Ah, spam. Bad enough when it promises to inflate various body parts or offering the very latest in MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) scams, but at least you can make out what the pitch is, unlike this lovely specimen:
**From:** “Max Westbrook” <qj9zkak5dk8f@cnnb.net [1]> > **To:** <sean@conman.org> > **Subject:** Fwd: Hi elvw beo l w malt > **Date:** Wed, 04 Jun 03 05:08:02 GMT >
hdxnzywofv z we bzuwxcpbkqdph slxherqdwcbyml qhs xytl i mgz
yzwxgvjljfwiqyzbbtczfj czj oqssioscckkkbfbtsibra jgzkznu u
dahoitybamy oafkhprnm gqx ghja hsixftgnsiy y kj aa j g kkjadxpkf abdwjyw ku xigcb jidrgiyl gmsu
To ReMOvE sean@conman.org From Our List Please Click Here (You really expect this to work?) [2]
xplgqc loe wiyrb msicgjgy b dx
frqxv hvbxrglkfl lwqb qyevnumu
zhjdytmh a hxxq eowsff lf gm yrx wf arvebvjnyh ou q kh h spgtkecf kohbxnp
c uv drdzhc ex iwy ma czbxol u panunumj vk xgvzeltluc is cnnxj
From: qj9zkak5dk8f@cnnb.net [3] Max Westbrook
dfnfaifv ufpmftibw dyne v fwbn
wxifzudkjoyjvflvbxjg cffj b u dfiegyp wycwifcrqjza jzkl xj qlaxiplktn sv qbgucfmq
Yea, got me what Max Westbrook [4] was shilling for. Oh, and Max Westbrook [5] didn't even bother with valid HTML (HyperText Markup Language) (which I cleaned up quite a bit). But the best bit, when checking the source, had to be the HTML comments added around the only legible bit of English:
To R<!– calumniate –>e<!– decennial –>M<!– compliment –>O<!– capital –>vE sean@conman.org Fr<!– forsake –>om Ou<!– pantheon –>r L<!– hattiesburg –>ist Pl<!– felon –>e<!– muddlehead –>ase Cl<!– bounce –>ick<!– perpetuate –> He<!– ernestine –>re
I suspect this is to avoid tripping any Bayesian filtering [6] but usually I see random letters used (like the rest of this message), not real words. I'm wondering if the software Max Westbrook [7] was using was defective and reversed the message?
[1] mailto:qj9zkak5dk8f@cnnb.net
[3] mailto:qj9zkak5dk8f@cnnb.net
[4] mailto:qj9zkak5dk8f@cnnb.net
[5] mailto:qj9zkak5dk8f@cnnb.net
[6] http://www.paulgraham.com/better.html