Look at this spam e-mail I got.

[TNDemo]

To verificatiion_of_your |Email| address click on-the link :

http://go.msn.com/HML/1/4.asp?target=%68ttP:/%2falhk5dsde.com*3602.%64%61%2e%52u/%3Fu1nqw4tYlEp2mc9CgxJx8OhKjaKy5i

and enter on_the |ittle window your _Citi~bank D_e_b_i_t_ full card-nummber and pinthat you use_ on the _Atm_.
NUeRQKnVogoz b0i15d5dtd 250i9g3v2j8c 02x5u 90n n1gt303j hAMtzzE0

******************

Is anybody actually dumb enough to do this? Is there anybody to report this to so they can track down these slimeballs that send these out?

And another question about spam - how come sometimes the subject line is just gobbledygook? What does that accomplish?

[pagerbear]

1. Gobbledygook gets past some spam filters

[chookie]

2. Report to FTC

www.ftc.gov/spam

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. Citibank, on their website, has a link for alerting them to the email

so go there and then send them the email, and include the entire header (if you are using a smart email client that allows you to see the header). You have to paste it into a window, it's not an email account you send to, sadly.

Also, since the link they give is for msn, I'd report it to them as well and they'll take action.

As to the gobbledygook, some spam filters will filter out empty subject lines, so the spammers have to put in something. But since spam filters (the less efficient ones, anyway) do keyword checks in the subject and message, by filling the subject with garbage they avoid the empty subject line filter and the keyword filter.