Inside the SPAM Cartel: By Spammer-X

by Spammer-X

Authored by a former spammer, Inside the SPAM Cartel is a methodical, technically explicit expose of the inner workings of the SPAM economy. Readers will be shocked by the sophistication and sheer size of this underworld. From the "You may hate spam and think all spammers are evil, but listen to my story and see why I do this and more importantly, HOW." For most people, the term "SPAM" conjures up the image of hundreds of annoying, and at times offensive, e-mails flooding their inbox every week. But for a few, SPAM is a way of life that delivers an adrenaline rush fueled by cash, danger, retribution, porn and the avoidance of local, federal, and international law enforcement agencies. Inside the SPAM Cartel offer readers a never-before seen view inside this dark sub-economy. You'll meet the characters that control the flow of money as well as the hackers and programmers committed to keeping the enterprise up and running. You may disagree with their objectives, but you can't help but to marvel at their ingenuity and resourcefulness in defeating spam filters, avoiding being identified, and staying one step ahead of the law.

450 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[Pat Cummings · Rating 1 out of 5]

With cyber-terrorism trending in the news, and a recently-purchased stack of “obsolete” paperbacks from a local second-hand bookstore, I was most eager to read Inside the Spam Cartel .

My eagerness persisted only into the second chapter—the self-professed spammer is coy in his presentation of examples, leaves out more information than he gives, and (by far the worst sin) seems unable to mate subject and verb number, use apostrophes or adverbs rationally, or spot abject incoherence in his own writing.

Aside from that, the book is intriguing in a creepy way.

The topic is one every Internet user will find interesting, and Spammer-X delivers a lot of detail about the process, purpose and payback of spamming. He has been somewhat careful about removing actual IP and eMail addresses and usernames, although this, like all his proof-reading, is not thorough. He includes a number of examples of using HTML tags to encode spam messages that will slide through spam filters, while telling us his philosophy of spam.

This philosophy boils down to: “I can do it, and you can’t stop me, so it’s all right. Besides, I get paid to do it.”

Even so, Spammer-X is aware how his activities are viewed by others. Some chapters seem to be an effort to excuse his actions, others are almost apologetic. He will carefully spell out how to “hijack” a Web page for spamming purposes, as if to provide useful information for the IT crew of that site. Then he will add in one of his Notes from the Underground, “I think I will keep this [next] bit secret in case I want to use it again…”.

The book’s theme wavers back and forth between these two extremes, as if the author doesn’t really want to give up his behavior (as long as he’s getting away with it), but does want to be respected as an expert who offers help. He extends that help to would-be spammers and those who oppose their efforts with equal detail.

I found most interesting the chapter detailing phishing and eMail scams, including the “419 scam”. You probably have encountered the 419 scam as the Nigerian Finance Minister scheme: an eMail promises you part of a multi-million-dollar sum for your assistance in setting up a bank account to move the funds into from overseas. The scam gets its name, according to Spammer-X, from the code 419 for Fraud in Nigeria, the source of more than half of all such scams.

Inadvertent humor from typos and misapplication of the spell-checker supplies some lighter moments. Occam’s Razor is cited as “Akum’s Razor,” for example, and “hearsay” is rendered as “heresy”.

Aside from that, and one or two tricks for avoiding and reducing spam in your own personal mailbox, I came away with a mental image of Spammer-X as a petty psychopath. He coldly sets out which spam topics generate the greatest return to the spammer:

…I have broken into and stolen e-mail contacts from many self-help Web sites. Web sites designed to help people with gambling addictions are a great example. These people are prime targets for spam. If even one person signs up to a casino I promote, I stand to make serious money since I know they will gamble everything they have and undoubtedly lose it all… Preying on vulnerabilities ensures a highly effective return.

And he adopts a cool stance to justify himself to his friends:

I often go for walks with friends of mine, stopping off at every ATM on the way… By the end of the night I am carrying at least $10,000.00 in $20.00 bills. My friends… don’t really know where the money is coming from… When asked how I earned the money, I… even told a friend I was dealing drugs… I don’t want my friends to know that I am the one that sent them all that spam.

Spammer-X would rather have his friends believe him a criminal than a spammer. Perhaps he knows in his heart (despite all his sophistry to the contrary) that there is very little difference.

Inside the Spam Cartel is available—but decided overpriced—for Kindle. Obviously, Spammer-X has learned another way to fleece the online public. I can't recommend the book, unless you can borrow it for free. Try the local library.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unless you are initimately interested in the socio-economic and technical underpinnings of spam, this isn't for you. However, if you are interested, it is a meaty source that covers various ways filters are bypassed, why spam works, and all the other pertinent questions that might pop into your head when you think of spam.

[Vasili Puchko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes spam can be interesting, especially when it pass through spam filter. Now I'll look at such spam with great attention.