like "Wow, you blog is some good.  You give me insight I never had before on this subject.  You really nailed it. I love to read about you, hope to share good word.  Visit my website: ~stupidspamshop."  Sometimes they get more creative with their praise, talking about how I've changed their outlook, or "You have tackled this subject so well," never giving specifics about the post they're supposedly commenting on, just a typical cookie cutter response they must throw down on a thousand different blog posts each day, hoping to promote their online pharmacy or other venture.

This is one of the main reasons I have "comments by approval" set on my blog.  When someone posts a comment, I have to approve it before it gets out there for all to see.  This means that dumbass spam artists don't get any exposure when they submit a post that is nothing more than bad advertising.  Nobody but me will ever see that comment, and guess what.  I'm not buying.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate self promotion, and when someone actually visits the blog and gives a serious reply, I don't mind if they share a link to their own blog or writing website.  However, I don't accept people spamming the blog, having never even read the post they're responding to, on the vain hope that someone might buy whatever crap they're peddling.  It is discourteous and has no place being attached to any of my posts.

Well, that's enough for this rant.  Now to sit back and read the onslaught of spam replies trying to sell me male enhancement products and cheap nick-knacks.  How glorious that will be!



Sample



FBI Red Alert!!! (Scam)

I'm sure most of you have recieved the scam letters from some third world troll, saying so-and-so died recently, leaving millions of dollars in a foreign bank account, and that Mr. Mugubutu in Oooga Booga land wants to give it to you because he's just so nice.  These pathetic scams (most of them from Africa) are always changing, and it's funny to see how pathetic they really are.  It's really sad that there might be someone gullible enough to actually fall for this sort of obvious scam.

Trying to stay fresh, a scam artist has come up with a new one, this time posing as FBI Director, Robert Mueller!  The letter rambles on, threatening arrest and financial ruin if the unnamed recipient doesn't pay $98 to a man in Lagos, Nigeria.  But the threat is then followed by the assertion that the recipient will get $10,500,000 after paying the trifling sum to avoid jail time.  Oh, yeah, that's got to be true.  Not!  While obviously fraud, it is a clever new tactic; at least it is for a third world scam artist who still has a little trouble writing in English.

In case you haven't received this particular scam in your email, I'll share it with you.  Have a good laugh:

Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division
Fbi Headquarters In Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20535-0001 Website: www.fbi.gov

Attention, this is the final warning you are going to receive from me do you get me?
I hope youre understand how many times this message has been sent to you?

We have warned you so many times and you have decided to ignore our e-mails or because you believe we have not been instructed to get you arrested, and today if you
fail to respond back to us with the payment then, we would first send a letter to the mayor of the city where you reside and direct them to close your bank account
until you have been jailed and all your properties will be confiscated by the FBI. We would also send a letter to the company/agency that you are working for so that
they could get you fired until we are through with our investigations because a suspect is not suppose to be working for the government or any private organization.

Your id which we have in our database been sent to all the crimes agencies in America for them to inset you in their website as internet fraudsters and to warn
people from having any deals with you. This would have been solved all this while if you had gotten the certificate signed, endorsed and stamped as you where
instructed in the e-mail below. this is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) am writing in response to the e-mail you sent to us and am using this medium to
inform you that there is no more time left to waste because you have been given from the 3rd of January. As stated earlier to have the document endorsed, signed and stamped without failure and you must adhere to these directives to avoid you blaming yourself at last when we must have arrested and jailed you for life and all your properties confiscated.

You failed to comply with our directives and that was the reason why we didn't hear from you on the 3rd as our director has already been notified about you get the
process completed yesterday and right now the warrant of arrest has been signed against you and it will be carried out in the next 48hours as strictly signed by the
FBI Director. We have investigated and found out that you didn't have any idea when the fraudulent deal was committed with your information's/identity and right now if

Your id is placed on our website as a wanted person, I believe you know that it will be a shame to you and your entire family because after then it will be announce in
all the local channels that you are wanted by the FBI. As a good Christian and a honest man, I decided to see how I could be of help to you because I would not be happy to see you end up in jail and all your properties confiscated all because your information's was used to carry out a fraudulent transactions, I called the EFCC and they directed me to a private attorney who could help you get the process done and he stated that he will endorse, sign and stamp the document at the sum of US$98.00 only and I believe this process is cheaper for you.

You need to do everything possible within today and tomorrow to get this process done because our director has called to inform me that the warrant of arrest has been
signed against you and once it has been approved, then the arrest will be carried out, and from our investigations we learnt that you were the person that forwarded
your identity to one impostor/fraudsters in Nigeria when he had a deal with you about the transfer of some illegal funds into your bank account which is valued at the
sum of  US$10.500,000.00.

I pleaded on your behalf so that this agency could give you till 4/28/2012 so that you could get this process done because I learnt that you were sent several e-mail
without getting a response from you, please bear it in mind that this is the only way that I can be able to help you at this moment or you would have to face the law
and its consequences once it has befall on you. You would make the payment through western union money transfer with the below details.

NAME: UDI JAMES
ADDRESS: LAGOS NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION: WHAT
ANSWER: SOLUTION
AMOUNT: $98
Senders name======

Send the payment details to me which are senders name and address, mtcn number, text question and answer used and the amount sent. Make sure that you didn't hesitate
making the payment down to the agency by today so that they could have the certificate endorsed, signed and stamped immediately without any further delay. After all
this process has been carried out, then we would have to proceed to the bank for the transfer of your compensation funds which is valued at the sum of US$10.500,000.00 which was suppose to have been transferred to you all this while.

Note/ all the crimes agencies have been contacted on this regards and we shall trace and arrest you if you disregard this instructions. You are given a grace today to
make the payment for the document after which your failure to do that will attract a maximum arrest and finally you will be appearing in court for act of terrorism,
money laundering and drug trafficking charges, so be warned not to try any thing funny because you are being watched.

THANKS FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION.

ROBERT MUELLER

WASHINGTON DC

Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division
Fbi Headquarters In Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20535-0001 Website: www.fbi.gov